Yes, I was planning on a free standing stove on the opposite wall and no top cabinets on the stove wall. Should I use mirror as splash back ? And black cabinets for the pantry wall and white on the others, White a white stone for bench top ?

I would suggest keeping the brick fire place with a clean up to keep the character. Agree paint the ceiling panels white however keep the beams as the are (if in good condition) to keep the character of the home. Paint the remaining walls white or light grey. The 1/2 brick white wall and timber paneling on the right side does need to come out to help you create the open plan space you are craving. The kitchen area - I'm not sure of size judging by the photo - I would suggest storage/cabinets the full length of the back wall to the windows where the dinning table is and cabinets/draws under the window also. Giving you plenty of storage for the home. I would suggest an island bench with a lower section to use as a dinning table. All your storage is in one place and allowing you to remove the storage you have across the bottom window in the lounge room. giving you more space and more light in the room. Or paint them white also. If you can remove the window coverings and replace with lighter roller blinds that disappear in the white walls or even white block out curtains. Good luck with the project from the Team at North.

I wouldn't give up on doing something about those downlights. Either remove at least half of them or paint the ceiling darker to hide them. They make the room look as if it has an illness and your ceilings are high enough to tolerate the colour. In order to make your room suit you, work out how you use it most and make " rooms" with your furniture. It has to suit your lifestyle and your taste. Remember furniture doesn't need to be against a wall. Personally I hate texture. I don't like the look of it or the feel of it, so I don't use it and I don't care what suits other people. You need to be able to sit in your room and wherever you look should please your eye. I think the curtains are a good idea, but they needn't be sheer. If they are a solid plain colour you can pull them back by day unless you need them to keep the sun out and close them at night for privacy. If you don't need curtains and you just want the doors to look better then go for sheers. Good luck. Trial and error will help you sort it out.

thank you all for your suggestions... meme - the front room currently doesn't get used for a few reasons a) it's only me in the house b)family room gets more sun and natural light c) family room looks out to the garden/courtyard which is a nicer view than the lounge which looks down the drive way (i'm back section of a duplex). I have contemplated the idea of moving dining room to family and using lounge as tv room but as it's just currently me it's nice to have the sun flowing in the family room whilst sitting on the couch and reading a book/watching tv (both rooms are deceptively small - i think wide angle camera used in the promo photos) oklouise - again I think the photo makes the rooms appear larger than they are - I have attached some more photos of the family room for you. I have considered moving the door way to the hall as it is in an awkward position for furniture layout (although I'm not sure the room would accommodate the furniture as you have placed it). Another thing that I should mention is that I'm planning to add a door way to the garage from the kitchen, as I currently walk to the sliding doors to gain entrance to the house. The door will be in the position you have the fridge or even next to it in the far corner - which would still work in your plan. Dr Retro House Calls - I think for me I do like the open plan living (no children yet.) I'm not sure the house would be big enough for a family with teenagers (the 3rd room is very small.) In terms of keeping kitchen tidy - no i'm a very messy cook but it's quickly cleaned up by putting most things in the dishwasher/sink (also I would hope my friends and family wouldn't judge me on the state of my kitchen - and if they did I wouldn't be bothered by it :)) I guess if it was for me then I would go ahead and open plan everything to let as much light in as possible, but also I do need to be aware of resale at some stage (but people are either going to like it or not no matter what you do) Kate - I hadn't thought of that idea - I guess making it smaller would turn it into a min theatre room or reading room? Siriuskey - Interesting suggestion - I'm not sure how the placement of furniture would work in the family room, but I think I need to get past my fear of placing furniture in the middle of a room.