I have just taken a couple more pictures (excuse the untidy house) from the stairs. As you can see it's an open plan area that isn't that big but very high ceilings also in wood (Macrocarpa) with dark wooden beams. The house is surrounded by bush so quite a dark house. I initially considered a darker wood similar to the beams but not sure if that will make the house appear smaller / darker...I'm really not sure what to do!?!?!? Thanks

Kind of funny really how many people would feel exposed and would not want to use the bathroom. The more I think about it, it's a bit like a public restroom with stalls (as stall walls rarely go to the ceiling or floor and have the added issues of gaps between the wall panels and doors -- which thankfully we won't have!). Regarding the humidity control issue, I should have clarified this is only for a toilet and small hand basin (not a full bathroom with shower). The main room on the other side of the proposed toilet is our dog whelping room where we will have young litters of puppies (when we have them). Further down the hall, removed from this room, is our training room where there are likely to be other visitors but the proposed bathroom would be quite removed from that area. It would be wonderful to find more windows like the ones that are up near the ceiling! That would certainly solve the issue. I'll have to scour the demolition/restoration places.

Your layout for you kitchen looks really good and would fit well with the mixture of black and white cabinetry. With the lament bench top, we would suggest melamine (entry level cabinetry) or acrylic bench top, which can come in high gloss feature or matt. The matt surface would go lovely with your choice of bench top, and acrylic is also a affordable cabinetry material. Below are some examples of how Reno4u has incorporated both black and white cabinetry together, without making it to dominantly dark. We feel as if these examples would be perfect for your layout, and depending on if you want more black cabinetry or white you can go either way. This design above is an example with more black than white, can be made matt or gloss with different handles/splash back and wallpaper. With a u shaped kitchen similar to yours, however from the pictures you provided your style may include different design below the island bench. Another kitchen designed by us which shows more white than black, with a bar built in which may suit your design better. We hope this helps you, please feel free to call us on 03 423 9067 and we can provide a free quote for materials and kitchen design, and help you finalise your design further. :)

We've just moved into our newly built house and now we have landscaping to do. We had to dig down a bit to get a flat site, and now we're left with a slope on the north and west side if our house. The slope and ground around the house are currently bare clay. The slope starts about 5-6m from our house and at its highest point it's maybe 2m. We also need to put a deck onto the house yet. One idea is to scrape it back a bit more and build a small (knee high) retaining wall all the way around with built in drainage. Then have a flat garden before continuing the slope. The retaining wall would probably need to be about 15-20m long. However, we're tight on $$ right now so I was wondering why we can't just make it slope a bit more gently (45 degrees ish), cover it in dirt and plant it out. Would the plants not prevent enough water run off and erosion? Any professional advice?