I agree that terracing is the way to go. Try and look at some picture online of Italian gardens. They use a lot of terracing in places like cinque terre and the tuscan regions. It might help to get a pro for the privacy landscaping or try to find varieties of flowering trees with will grow tall instead of full. Stone or possibly even tinted concrete (if on a tight budget) are easy are and should last a while. You can use potted plants and even potted fruits and vegetables. The best thing about potted plants is you can move them around and get a different look when you want a quick change, also fewer weeds and if you need to do anything to them like re-pot you can place them on a table to do it which is easier on the lower back than a traditional garden.

Ah but cloudpants what are you making it real in comparison with? Who's to say that not painting them wouldn't look far better? Before you say anything....I made no comment either way...and yes it does look really good!

No problem gabrieledwards. The marine ply detail is fantastic, but can be expensive, so I suggested a PVC edging called 2mm abs which can come in a ply edge look, this means you can have standard faced laminate doors which are wipe able and more durable han marine ply with the edging they will look like the real deal. I'd go with this on the base cabinets for practicality using block colour, and then build the wall cabinets in marine ply. I even like the idea of ply pegboard backing in open cubbies, and float them on the wall rather tHan to the ceiling, as this was the usual in this era and suits a relaxed fitout. I'd consider your island to have a steel frame like a prep bench, maybe movable on castors for a flexible space, and the feel frame again makes it feel more beach shack than boho chic! I'd also contrast a flat faced fitout, meaning no profile doors with vj board or lining board panels on the wall. Applied vertically they are reminiscent of this era, and of holiday homes, although the modern day version is far more impressive. This detail could I vertically lift your space, drawing your eye upwards towards the marine ply cabinetry, and could integrate he kitchen with other rooms adjoining this space. Vertical boards or planked walls are very 70s, very coastal, and also very linear (on trend). The key to replicating style eras, is to emphasize and interpret the good, but leave out the bad. There are some unique printed laminates in the innovations range which offer specialty laminates. Printed, patterns embossed etc, and one called bold clone could look great as a backing to cabinets in your Brunswick kitchen. As a kitchen designer myself, I love to use a specialty or standard colour laminate in the top drawers of my kitchens, perhaps the cutlery drawer as it introduces a personality and is often a detail that is overlooked. Laminex also have a new board product which is suitable for doors in gloss white, which is both magnetic and a whiteboard! And a matte blackboard door. It is double backed, so great for pantry doors. My main emphasis would be on highlighting clever use of space and form. Use integrated lighting on the upper overheads, even led strip lighting under your kickers to highlight the perimeter and give it a lively, ambient glow. Have a look at the innovations range cor some cool colour options. Here's a link to bold clone or pure clone which is white. Maybe the pure clone in he shack, and bold clone (black) in Brunswick. A nod to your stamp on both. The bold clone can be interpreted many ways, and would suit industrial, warehouse looks, to really architectural inner city fitouts. Urban chic. http://www.laminex.com.au/products.php#!/specialty/innovations/bold-clone

I guess all people don't have the same budget with which they can purchase a home so the demands of the people who have less drives the 'cookie cutter' home I guess it is then up to the home owner to stamp their own individuality in both garden and inside the home so that each and everyone who enters said home can express how much they love the owners sense of style, these days if you look about you can take a lot of great ideas and you can buy items that look very similar from a 'cheaper' end shop to achieve a lux look that can also be enhanced by buying a few 'good or lux items to uplift the style. I am lucky to have a bluestone villa on a fair piece of surrounding land which we have lawn and garden which over the years, inside have decorated as well as built on making sure the features are in keeping with the age of the home (over 100 years old) but yet bringing it into the modern comfort we all desire. I say if you want to do design of any kind go for it, don't wonder if, but in saying that make it both lux and affordable and I am sure you will gain many clients, each person has their own ideas that can be incorporated or enhanced. Here in Adelaide there is SO much 3-5 story and more, what I call 'boxes' and even in the inner city area where I live a few streets away the road is being taken over with these ugly monstrosities but I then think that it is so expensive for a lot of people to even own a house that the 'boxes' are driven by the need for housing by those who want to own but can't afford a house. We have many antiques that suit our home but these days people don't want antiques as the homes are so modern, I have added more eclectic pieces with our antiques that suit so it is not all old looking, I love my home and how it looks and no matter what, I think that is all most people aspire to, a home they can be proud of and a place to live a life with family around them. Alisa go find your inner artistic side, I lived my life as an art restorer and LOVED every minute of it, it is feeding the inner soul and gave me so much pleasure as well as pleasing the clients, that never gets old, good luck if you go down that path.