try going to Hamilton Parker on Lenard ave. off 670 it is in downtown area and will give you great ideas.

Are there little bits and pieces that you could salvage and put into a shadowbox? Just little things that mean something to you or that would remind you of good times you had in your home.

Thanks Mel. We'll see what we can do to make the rumpus enclosed - it's probably more of a "man cave" at the moment :) Grandad had a dining table in his current place (which is bigger) and got rid of it because he never used it. He also wants more bench space than he currently has. So, this was a deliberate choice rather than a compromise due to lack of space. You've reminded me now that someone did warn us earlier in the design process about the back and forth between wardrobe and bathroom becoming annoying over time. We don't currently have an en suite so it feels wonderfully convenient for us by comparison. However, that feeling will change if we realise it could have been even better. We did have the en suite off the wardrobe in some designs but have been warned this can lead to dampness in your clothes no matter how well ventilated the bathroom is (especially in Auckland's humidity). Would love to hear people's experiences of this configuration - good and bad. On top of that, there are lovely private bush views to the south so we've tried to make the most of those.

Thanks so much to everyone who is so helpful and resourceful on our forums, day in, day out. Our industrious Houzzers make it a thriving and enjoyable community but we do acknowledge that there are many features and improvements that our forums could have. Change is coming We have taken on the many, many pieces of feedback you have all given us over some years and have redesigned the houzz discussions! Soon, you will be able to add topics to your discussions and filter by topic area, among other big improvements! Right now it is still under construction but we are just weeks away from being able to pull back the plastic!