Thanks Jen, It is a great spot. My husband is the hedger and always reminds me when working in the garden, " that we snip, prune and mow so it looks good now !. "Not in a week or a month when it grows back" I'm a bit rough, always in a hurry. Yes we are very lucky to have such a quiet part of the world, it is beautiful. (Sarina Beach) If I could just get council to seal our very short, no through street it would be perfect. The traffic dust can bad. The houzz unfortunately was originally built close to the road so we were limited by council on what we could do out the front, We had to apply for a relaxation in the laws. They granted our plans for 2 meters. We are happy with how the deck has come up and the hedge gives a bit of privacy from the street yet does not obstruct our view at all. (While catching a bit of the dust as well.) It has been hard work, I went and got an owner builder permit and have been bringing in the trades as needed. With both of us still holding down full time jobs we have had weekends where we have gone back to work on Monday for a rest. Sure I'd love to keep you guys up to speed as we plod on to the finish line. Cheers!

Please excuse this quick dodgy recolour , but just wanted to show the difference some kind of contrast would add to the effect of the exterior. Whether it is painting the roof (because it is such a big part of the facade), rendering or painting the bricks or refinishing the windows in black or white, something to let the architectural features is the key to sprucing up the outside. I think someone mentioned adding a verandah too. That would depend on how much light already comes through the front. I can imagine one of the windows on the side being transformed into french doors leading to a lovely flagstoned garden. I love the black and white interior photos someone posted above too. anything to bring some contrast to all that mud coloured brick. What an inspiring project to have ahead of you, so many possibilities! I wish this were my little house :)))

anything is possible with enough money but with such a modest budget you might achieve the new bathroom and kitchen OR the extension but it would be difficult to achieve both at the same time but you haven't answered the questions??? what is the distance from the house to the back fence, what are all the floors, walls and roof built out of (ie inside and outside walls, concrete slab on ground, or is it a timber floor with crawl space underneath the house?? and NB where is north? ...what is the shape of the roof (hip or gable tiled roof or??) ...do you have an aerial photo of the roof like Google earth??...extending over the retaining wall shouldn't be a problem with proper cosntruction and there isn't anywhere else to go without losing the best outdoor area that has easy access to inside...the extra lengths of pipe isn't the biggest cost of new plumbing and a ventilating skylight will make a great light source for an internal bathroom...

Hi there, I love the look of your 50's kitchen: takes me back to my childhood home but our kitchen was about 4 cupboards and 3 overheads!! By todays std it was like one of the pantries people are putting in!! I was impressed with the "see what you need to store first": that is the best place to start, then thought glass display cupboards were all the go but you have those! Unless you could copy them for the corners? Then I thought open shelving with micro on one: NEVER on the bench. Timber shelves could have bright multi coloured glass or china which was all the rage! Please tho do not go for the lounge curtains with red, orange and every other colour large squares: nothing subtle or quiet about them and nothing nice about them either!! Cheers Margot