Mona you have seen exactly the dilemmas I'm facing with this room so I really appreciate your comments. I was focusing on no1, but really 2 and 3 are on my mind too. In terms of getting some continuity between the rooms I was planning on recovering the dining chairs in a fabric to tone with cushions/throws on the white couch, ottomans in a matching tone, and pulling this colour scheme through into cushions in the formal lounge. I love the spring colours at the moment (greens, blues etc) which you can see i'm playing with at the moment but you might be able to see the painting in the formal room which is orange, red and yellow with a blue/purple base. So I'm very keen on colour and so tired of the brown carpet and neutral walls. I was also going to restain the dining table and chairs to a dark mahogany colour, and change the bar stools to something more modern. re: rug closer to sofa, I've done this and it looks off-balance with nothing else in the space. It seems to work better in the middle of the carpet area at the moment. Perhaps thats because I haven't ordered the ottomans yet. I don't want to add a coffee table to this room as prefer Ottoman to put feet up on. I've attached a pic of a rug, do you think something like this would work better? re the wall: yes this is the major for me at the moment. It is a TV room so tv and speakers stay and I wont be adding any custom cabinetry. The idea was to increase the space in this room by removing all of the cabinets and they are now in the adjoining room. The speaker covers have not been painted as I needed to work out what wall covering to apply, and colour etc. so once they are painted the wall colour they will blend in better. The idea of shelving has merit, I'll have to have a think more about that... Any other thoughts you have are appreciated.

Hello There: Your home looks like it has some good bones and period features. No one has yet to comment on marrying subway tiles on lower walls, with tongue and groove cladding on upper walls of your space. I am thinking this finished look could well end up looking quite "busy." Lots of competing "grid" lines, etc. If I understand correctly, this space is actually, or ultimately will be, a bathroom. Perhaps you do not want a wood product on lower sections of the walls because of potential water damage, etc. That said, there are excellent paints, sealants, etc., that you could apply that would guard against this. If painting, using Zinsser Sealant as base coat is a good starting point. As another alternative, you could use much larger tiles on lower portion of walls, oriented vertically. I am thinking 12" x 18" (or 24") tiles. Of course, these are more challenging to install, given their greater size and therefore, weight. Despite this, if you have an excellent tiler, it can definitely be done. For example, you could choose glass tiles, either clear or coloured. Going even further, you could install glass panels to lower sections of walls. You could "back paint" them or not. You could apply paint or even wallpaper (with a wonderful design and colour way you'd likely never tire of) prior to installing glass panels. The wallpaper idea, especially if design is more curvilinear in nature, would not be competing with verticality of tongue and groove, but rather, would complement and enhance it. If beautiful wallpaper (or heck, even a mural or timeless design could be painted directly on walls) is applied and then covered with clear glass panels, the overall effect would be akin to that of an art installation. Naturally, glass panels would be considerably more expensive, but would provide a more seamless, less cluttered appearance. Should you like this idea, simply check what thickness of glass would work best, both for aesthetic and safety purposes. If you have a bit of time to shop around for best supplier and price point, you could well suss out a source that will not "break the bank!" :) To affix glass panels to the walls you want to use hardware that is anodized. As an idea, you could use anodized lug nuts that are usually used for automotive purposes. I just looked up "anodized lug nuts" and see they are available in wide array of wonderful, decorative colours. This hardware would be visibly holding your glass panels in permanent place, but they would be a small attractive design element, ultimately adding another layer of visual interest to your space. I believe glass panels would tie in very well with your great, textured/mottled glass panelled door and transom. Too, I think the overall look would achieve a really attractive marriage as various materials, along with period architectural features would "read:" old, new, and timeless. I realize this design concept may seem counterintuitive to you and/or others, but I can "see it" and think it could be just fab! All The Best, Sharon Black, interior designer and contractor

Hi, Thanks for the response. :) I am following CCC Residential Suburban and Residential Suburban Density Transition Zone. It seems you can build 1m from boundary without having a window facing the boundary. I thought it seemed close, but if it gives me more space on the sunny side of the property then I'm happy. I wasn't sure how worthwhile it was me building interior/external walls into my design. I think a real draftsman would only use my dimensions as a guide and bin my project designs. I've only used the boundary line to design the entire thing, then used some Objects to give a visual guideline.

A very simple layout keeping the floor space within the kitchen, the WIP takes up a lot of space with not much gain, The broom cupboard could be moved to the Laundry/entrance, narrow. If the wall has been bumped out to the eaves on the deck side giving an extra 300 depth to the kitchen you could make the island 2700 x 1200 and all drawers. The wall of narrow pantry will hold all pantry needs and more, no deep cupboards to dig into. cheers