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.

Hey Paul! Firstly, congrats on starting to adult. I'm yet to begin the homeowning part of that journey but nonetheless will relish in offering my thoughts on your male-accountant-esque aesthetic skills. 1) Glass panels - scrap them! $500 could be better spent elsewhere and it's common, like mentioned above, that people don't want the insides of their cupboards visible. 2) Blackbutt laminate floors and gloss white cupboards - matt benchtop colour I think should also be dependant on paint colour of the walls as well as other furniture. Not sure if you've mentioned that? Neutral is always safe though. In terms of flooring, I agree with the other commenters again in suggesting you rip up the carpet yourself and see the situation on your hands. A bit of elbow grease (and probably a few swear words) and you'll have saved some cash you can invest in the appliances. The amount you're investing in renovating the kitchen should also depending on the scope of your other renovations of the place (how much you're changing/investing in living, bathrooms etc). Side note, but an important consideration, is thinking of the kind of future tenants you would want living in the space and what they would consider important. Kitchens are often the heart of the home, so investing a little more here, especially if visible from front door, IMO isn't completely irrational. In terms of payment/thanks for input - please send cookies.

Hi helendyjak, New colour for 2017? Trends are interesting. I encourage clients to chose colours they love and then I specify a range of those colours to match their space. Trends are great but if you follow trends when painting spaces they will also date quickly and in architecture that can become very costly and wasteful. Now having said that; trends - to answer your question... spaces are filling up with teal (more last year) and shades of green with links back to art deco. Your comments on colour making space smaller are interesting. Did you experience that? I like to get people to start using colour in small transitional spaces so they experiences how it makes a space feel more intimate and makes all the items in that space "pop". It might make the space feel smaller (this is very subjective as bold colour tends to be) the room is still physically the same size but it might have more personality with the bold colour (again subjective.... :) Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

Thank you so much amonymousanne. I hadn‘t Thought of them, with this guy making such an issue over it being common property/not common property from the body corporate perspective etc. That’s a great idea and I really appreciate you taking the time to read my issue and respond to me! I will call them tomorrow. Thanks so much, Donna.