My Favourite Make-overs!

2/ The Huge White Room!

Once again, this was an enormous space: with just $AU1,500 to spend, my challenge was to make the most of the magnificent view, include an informal sitting area and inject a bit of colour somehow!

With the large dining table pushed to one end of the room, I set about creating a modular lounge system that would sit easily around the walls with a couple of matching ottoman in the centre.

To echo the deep tones of the exquisite dining table, I had a feature wall of 600mm square panels constructed behind the new lounge. 3 silver desk lamps mounted on the wall brought it to life.

The rest of the walls were finished with a Dulux Suede Effects paint in "Cactus Green". This bought the outside bush land indoors: by painting the window frames in a Dulux "Deep Onyx" (almost black) I removed any hint of a barrier between the room and the outside.

I wanted to break up the large space visually without dividing the room: I decided upon a "timber rug" and a large urn of native flowers in the middle. 3-Ply panels were glued across two sheets of MDF on the floor: a 75mm bullnose architrave was used to create a border 200mm outside the paneling. The floor stained and sealed with a Cabot's Gloss Floor Sealer and washed white river pebbles used to fill the gap.

The urn and plinth are of concrete construction and available at all large garden and landscape suppliers. After an undercoat of Bright Orange, they too were painted with the "Deep Onyx" and rubbed back ever so slightly before totally dry. This gives a rusting cast iron look to the concrete! (Remember, this is for interior use, so the acrylic paint will suffice: different story if it has to last in the weather!)

Add an orange table runner and some scatter cushions and the room is complete: Classy, comfortable and … wow, look at that view!