Well if your over designing and putting in more then what is required you are just becoming a part of the problem. Because the amount of energy that has gone into manufacturing your home and each material in it. Those materials require energy to produce them..... On the other hand yes there is that question what if there is not enough can we trust government policy. I think our focus should really be how can we design homes that design for current conditions, have a zero and no carbon footprint and the costs of manufacturing do not offset this goal. So I do place my trust in the science and research from the CSIRO. And policy that has been created as a result of their research yes.

e just cleaned a house for a deceased estate - a small clinker brick one of a pair on a busy road - a recluse who'd lived on his own for 35 years....you can imagine! The family had to pull out the kitchen totally and install a new toilet....!! Four skips later...you get the idea. After the muck was gone and the place vacuumed and cleaned as much as possible it looked - well it looked what it was, a renovators' opportunity (good spaces and excellent flow, with a tiny yard and off street parking. A tram stop at the door. The family wanted venetians cleaned, walls washed and so on - they were making the mistake of thinking it was their own house, not, to be harsh perhaps, of selling an asset which will be someone else's opportunity whether it's to gut and renovate, or demolish and rebuild. So similarly to your mum's, where do you start and finish? As others have said, declutter (which you will have to do at some stage anyway) clean as best you can, and leave the opportunity for others to make their mark. And you know what - despite spending money on it, you'll probably not make a scrap of difference to the sale price. Best of luck

HI Sophie. Im a property stylists and the company you are asking about looks very professional from their website. Lovely furniture and the styling looks very professional. I do not know of them but simply giving them a call or email is a great start and ask some questions like the style they think suits best in your area. In regards to prices Melbourne is one of the cheapest states to have furnished with QLD and NSW coming in at the most expensive. As a really rough guide a 2 bed starts at $2400, 3 bed starts at $3000, 4 bed starts at $4000 and so on with each additional living area styled at $800 and out door is usually complimentary. Hopefully this helps you

Appreciate the thoughts and this may be a solid option elsewhere in the country but in my circumstances I don't plan to be moving from this property any time before the kids are 18. It is located in Sydney's inner west, and in a specific high school catchment I plan to take advantage of when the kids are older. Stamp duty to buy the property was close to $100k and if moving out even in ten years to a larger property; that averages $10k a year spent on stamp duty. I know 115m2 internal is tight, as is the fixed layout due to existing bedroom walls, ceiling heights, wet areas, and the like - but there has to be a way to make this work... I have read that 4 bedroom apartments should be 102m2 or bigger. I am willing to make compromises where possible but I really want to create that extra separate room "Multi-purpose room" which can double as a study/work area/kids play area/media room/ad-hoc sleeping accommodation". Paul Di Stefano: I don't think these changes essentially equate to 'rearranging a sock drawer' - this is my PPOR so I am not too concerned what other buyers want or resale value if I plan to hold the property for 10-20 years +... (any trends we design for now may well be outdated by then anyway). Many buyers highly value indoor-outdoor integration. By moving the kitchen to centre, it opens up the rear and creates indoor living->outdoor living link. If I get IKEA flatpack kitchen and DIY as much as possible - have a friend reroute the water/drainage/+his licenced electrical friend...hopefully this work would cost sub-$20k. Adding the sliding door to rear is $2.5k. Ensuite, bathroom and laundry I believe I can fitout for $10-15k all up- let's say 15k (again, tiling, raise flooring, showers/fixtures/flat pack laudnry cabinetry install all done in-house without tradies). The only thing I really need professionals for is to move the gas line in kitchen, BIR installs, stone benchtop, and maybe a few adhoc wall demo/construction/doorway moving - lets call that 10k. All up ballpark that is 47.5k? Sirius- If I go with your style plan then I lose the potential 4th bed space and have no where for relatives to stay, babysitter, nanny; etc :( Maybe it is a possibility that the main living space be used for lounge room and kitchen, we can always put dining table in the Multi-purpose room, then when that room is needed for sleeping accommodation, the dining table be moved to the side and kids can eat dinner on island bench bar; lounge or outside table... ? those doors to each side of the fireplace as you suggest - this space is very cramped outside (2.45m width) and potentially would be used to store trailer or garden shed, there is an old terrace built on zero-boundary there and they have a DA to go 2 storeys; which will shadow the whole area. This is why I planned to make the rear south corner a raised deck and try to channel house activity leading out the existing glass french door to that deck, or the rear sliding door. See photo-(my house is on the left, terrace zero boundary on right, and front on is a wooden dividing fence which on the opposite side is the driveway/1 car park and front street.