If the entrance/door to this room is near the front door (as well as a glass front door as suggested above) what about a glass door into the room, (or an internal window) it can be frosted or even semi-opaque white for example to act as a window. With respect to the neighbour's driveway - if you make it a narrow or high window so ou can't look out onto them it might be ok. Worth having a chat with your local planning dept (at your local council if you are in the UK), worth going in to see them or inviting them out to have a look. From a waking up perspective I have used a sunrise lamp in the past which I preferred in winter to an alarm which uses noise. You set the time to wake up and the duration of the sunrise e.g. 30, 45, 60 mins and it slowly gets brighter until you wake up and turn it off. If you don't in time it finally rang a small alarm. The one I had was made of a special glass to mimic daylight but you can also get others made of plain white glass or maybe plastic, worth a look. Here's two from John Lewis and Amazon (I searched under 'sunrise lamp') ... http://www.johnlewis.com/lumie-bodyclock-go-75-wake-up-light/p231686152?sku=231686152&kpid=231686152&s_kenid=56c2265d-85e4-411b-84d5-312ec2a63635&s_kwcid=404x68076&tmad=c&tmcampid=73&kpid=231686152 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002TEXEAI/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000YSFS6Y&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0GVXPVJQV1AF513935AR I would also go for a light but calm colour (not too 'bright', not white) something with a bit of depth but too bright might be a bit much and too dark a bit coffin-like. Would be good to see a photo of the actual space, dimensions etc

The biggest problem with this question is that it's all so deeply subjective. That said, I used to live in an ex-council maisonette in London, and the way I dealt with it was painting all of the walls in bright colours. I had turquoise in the sitting room, yellow hallway and stairs, a pink bedroom, a lime green loo... but I tied it all together by painting the skirting boards and coving throughout the property in bright matt white. The skirting and coving was very simple and had been put in retrospectively (albeit not by me) - in fact I think the coving was made of some sort of polystyrene, so I imagine it was incredibly cheap, although it didn't look it - and I think it made a huge difference. So I'd certainly consider adding that, as it makes the room look more "finished" instead of the cheap standard that council flats usually aim for. For me, this was transformative. As I say - it's so subjective. But although it's undeniably a faff to paint a room, remember that it's also cheaper than buying new furniture, and easier to replace and start again! For what it's worth, I now rent out that flat and recently had it painted in a neutral off-white colour, with new grey carpets. It looks smart, but not nearly so characterful as it previously did. Like I say: subjective. But the important thing, to me, is walking into a place and it immediately feeling like home. Be brave and paint those walls ;)

It works perfectly Val, don't give up yet, especially with the cost of moving. Jonathan has given you a larger living room & hasn't changed the bathroom at all. On top of that as you said the kitchen was cramped, he's added a Laundry room. If you want a bigger bathroom and a better kitchen then do this instead:-

Thought I knew that nice warm light in the photos. I'm from Melbourne but now in the UK and this is the UK Houzz site your on :) A few things that are specific to AU to check. When I last renovated I discovered due to building regulations we had to have a laundry sink near the washing machine. On a garage conversion. Here's some info I found: Since you're converting a non-habitable space into a habitable space, you will need to get a building permit for your garage conversion. An architect or building designer can tell you if your garage is suitable for conversion and what the requirements are. These may include: Ceiling height of at least 2.4 metres, which may involve structural changes The concrete slab must be waterproof, termite resistant and perfectly level if you're using certain garage floor coverings Walls must be waterproofed and insulated Windows must cover an area at least 10% the size of the floor area Walls within 900mm of property boundaries must be fire rated, which may limit the location of windows and doors Many local councils across Australia require that a home has provision for covered parking, so a garage conversion might not be possible unless you have a second garage or add a carport first. I'd check with the council on that. After all that I think taking out your wall between the kitchen and laundry will give you the best value for your extra space. And if you want more Australia specific advice you can pop the question onto the Australian Houzz site. 👍🏻