Wow! Thanks for all the advice. Yes I have heard that Angel Face is susceptible to black spot, but it seems to do very well here in Perth - maybe because it is so hot and dry here? And we get many hours of warm sunshine in the day. Luckily, I picked mine up super-cheaply and they look extremely healthy (for now!) so I'll see how I go. If I have to shovel-prune them, it won't be too much money down the drain. I just love the blooms and the fragrance, so fingers crossed! I'm going to look up all the combinations everyone suggested, but they all sound great and in keeping with my theme. Thanks so much! When I get everything in, I'll have to post a couple of photos, to show you how it all worked out. I had a bad car accident 3 weeks ago, and my back is a bit sore, so I'm pacing myself - a couple of hours every two or three days. The planting is so rewarding, I'm really enjoying it. I've got a row of 9 standard Seductions, planted with John Clare. Catmint to go in front. I've got a row of Pittosporums (screenmaster) screening another low wall. In front are Windermere, Molineux, Abraham Darby (plus waiting on Leonardo Da Vinci), dwarf lavender, pink and white daisies, mauve nemesia. I've got a Pierre de Ronsard on a wall near my front gate, with a bed of small cottage plants in front (stocks, foxgloves, violets etc). I'm going to put a thornless climber up amongst my wisteria. I have an old bed with a couple of camellias, azaleas and a fuschia for a bit of winter colour. I'm getting 3 garden arches, and I will train over them Zephirine Drouhin, Kathleen Harrop and Lamarque. It's spring here now, so I'm hoping that by next spring and the one after, it will all be really established. Thanks again.

Thanks for all your comments everyone :) Marylut i dont think the wall is actually blocking any light really, its just that with the door closed (even though the room is light enough) its really quite obvious that there is a closed door (if that makes any sense!), we thought maybe with the wall taken out it would just open it up some more. Jan, yes an exterior balcony. The balcony you can see from the pictures wraps around to behind the wall behind the fire place and meets up to a sliding door which opens into the dining area. Elizabeth, it would be amazing if it were a lake! But its actually just the view of the valley and houses below us. The lounge connects back to the entry way. So if you look at the first photo "View from the front door" just to the left is the door into the lounge (that goes down a few steps to meet the dining room again. There isn't anything under the floor, its a stilt home so underneath is dead space where we store our fire wood :) gnu36- If we swapped the dining room and lounge then the area where the dining room is now will have two lounges as in the picture you can see little stairs going up and that goes into what is to become a formal sitting room. Sonni1- thank you, we absolutely love it and are so excited at all the possibilities of improving it! Zmith- thank you too, as above we do love it! Thank you for your opinion, we would definitely need a balustrade otherwise I dont see how we would make the stairs safe from the dining room side. So all in all, i think the question has been answered- we will not be consulting a pro as it seems unlikely it would make as huge a difference as we hoped and its probably better to spend our money in other areas. Thanks again for everyones comments, despite feeling some of them were pretty rude and too abrupt than necessary i will definitely be posting again if i need some more help with other areas. Thanks all.

it is a small family room (living space for furniture is about 15x 13), so don't want to add shelves I think... The niche is centered but previous owners have the TV way off. re: covering the hole, my husband and I are on two different pages! I'd like to cover it and my husband doesnt, because he worries about placement of furniture. my question would be, how would you cover the fireplace to suit the style of the house? easier fix, the better.

"I tend to lean more traditional/conservative with some pieces such as furniture, but I don’t mind fun splashes of colorful modern artwork that I can switch out when I grow tired of it. I hope that makes sense. I love the pottery barn look." This is what you said, and actually this is the way I encourage my clients to think (unless they have unlimited funds to change out more permanent items every few years. 1) So, hearing this, you should not buy the coral rug, unless you want a coral theme for 15 years. Instead, buy a textured rug (or you can live with or no rug at all (and spend the $ elsewhere). 2) I would choose a piece of modern art for the buffet and go from there 3) You say you like modern art, but I see none, with the exception of Bessie that is more contemporary that actually modern. But, at least not traditional 4) Stay away from too many word signs. I already see 2. That trend has sort of come and gone Just being honest with you. It begins to look like a Hobby Lobby store. 5) The hug clock thing has also come and gone. It also looks very traditional. 6) Overall, you have too many large dominant things on your walls. 7) Start with the dining room and make that fantastic and move from there. 8) Table near the stairs is overloaded and the checkered theme looks like something you should move away from. I would eliminate that table altogether. 9) Once you choose art, I would put something more colorful in the center of the table. 10) If you do want a runner, that can be looked at, but I'd get something that fits the length of the table.......does not run over the ends. Consider something unique. Here are some photos I pulled right off PB. Notice they all have dark tables and neutral rugs with a pop of color. Traditional and modern mixed. Can change the art at any time and have a totally different look. Cannot do that with that coral rug. You are locked for 15 years.