Thanks for the advice, have decided to ditch the brown and go for something lighter and brighter...maybe next month I will look at replacing the pathetic prints on the walls and the grubby coffee table...

I love it. My only concern is this: this will be our only group sitting area. We don't have a family room or any other joint "comfy" rooms in the house. This was why I was concerned the barcelonas would be to clinical. But I like this couch, it looks like it could be very comfy. Also, the boyfriend wants this for the couch: http://www.steeldomus.com/lc2_3_seats_sofa_le_corbusier.htm Its a bit above our price range and again i'm worried about how comfy it will be and if it is too "doctor" office clinical. Thank you for your input and apologies if i'm being annoying with so many questions.

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

We began this renovation process, first looking at a range of photos of the bones of the home with our client and about her expectations and "Ultimate Investment Goals" for her project (family home or rental, long occupancy or flicking property, ideal uses, pets bedrooms required etc). We then looked at the structure of the existing home and its potential. With a few tweaks to the layout, we could gain 30sqm and by pushing the exterior wall out at the back and side on the ground floor we could gain another 40 sqm by taking a 3 bed 1 bath single car garage to a 4 bed 3 bath, two lounges and study with double garage. There where some aesthetics that benefited also - the house was brick base with nobly brown brick. Our extension removed most of this and the remainder we rendered, the upper floor cladding was leaking and had a heavy concrete tile over it by changing to weatherboard and tin (longrun) roof the loading's on the existing foundation where similar so no existing foundation needed upgrading. To give it a modern spin we used a block for the fire boundary wall and used stack bond pattern to front and back. Our client Debbie works with raw food as her job, making gluten-free vegan food, so her kitchen space was very important. With the kitchen landing close to an internal corner we decided to make it wider than normal along the back wall hiding a step in the exterior wall and helping connect the two living rooms with a Stainless bench on the island this helped to break up space and provide a central gathering point for entertaining. Finally, we upgraded all the wiring and plumbing and gave it a good paint and carpet throughout. We conducted weekly meetings throughout the entire process of the renovation, not only to discuss options and check we where on the right path with the design but to enable a spread out approach to the loads of decisions that go into a build/renovation. Check out the before and after images below. Along with a video of the final product. Before: After: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CvHS6nNxzk&feature=youtu.be Check out the entire project here!