I've done that with an old old weatherboard...very small house. Did a semi enclosed elevated deck...as the house is on piers..slatted a-la-old Queenslander and partially enclosed with transparent roofing against the wind. The roof is colourbond interspersed with transparent corrugated panels. Have vines growing in through the slats from a garden bed near the front entry....maked for a lovely indoor-outdoor space with many uses. The vine I have is a very old plant calle Podranea...twice a year produces lilac blooms and is evergreen. Requires maintenance as is very vigourous. the rooms along the northern side of the house all open out on to this lovely indoor/outdoor space. Have a lovely fountain as well as hanging baskets. This space has opened up the whole house and protects both in summera and winter. It has made a difference to the whole ambience...so good idea....most probably your venture will involve a more modern aopproach,,,I tried to keep the "old house" image. An indoor.outdoor room is the best improvement in my opinion. Could not do without mine.

Biggest Thank you to everyone who has commented and given me such good practical advice for updating my little front patio/porch area. Before I depart again and forget to update? This is how it looks, I am probably at a later stage going to work out how to add a wider sill as suggested, however it does look so much better than before. Such timely advice has given me the motivation to get it done. I have left the roller shades on one side just to allow a bit of privacy from the neighbours and wind/sun. And one day will swap the large couch for something more suited.

Thanks, great feedback and some new thoughts. We purchased this place as it we felt it was a good buy and could be a good place for my parents to downsize to however it may be that we end up selling it the near future so as mindful of making it as appealing as possible. Hence removing the island despite all the cabinetry being in good condition albeit in an unusual colour. We have previously put in an ikea kitchen and were really happy with the finish so will likely go with that again versus having custom made to keep the costs down. This is the living room into the kitchen... do you think it would make that area cluttered ok Louise if we had seating there as you had drawn? We are happy to remove doors make opening wider. I also understand that keeping the toilet smells seperate from the kitchen is important and I think turning the door would achieve that. Will remove pantry door siriuskey as I agree too many openings, I was going to use it for additional bathroom space but if I keep toilet seperate that will be a waste and opening shelving could look nice. Your laundry design oklouise is exactly as I planned so that’s reassuring.

Thanks again to all. Last week's meeting to thrash out some ideas led to this revised rough sketch... This gives us: -- more coats storage near the front door for visitors -- good size linen storage adjacent to laundry -- a 'drop zone' adjacent to kitchen (near the door into bedroom) -- 1800mm high wall between ensuite shower and toilet, to eliminate overspray (and provide location for future grab rail) -- possible bathtub in a great location, although I think we'll go without it, and have an internal rockery/fernery at the southern edge of the the ensuite shower recess in lieu, combined with skylight overhead (I love the fantasy of feeling like I'm showering 'outdoors') -- revised kitchen/dining/living arrangement that still gives room for BIG island bench -- possible ramp access, although still need to figure out best configuration/location -- move electric golf cart to standalone 'shelter shed' located to rear, to allow more usable space in garage