I'd not previously experienced carpet in a dining area until my parents built their house. It's probably okay in an adults only environment. Just add children to create squashed food thoroughly rubbed in, beetroot and similar stains, and/or marks that no-one knows how they arrived and science hasn't worked out how to get rid of them. They have what started out as bland beige carpet, now it's multicoloured and "interesting" (for want of a better term). God Bless the Grandchildren. :-)

It would be much more cost effective to work with the slate. Image sent by mazgardiner looks great. If the home was purchased for rental purposes, the plinth could be painted white, benchtop and splashback tiles painted (much cheaper than replacing) to blend in with slate colours. If you are going to live in the property, sometimes it's best to live with how it is and replace later when you have better understanding of what you want. Good luck with it all!

Thanks siriuskey and Jen! I have been toying with this idea already.... also with making the current main bedroom into a living area (as it would make a nice sitting room, it has a great garden view). Actually, since I originally asked for help on here we have booked the job in with a builder & plumber.... still have to line up other trades but it's not happening until June next year. Below is the plan I ended up giving to the builder for his quote... but of course I am likely to change my mind about 50 times before we go ahead! Especially since as you'll see, the planned ensuite is too narrow, we will have to make it wider. RE having a WIR for the maswter, we decided a BI would be ok instead since we dont have many clothes and we'd rather use the limited space for bigger bedrooms. Also we had to double our budget to $100k as $50k (our original) wasn't going to cut it!!!! ( & we'll still have to be very careful with our spending).

Hi lostinreno I would definitely recommend a white with warm undertones and not blue tones. The natural light in the south facing aspect has a natural blue tone to it so unless you are in Queensland and what the cool effect, it needs warming up with the colours you use. Natural white has some yellow and red pigments as well as black. The small amount of black makes it cover well whereas some of the more yellow undertoned whites dont cover well and you need more coats as MB Design and Drafting mentioned. Use the same white for all. Half strength on ceiling in flat finish and trims (satin) works well. Best wishes