Hi everyone, we have moved in! We didn't manage to paint before we moved and think we will go for a staged approach - above the wood panels first in a warm white then decide on the panels. I'm having a bit of trouble working out what kind of sofa to buy and how at arrange the lounge. All furniture except coffee table temporary in photos and would love some 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.

I want to paint the exterior of my ugly stucco beach house and garage . It’s on the shady side of a hill (damp, dark and gloomy in winter) so I want lovely warm colours. It was mostly built in the 1950s. I considered painting the upper level one colour and the lower level another colour so the eye is drawn to the horizontals. The joinery is mostly silver-grey aluminium. The roof is corrugated iron, currently unpainted. I’m inspired by some flower colour schemes, but I’m struggling. I usually use Resene paints. Suggestions from those who are good with colour would be most appreciated!