Congrats on your new home! The entry would look up to date if you lined the underside of the porch, that white wall, and the outside of the glass wall with spaced horizontal battens. ModWood or EzyWood or something similar. You could put the hanging planters on the white wall battens and they would really brighten the entry. You could also replace the spotlight with something more elegant.

I had a similar situation replacing a thin porch roof, the down pipes that spoilt the simple lines that the posts and flat roof had, basically down pipes just looked just looked heavy and ugly. I fitted the gutters in level as these are short anyway and don't need a fall, but left off the spouting. Then by suspending a heavy* galvanized chain from the centre of the outlet down into large buckets set into the ground, which is filled with rocks or small lumps of concrete, the water will trickle down the chain. (that is a thicker gauge, not heavy* weight). You might also want to anchor the bottom of each chain onto a lump of concrete. You don't have to anchor the bottom, but you don't want anyone to be encouraged to swing on them. Obviously you won't see the buckets, but do need something to capture the water that runs down the chain. Small holes in the buckets allow water to run out gradually. The chains will hang down straight under there own weight, the look is more 'elegant'. If you get so much rain blowing off the chain that it blows onto the posts or house, it's very likely you won't be standing outside, unless you like getting soaked.

So if I want to include sustainable things in my house, where should I start?

Hello, I am hoping to get some ideas for reconfiguring the lay out for my 1950’s home I’ve purchased if anyone can help please? I am single, live alone and it will be my ‘forever’ home and has great views of the Tauranga harbour which I want to make the most of, of course :) Any ideas for one or all requirements are gratefully accepted thanks! They are as follows: 1. A new ensuite and walk in robe off the side of the front bedroom beside the lounge as I want that to be my bedroom with a view. There is sufficient room to build along the outside of that side of the house toward the boundary; the ensuite to face the view please. Perhaps change the entrance door to that bedroom off the hall way somehow? 2. Reconfigure a new kitchen; the existing one is quite skinny and there is really only room for one person between the bench and the return bench. No room to build out from that side of the house, but the deck is huge. I have considered building out over the deck but assume it would involve a lot of $ as would require engineers reports etc. The deck is a solid (old) concrete roof over what is now a block basement which used to be the old garage. 3. To somehow join the existing garage up to the house so I have internal entry from that. In the ‘joining’ space somewhere is where I envisage the front entry way with some storage cupboards etc as the house has almost no storage. The existing garage is an old tin one and needs to be replaced. It is also raised higher than the house level and there is as retaining wall between the garage and the house. Ideally I’d like to dig it all out and make it one level but that will be dictated by finances. However, I've been unable to work out how to join them if they are different levels - aesthetically wise. There would have to be steps down (which I don't really want if I’m getting old here…) so how would the roof line look right? 4. Reconfigure/Remove the existing toilet and/or bathroom as presently the main door into the house comes inbetween these and I don't want the entrance right beside the toilet - eek! The existing bathroom is also the laundry. My thoughts were to move them in to either bedroom 2 or 3, and extend to get another bedroom somehow, or, put them at the back of the new addition joining the garage to the house somehow? 5. The lounge and dining room have alcoves built in that serve no real purpose; both the dining and lounge could be larger if possible. I want to put my couch along the wall which backs on to the dining room so I can look at the view while watching TV etc. I’m not overly keen on open plan so thought I could build a wall there and move the entrance to the dining closer to the hall end of the lounge? 6. To retain 3 bedrooms, one to be used as an office. I am very grateful for any ideas anyone could put forward - many thanks in advance :) Unfortunately the website will not allow me to upload photos so I will have to contact them to see what is going on - sorry!