I see a window there... good! Is it facing north or which direction is it? Are the doors & trim throughout the house all dark brown? Light doors & trim would help alot. Lighter happy paint colors, such as butter yellow or limon walls would bring a sunny warm fresh feel to the room. Try some punchy colored feature walls as shown in Manon's above photo (thanks Manon). Get new furniture & some fun colored art & accessories, everything's looking very dated. Better lighting & a tall floor lamp that spreads light across the ceiling or corner. Lighter drapes (with grommets) down to the floor would help OR Roman shades or 2" faux wood blinds covering just the window would modernize the space and give you more wall space. New flooring in updated colors such as white-washed gray driftwood. Designate areas or stations in the room for different activities, such as floor games in one corner with colorful interlocking foam floor mats, comfie seating (bean-bag chairs) for movies in another area, table & chairs for table activities (coloring/puzzles/games/crafts), etc. Are your children boys or girls? That'll make a difference in what you choose and how you put it all together.

We got the IKEA shelves that are pictured in the butlers pantry photo I posted when we were on holiday in Melbourne, Australia. We don't have IKEA here in New Zealand! Hubby is going back over in May/June so will get him to get more of that sort of thing when there. We would pay about 4x the price for that sort of thing here in NZ. I need to work out what I will do now where the fridge was and there is the angle change (does that make sense?).

There are many options for changing the look of your house. I would replace the windows with larger windows. You can put in tall windows and keep the same width. This doesn't require any structural changes. If you widen the windows you will need a structual analysis. However, if you want to really change the look, you could widen the openings and put in french doors on each side with a new balcony for each, or a balcony across the front. The balcony can be very shallow 6" or deep enough for a chair. It can be cantelevered. I would go for a contemporary look. I found some images to share for inspiration. If you decide to make the changes, I suggest that you hire a local Architect to help you acheive something really nice..........Your house has a lot of potential.

Hi pjfee2...thanks for your ideas. Have to admit I have not given the reno in MT much thought this summer, here!! Actually been finishing our beach house re-build down here and a bit 'reno'd out' to be honest. BUT we head back in just over a month so it’s time I did give it some serious thought, so your comments very much appreciated. Already got builders organized so that’s a start LOL I love the idea of adding stone on the outside to the turret part – but guessing that is as far as the budget would stretch. The siding is in good shape so need to stain it to work. Love the idea of pulling a color from the turret stone to do this. Will get a stone that has some of the log house gingery color in it and then stain the newer part of house a tone of this?? So far I’m sure we will · Rebuild the deck to run across the front of the house and form the roof over the front door entryway · Make the entry way wider and mud room inside bigger · Replace the small window to the bathroom with a door off the deck, matching the French doors. · Replace the tiny window in the turret with a longer one. · Cover turret with schist or stone cladding Not sure about replacing the windows under the deck. Added a picture of them from the inside. This living space is the hardest to figure out how to furnish in this house. It has quite a lot of light from a large window on the left wall - out of this shot - and across the back of the room through a wide door way to the room at the back. Thinking of opening up this wall? And from the inside they seem pretty well balance? Big problem in that room is that there is not a lot of places that we can use to create a sitting area. Need to get a couple of sofas in there and push them around to see what will work. It has 4 doors leading off and as you can see large log posts dotted about!! ANDd a stairwell going down to lower level and garages. Not a lot of space to play with. OK time for another coffee...its 7.30am down here!!