Looks great - I love how the screens have given you a little more privacy. I can imagine it all lit up with a string of fairy lights or a big lantern. Perfect for an evening meal in summer!

Hello Fiona, It looks like you have a place which could be nice with a little care. In answer to your questions: As many coats as it takes. Paint a coat, look at it when it's dry, if you can still see the paint underneath it needs another coat. Usually 2-3 coats are needed but more for covering really bright colours like that small patch of purple in the living room. I can't suggest a specific brand for another country. A folding screen / room divider would definitely work without causing problems. They are not difficult to make or you can buy one. You absolutely should not surround it on all sides without checking what it is and how much airflow it needs. Probably treated wood for outside furniture. Plastic is cheaper but doesn't look that good and can risk being blown off the terrace in high winds. Metal is more expensive and more likely to get stolen if there's a chance of that. Maybe look out for second hand stuff? Floor lamps would be the obvious choice for light. You can get cheap ones from somewhere like IKEA or again maybe second hand. This is the biggest problem you've listed. Here in the UK the laws for renting say bathrooms and kitchens need extractor fans. Perhaps check if there's a similar law there? If there isn't, you can ask the landlord if you can fit one and if you're lucky bargain for them to pay part of the cost. They are not that expensive. You probably won't convince them to help you. Those look like the remains of roots from ivy or something similar, and might be hard to get off. You could probably rent a pressure washer and do that wall and the terrace at the same time. A couple of notes on paint: - You don't need washable paint for every wall. The hall will need it, and the kitchen and bathroom (or special kitchen/bathroom paints, definitely try to get that for the bathroom) - Yes white is the cheapest colour to buy though Magnolia (yuck!) is as cheap here. White is also the worst colour to paint with as you get 'snow blind' and can't tell what you've already painted. White can also look quite cold. One thing you can do is have a painting/decorating party with your friends. You supply plenty of food and drink and they spend a few hours painting. You can get a lot done in a short time this way and it's quite fun to do. It's a lot less daunting than trying to do it all yourself.

I agree, as it’s a rental a nice outdoor rug (I have one!) can really pretty Up an area and some nice big pots with, say, a Japanese Maple and some summer bedding like Geraniums in them would add structure and colour. It looks like you have a row of Christmas trees all along the front of the patio (the brown one looks dead) which make your patio a little claustrophobic, so you could trim the tops down to give you some some air and let you at least look out. Nothing too drastic as conifers don’t grow from old wood stems. I would be wary of painting the deck as so many deck paints are not long lasting - I speak from experience.

Well, Gary, you have got some great ideas coming in. I turned 70 last year and my family in 1967 bought a brand new townhouse that was an exciting place to live. It had three split-level floors making about 7 levels (not quite designed by Escher!) My advice is look at the inspiration for British 60s houses - that came from 1950s America (and earlier). Draw out the essence. Think: Clean lines / Timber / Brick / Harmony / Balance / Simplicity (and I am sure you are!) You are so right to steer away from the grey format you describe. Attaching 1) a contemporary colour chart for door inspiration and 2) images solely for the cohesive simplicity of window shapes.) These are some thoughts that I have: 1) The porch: Could it be constructed out of SIPs - thereby giving more insulation? Possibly cheaper, easier and cleaner to build with than brickwork? The side panels could be clad with cedar that just wraps round onto the front wall each side - maybe 15cm? (To give depth.) Maybe a very slightly sloping crimped zinc roof on top? Look at the front width of the porch and pretty much divide it into two. Have perhaps a door with a square clear glass pane on the right (like your image above) AND make the adjacent window the same size square aperture as in the door. Maybe some cedar cladding under this window? 2) The other windows: If these could be based upon the same square format (as above) and tip / tilt. The kitchen window could comprise two tip/tilt opening almost square windows and these be echoed in the first floor bedroom above. The bathroom window naturally lends itself to a square pane. NO frosted or reeded glass anywhere! ...Even if it is 'authentic'! 'Roller blinds' were used a lot then and provided an interesting layer to the windows plus a nice slice of colour! Surely no-one would consider vertical strip blinds!!!!???? 3) The front door colour: (I really will have to 'get over' the fact that PVC double-glazed doors cannot be painted like a good old wooden door...!) So, my recollection is that mid-sixties colours in Britain were actually not quite so primary as we think but often a little bit 'slubby'. This makes them more interesting I think. ...Ignore the contradictory red doors below!! 🤣 Images of evocative clean styles - windows mainly.