Thanks houssaon and rinqreation! Funny - hubby has the same 2 door hate! It sounds like I'm being outvoted on the shared ensuite idea. :) We've actually been set on both the configurations you suggested, we moved away from yours houssaon because we really wanted to keep a closed off office space (and hubby built the front deck and landing already for the door at the end of the hallway!). And I don't know why we shifted the door on the bedroom back to the same area, I think it was about having easy access to all the kids bedrooms. But maybe we should shift it back as you suggest rinqreation. Joice, the door at the end of the hallway is the front door, the entrance closest to the street, that you would come to first if you were a visitor. Not totally necessary, but we reinstated it before we decided we wanted the entrance up the stairs (middle bottom) which would be under a carport. Thanks for all your input!! It's really helpful to have some unattached opinions. I'm keen to hear from anyone else on the shared ensuite or 2 door hate question! :)

I would wait for the rug, until you have the shutters up and your furniture placed..it may take on a character of its own and you'll want to compliment. My first thought though was to coordinate with your kitchen and incorporate some black, with a black/beige stripped rug, which would be fun with the wallpaper and perhaps paint your chairs black, add the shutters and you could paint the window trim black and add a large black chandelier.

This made me laugh: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/09/seagull-turns-orange-after-falling-into-vat-of-chicken-tikka-masala I couldn't copy the picture, but it's hilarious.

With that round corner and the fireplace , is it 1940's ? And what exactly is the 'sitting room' used for at present ? Is it those folding doors on part of 2 sides of that room ? I'm just trying to work out the styles and probable uses . For example , if you move most of the kitchen into the formal dining area , where will you eat ? Is it only 2 people , or a family with 4 children under 8 ? And you also need to have resale in the back of your mind -- if there's 2 of you , and you get rid of a dining area , that cuts down potential buyers at whatever time you sell . And to further complicate things , that formal dining room has 2 windows on the left hand side -- what height off the floor , and height in total , are they ? And then you have the door onto the terrace -- it seem counter-intuitive to close that in , and it will cut down space , but also it makes the terrace less value , less likely to get used . Then things like a walk-in or butlers pantry -- where do you put that ? And without seeing the rest of the house ( theres some strange angles going on there ! ) , I wonder if moving the kitchen over to the 'sitting room' area presently is , might work ? Then you have the formal dining and most of the existing kitchen area , to maybe make into a dining area and conversation area ; or dining and office ; or family room ; or leave the doors you want to close in , and make a larger ' semi open plan' area ? So many variables , not enough info .