I recommend having the TV in a separate well-insulated room if you're having a great room/open floor plan. We combined a play room/media room and put french doors on so TV is visible from great room/kitchen, but noise is contained. Also, love having hand-scraped distressed wood floors that have withstood our kids and dog. Quartz counters have been proven crayon/paint/marker/anything-resistant. A mudroom with cabinets helps contain backpacks and coats by entry (ours is by garage entry since that's how we get in the house). Maximize built- in storage in every room--it's nice to have the option to store away all the toys/school projects/art supplies where they're used and played with. Consequently, we also put in a walk in pantry to store packaged foods and craft supplies. Can keep going, but these are good to start with. Goodluck!

Hi I have recently moved into a new house and am needing some advice on how best to utilise the living/dining room. The room is a bit tricky as there are very few walls with no windows/doors to place the TV on. Currently with the set up the angle between the TV and the sofa is not great. I also feel that with the current layout there is a lot of wasted space in the middle of the room. The photos are from the house listing so that is not my furniture...I currently only have the furniture in the floor plan (minus to 2 arm chairs but I would like to get some arm chairs for a reading corner) Any advice on where to best position the TV living area and the dining are would be great. Thanks

I'd take a totally different route . It looks like there is that narrowish window in the lounge or dining area -- I'd look at whether you could make that into a ranch-slider ( yes , I am in NZ too -- if you say ranch-slider it confuses the Aussies haha ) . You'd need a structural engineer to make sure that wall isn't load bearing , and also electrical cables are able to be moved , but I'd suspect the load bearing bits would be the corners , and you'd be able to 'open up' that wall onto the deck . While it initially may seem counter-intuitive , you could then take out the door and that other taller window -- close it in and add a couple of small windows , or how about doubling down , and seeing if you can 'open up' between what you call the 2 windows above the stove -- have 1 long flat window along there , OR even do another bay window -- that will add more light , but also by taking out the opening door , you will get an extra metre of space , That way , you can do a different kitchen design -- maybe a wall mount oven , or a pantry , a breakfast bar in a different spot -- basically , plan the kitchen and the window placement at the same time . The advantages would be more usable space , more light , an indoor/outdoor flow but through the other room , not the kitchen . But with more glass actually in the kitchen , it will feel lighter and airier , plumbing won't be as much of a hassle , it will look better . The only possible downside would be the wall you put the ranchslider in will need to be kept clear , as you may lose a bit of space there , but the breeze and openness will make up for that IMO .

Blessing or a curse? We're lucky enough to be gifted an awesome Falcon stove that we are using in our kitchen renovation, but we are in need of color and design advice for our cabinets, counter tops and floors. We want to keep a clean contemporary country feel about the design in the limited space we have. The color of the cooker is cream and the range hood (also gifted) is black. I've attached photos of the 110cm stove as well as the 110cm rangehood and a very basic idea of the floor plan showing the spot where the stove is going to be. Any help, suggestions or advice on cabinet and wall colors and materials for the benchtop and floor is welcomed. Pictures or drawings of your thoughts are much appreciated as visuals are helpful to me.