Firstly...are you sure they are jarrah and not som other more exotic timber? If you are fortunate enough to have a genuine 1932 built cottage I say "Don't Do it!" Just look at the beautiful timber in that floor! It would be sinful to paint it. I have a 1924 cottage with beautiful hoop pine floorboards all from the day it was built. My suggestion is to have the boards sanded and polished. I would not even dare go near them with polyurethane. I have turned back the clock and used the methods of the period of the house...a mix of pale boiled linseed oil and kero. Put it on with a mop or a deck mop or a wool mop leave it soak in. Re-do and leave it soak in,,,( you won't get patches...the floors will just soak it up.) Third coat, add a bit of turps to the mix as a white ant deterrent. Then, when the floors look like they've soaked up enough, get a big old fashioned string mop...if you can find one...or use a deck scrubber and old towels...or even a wad of new ones...100% cotton...its worth it, and rub off as much of the surplus as possible...wear sox so you will notice when the sox do not get oil stained anymore. First go is a long process but you will be really pleased when the floors have had several "drinks". After that you could get just an ordinary floor varnish or oil or just a sealant. Some of the modern wood treatments are really good. Then, every so often do the boards over with your "Oil Mop". You will never find timber like that again and, in my experience, it adds to the value of the house big time. Do what you like to any gyprock and plastered walls but PLEASE love your floorboards and any natural timber...especially from that era. I've been in this old cottage for 32 years. Everyone wants to know where I sourced the "new" floorboards", and who did I get to make my silky oak windows! Hope that helps.

Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

Great choice with the Travertine, my joey just renovated her pool area with it and it looks amazing. I agree with Jenny Torrisi that glass in the archways would make a huge difference. Synthetic turf would be one idea for the courtyard, but it does have to be properly laid. Otherwise if you could extend the Travertine to that area, it would also look amazing. It would contrast well with the plants you have there, and you could add a cantilevered umbrella and couple of large shiny blue pots would add some colour and extra greenery. My big concern though is with those palm trees - quite frankly I find them useless, they provide very little shade, no greenery at ground level and the fonds drop off them indiscriminately and can cause serious injury if someone is in the wrong place when they drop. Lower growing plants in that area would make a huge difference. There used to be a market for established palm trees, not sure if it still applies. As far as the brickwork goes, dark coloured bricks absorb heat, which would make your pool area very hot and the solid walls would do nothing to allow breezes to circulate. I am really anti painting or rendering bricks as that means ongoing maintenance, but would the budget run to cladding the fence at least in a light coloured timber, I think it would give it a more modern look and appear cooler. There is definitely no room for plants, even in pots, but if you are artistic or know anyone who is, you could also attach a waterproof sheeting to one wall and paint a tropical style mural on it. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=tropical+external+wall+murals&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjns-ih0IHQAhVGjZQKHdBHAnkQsAQIQw&biw=1366&bih=638

Thanks everyone for your further comments. No problem about it being an old post, always nice to communicate with people about design solutions/problems. Jilly, I posted some photos on 1st January 2016, they appear further up in the post. Garden Beet Pty Ltd, and Morel Construction Ltd, both of your solutions look great, but our problem still remains the western Queensland sun which is pretty vicious on anything that will either wilt, fade or break down. It was quite a difficult challenge to come up with something that was affordable, workable and durable. I would love to have had plants because I believe they soften large "hard" exterior areas, but we have decided that we will do that with pots around the pool area. Still have that to do, even after all this time. :) Thanks everyone for re-igniting this chat. Jilly, hope you find something that works for you.