Shutters sound like they would be a great addition to your new almost at the beach house. Is it an open concept? If so while you can change things up a bit you'll want to repeat some element and ensure that everything looks great together. Even the rooms you're thinking of putting drapes in might benefit from shutters or wood blinds for both looks and light/privacy control. Also be aware of how these windows will look from the outside. When choosing fabrics look at your existing furniture for inspiration or a piece of existing art or if buying new furniture think about the windows as you do. Everything in the room ties into each other. Ideally you would have swatches and samples of every finish in the room from flooring to window coverings and everything in between including wall colour, area rugs, bedding ect to help make your final decisions easier.

Beautiful clean modern kitchen! You have a great opportunity to put your personal stamp on the space with a unique backsplash. As you've heard already there are some different approaches. I'd probably place the backsplash up to the wall cabinets and up to the base of the hood. Then continue the backsplash at the same height (18"?) behind the sink. Then place an inspiring colorful picture above the sink to break up the wall. Here's a picture with pendants that aren't too obtrusive. Having multiple levels of lighting at different lumens makes a more inviting feel to the space. I couldn't decipher your flooring, but you may also want to consider adding some nature elements like a type of wood flooring, wood stools, etc. Good luck! If you need software to plan out materials check out our Home Designer software: http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/

Thanks for the replies! My wife suggested we talk to a local real estate agent, so i think that is a good idea... just that Im not sure how helpful they are likely to be if we arent selling yet :) As for saving for our dream house, I dont disagree, however if doing this up nicely over the next ~5 years or so while we live here nets us some extra in the eventual sale, then that of course will help us as well. Interesting thing happened today actually. I got a knock on the door and one of the older neighbours asked if he could take some lemons from the tree. I of course said yes. Anyway he was telling me he had lived in the street for 40 years. I asked him if the house had always looked like this, and he said no that ~30 years ago the old old owner did a massive renovation and pulled off the timber and put up the bricks and gutted the inside of the house. Interesting stuff!

An avid reader and a keen photographer I wanted to create a room for this 17yr old teen, that reflected what she loves. As you can see the before image, of the room is not recognizable. There was a small window where the beautiful window seat now resides. The windows were all placed side by side as they came from other parts of the house, to form the corner window look. This room needed as much light as possible being on the south side of the property. Before: After: The wall shelving was put up at the time of the renovation, the floors sanded and new cupboards installed (Terranova Building and Renovation Services). The beams and ceiling were stripped and painted Resene standard white. Before: After: Apart from the wallpapering which I had an installer put up, the rest of the room was painted by myself. The Curtain Lady, (Cambridge) made the window seats. Overall the room is very pleasing to the eye and has a lovely calm feel about it. Natasha the proud owner of this room is very happy in her special space, and now the problem is... is it too nice to leave home now? After: See entire project here!