re the floor, what about garage matting tiles, as in photo attached, but lay them in a groovier pattern, perhaps a chevron or 60's pattern, if leaning towards MCM. It may not be any dearer than the cost after getting a tiler in, if laying tiles? Also, you can take them out to clean them if need to and change the look whenever you feel the need!

Hi Mad S - I like many of the ideas above! There will be in fact many things you could do to introduce a more open plan feel to the kitchen/living/dining, and so I would invest in some architectural or interior design advice to provide a masterplan for you so you can stage improvements as you can afford them. For example, it's always ideal to know where north is when making changes, and changes to open up the kitchen and introduce an island bench will vastly improve the feel of the open space, however you may want to add a walk-in pantry given you have the floor space available (only if you want one though). The gas fire would be in the wrong spot when opening up the space, however there is no reason to throw it away - you could move it to a centrally along the same line, or even along the main external living wall. I would keep that small portion of wall parallel to the front door (or extend it slightly/ replace with screen or joinery) to provide the discreet screening you need for a front door, and I would also move the rumpus door down this end so that you have a closed corner to the 'dining' space - so people don't have to walk through all the time and freeing up your options for furniture arrangements. You could even at a later stage aim to upgrade the doors along the living room external wall to the outdoor entertaining area for better indoor-outdoor connection, especially if this was north and you move the fireplace to be in front of full-height glazing. Good Luck!

I used to have a Peace Lily, Philodendron, Succulent garden, a couple of ferns, Devil's Ivy and some grass plants in my bedroom. I currently don't have a bedroom that would support those kind of plants so I've cut back on them. I am planning on building a house that is specifically designed for plants (and lighting) in mind. They're so good for the bedroom, I would try to avoid pollen dispersing flowers though. My favourites are grasses, broadleaved plants, Succulents, bonsai for apartments, even small "indoor trees" (palms, ficus) if you have the space. Not only are there so many health benefits, but think about how you'll feel waking up every morning surrounded by nature and life. There are numerous studies about how much we benefit from being in nature, so there's no downside there. If you are getting bugs, you must be severely unfortunate. I've personally never had more than the occasional fly that one of my dogs let in. Unless, like others said, you rotate your plants outside.

To be blunt -- the room isn't really big enough ! So you have to sort out priorities , and space . You have a dining table , and a computer desk . Can you get rid of the computer desk , by having your computer tower mounted behind the couch or similar , and a wireless keyboard and mouse that you can use on the dining table ? Mount the monitor on a wall , or if you don't need in depth graphics , I understand you can use your TV ( I've heard something about the 'refresh rate' is less on a TV ? ) . Maybe even have a monitor but also the option of using your TV ? Could you use a 'breakfast bar' , probably where the computer desk is now , I know its not sociable all staring at a wall , but it would/could serve as a brakfast bar and computer workstation . Could you get rid of the dining table and chairs , and have a large coffee table , or 2 smaller ones , and eat 'casually' ( my polite way of saying eat sitting on the couch ) ? Even mounting the TV on the wall will let you get rid of the cabinet , but I gather you have gaming consoles in there ? And the present arrangement with the pot plants uses some space -- maybe some shelves with them on will still retain the plants but free up floor space ? Just some thoughts off the top of my head .