It is just a great patio beer drinking table with a great view:) I couldn't get a picture of the table and the view because I didn't have the room with just a camera phone but this is the view from the top of the patio with it:)

I am a big fan for plantation shutters you will be excited you did! You will make your money back & ease of re sale as people want them .Otherwise... If not With your kitchen get a professional in and get a tint on your window you can see out but they cannot see in until night then a simple blind will suffice. Lounge rm attach to ceiling!!.. to floor sheer curtains with a good colour curtain behind going the whole width of the wall.. bedroom a Roman blind... take advantage of your floor boards and do it properly the first time and save money!

I was 23 years old and our first home (1982) was $42,000 but interest rates were 21%!!! It was in Otorohanga NZ and mortgages were tough to get. Best decision ever though. We had second hand everything, even using an old beer crate as coffee tables and book shelves lol. Over the years we have owned only 3 homes though, and if we were to start again we have learned to not over capitalise on homes we have bought instead upgrade sooner. Finally we are ebarking on our first new home build ... bettter late than never though definately!

Just to confirm I have taken the great ideas presented here as advice only and have no intention to do some dodgy diy reno's. With the exception of a couple of quirky exposed timbers as you can see in my pictures there are no other exposed beams. As you can also see from the pictures there is a large roof space on the right (east) side of the house but the ceilings themselves are flat with a slight dip on the north wall. Based on my own personal experiences I would have to agree with Two's Company that there is a tendency towards rendered brick in WA (although there are still many exposed brick houses in my suburb) while double enclosed double garages are also highly desirable. I would also agree that toilets within the main bathroom and non traditional laundries may be considered unusual by many (but not all). Ensuites with toilets however are still very common. Also due to the nature of our work we would prefer the laundry separated from food/kitchen area. For a 4x2 house it is only around 155m2 excluding carport/alfresco which makes the rooms feel quite cramped, hence the desire to open up the family room. However, as Two's Company suggests we will need to first get a builder/eng in to check load bearing walls etc as this will undoubtedly affect what we can achieve within our budget. Having said that I still excited by many of your ideas and with luck hopefully can work some of them into the budget. Cheers all :)