nice house. where is it? i would start with a floor plan (measure the exterior and interior space and include window locations and heights) and then draw it up. then i would add a roof plan (draw the ridges, valleys and eaves on a piece of paper over the floor plan). then you want to get up into the attic space (if any) and find out if the roof rafters are bearing on any of the interior walls. this will let you know which walls are structural and which are simply partition walls (no structure on top of them). a floor plan will help others advise you about flow. if you want to knock down a bearing wall you will have to put in a column support or a structural header. 150 sq. m would be 1350 s.f. for U.S. posters. maybe there is an architecture student in your area that can help get it organized? it would be a good project for them...

Hi I’m also a developer/PRL, and the best price of advice I was given when I was starting out was to remember that on low to mid range profit projects (if not all projects) controlling your spending is the most important thing to remember, and every £ you spend is a £ less profit. I too hate uPVC windows and would not have them on my own home, but many people do like them and see them as a positive when it comes to buying/selling – just look at the houses either side of your house, and I assume along the whole of the street; people do like them! With my developer head on I would suggest that you try to work with what you already have - clean the uPVC frames inside and out with a solvent based professional cleaner, these really shift dirt and marks, and to a certain extent make scratches less noticeable as it removes the ingrained dirt. Replace the interior handles – new ones can be found online at around £1.99 each if you bulk buy. Replace any worn seals with a new universal fitting seal (approx £16 for 20m). If any of the windows are blown/misted, look at replacing the sealed glazed unit instead of the whole window, again the sealed units can be found quite cheaply online. With regards to your porch, it looks like it is integrated with the front window, so removing it would be a time consuming and costly job, so I would leave it as is and possibly look at just replacing the outer door, ideally one with a glazed panel to give a bit more light. I know you said you don't like uPVC doors, however, composite doors are more expensive. As you won't be living there does it really matter if you install a white uPVC door, as long it is the most tasteful and least offensive one you can find. An alternative would be to install fully glazed French doors with both sides opening, which would possibly mean that the doors can open inwards. All of these can be bought online and be fitted yourself – however, you will need to check if you will require a FENSA certificate issuing for the work, otherwise this could cause issues when you come to sell. I wouldn't advise painting the uPVC, as it is really difficult to obtain a good finish, and nothing looks worse than poorly finished paintwork either inside or outside. As others have said, remove the nets, put up some nice curtains (these can be removed and reused on other projects), don't worry regarding privacy, as again you will not be living there, and it will allow more light into the room. If the privacy angle does bother you, you can always put a plain white voile (costs around £2 per m, and a couple of £ for the rod) up at the window with little or no fullness, which gives a more modern, less fussy finish. I would move the dustbins to the rear of the property, and put a couple of large pots in the front garden – I tend to use Olive trees as they can be shaped and don't mind too much if they aren't watered regularly – these can also be removed and used on other projects. Hope this helps – and good luck for the future!

Just reading about this in a trade magazine ! - Congratulations on being the Designer Kitchen and Bathroom Awards Winner of Best use of Materials !!! - Well done John McNeil of Haus 12 !!

It's interesting the mention of Insta. We were talking about this the other day - what looks good on a tiny square does not necessarily translate to real life. Things need to have impact on a small square to draw the eye, but in real life you need to live in a space and feel comfortable. I think we have all been sucked in at times! Anyway, Forza's previous mention about Skimming Stone is a good one. Greys tend to be blue based, green based or violet based. Blue based can look urban and tend towards cool, green based or violet based may be the way to go. Little Greene Slaked Lime is good, Skimming Stone woodwork, Elephants Breath walls Farrow and Ball etc.