Now it's beginning to work! Luv the rug! A few more red showstoppers, and I luv the post about matting your family pic, and larger frame for it. Looks like you might be a bit uncomfortable with the great post idea of moving your sofa out into the room away from wall. If so, could you accept putting it diagonally from the entrance doorway, across that corner where it is, stopping at the edge of your window? That's a bit of a move outward, still can see the fp and tv, and show off your new rug, which could go diagonally in front of the sofa. Then, if you like that, after a while you could move it on out as Deb K suggests. Sometimes intermediate steps are more doable for us than those big changes.Same with painting; if you could first paint just the fp wall, then later paint other walls...seems some color would really make it more homey. Would you cosider a quite contemporary fixture for the light in the center ceiling? Maybe a bit of red could go there!

Perhaps a colored door if you paint the home grey. Maybe Red? You could simulate a color change on door by hanging something over the door that is the color like a tablecloth or piece of fabric. If you search houzz for" grey homes", you can see what others have done. My home is painted Cape Cod Grey with white trim and it has been very easy to live with for years. I have a dark grey roof.

Thank you so much for your comment after all this time. The colour you have suggested brightens the front door area beautifully and if the two red pots were painted in a tone to match, we think it would look great. Not sure if you can get Crestview doors in New Zealand but there must be something similar. We like the idea of going away from another cedar door - mainly because it would stand out too much while it was weathering. I don't know whether we would have been that brave but the tangerine works so well with the jade green of the joinery. I have re-laid all the stones and put a new wider front step in. The timber colour will soften down in time. I put a big pot in the garden to draw visitors to the front door and have added some colourful bromeliads to the garden alongside the house to make the area a bit more cheerful. We can't make a decision about what to do with a larger 'overhang' to protect the front porch yet - it is a project in progress. Thanks again for your post.

Your layout for you kitchen looks really good and would fit well with the mixture of black and white cabinetry. With the lament bench top, we would suggest melamine (entry level cabinetry) or acrylic bench top, which can come in high gloss feature or matt. The matt surface would go lovely with your choice of bench top, and acrylic is also a affordable cabinetry material. Below are some examples of how Reno4u has incorporated both black and white cabinetry together, without making it to dominantly dark. We feel as if these examples would be perfect for your layout, and depending on if you want more black cabinetry or white you can go either way. This design above is an example with more black than white, can be made matt or gloss with different handles/splash back and wallpaper. With a u shaped kitchen similar to yours, however from the pictures you provided your style may include different design below the island bench. Another kitchen designed by us which shows more white than black, with a bar built in which may suit your design better. We hope this helps you, please feel free to call us on 03 423 9067 and we can provide a free quote for materials and kitchen design, and help you finalise your design further. :)