Thank you robandlyn. I am definitely leaning towards the karndean especially for the kids. I might use it for a splashback?? hi the interior therapist. Thank you for your reply. The budget that was put into our build (by the builder) makes hardwood floors an extra $23k. Although the 600 x 600 are expensive to lay it still comes in at less than half the price including bathrooms. We had hardwood in our last house, I liked it but it scratched and dented with chairs and kids dragging their sandy bikes inside. i am worried that I will choose the tile and hate the cleaning and potential slippery accidents in summer but I worry about the look of karndean....... is it very plasticky? I have some samples but it's very hard to tell from such a small piece. Is the tile we have chosen too 'busy' for all areas? Maybe I have really bad taste and it's an ugly tile lol Thanks so much for all your help guys :)

Hi kristymacd, after changing my mind many times we went for a built in 1700 bath! Mostly as builder and tiler thought it would be easier to slope the floor properly and I liked the idea of the slightly larger built in compared to the 1590 back to wall. I’m sure a back to wall would’ve been possible and been fine, it all just got a bit hard and I knew both would look good. And I don’t think a back to wall would be any harder to clean than a built in - with a built in you have the hob and tiled face of the bath and back to wall there is the floor either side of the bath - same same! Here’s a pic of ours, not totally finished yet but really happy with it.

I agree with pottsy99's approach. I'd paint the concrete portions of the wall. Depends what the colour scheme of your garden is - charcoal might suit. Personally, I love off-white but it might not go. Whatever colour you go with, I'd also paint the terracotta pots to have more cohesion. At that point, you might consider leaving the stones alone (perhaps a tidy up if you're feeling energetic.) You could also go for weeping plants. Dichondra silver falls are my favourites. They are also relatively easy to propagate and grow. However, mine always die during the Perth summer heat. Heartleaf iceplant are also easy to grow, propagate and hardy but does attract snails.

Vetiver Monto is your friend. Not only is it fragrant and useful for basket weaving but it is also used for erosion control. Vetiver has incredibly deep roots that make it useful for this purpose. Monto is a cultivar that cannot set seed and escape into the wild, since vetiver is not native. You can get this plant from many wholesale nurseries in bulk as it's used for environmental remediation work. The native version is lomandra, which again can be purchased in bulk from wholesalers that deal with environmental remediation work. I believe a lovely clumping grass like that will look beautiful and quite naturalistic in that setting. It will also make a feature of those boulders. You can then plant Grass tree's on the ridge which will be an amazing backdrop to your yard. Lomandra Vetiver Plantings will undoubtedly be the cheapest option. Lomandra and vertiver are both fast growing. Mattress gabions are another option. These are wire baskets filled with large rocks. Used most often on earth cuts on the side of highways. Most landscaping gabions are rectangular in shape. But mattress type are used roadside. This is a large flat, wire basket than spans over a cut filled with large rock. Once completed it looks quite good but it will not be cheap. The advantage is that it is instantaneous. These ones are quite fancy obviously used to make a water feature. But mattress gabions are good for creating an appealing and uniform look.