Got any photos of the stain colours and the photos of your stair case and interiors?

If you are after a durable and stable timber floor then Spotted Gum is superior to an engineered floor. But there are many others like Turpentine, Blackbutt, Brush Box, Mahogany to name a few. Having said that the installation process for both are completely different. The longest lasting timber flooring system is Australian Hardwoods installed over Hardwood Battens. Having been in timber flooring in Sydney for over 57 years our experience with trying different products always brings us back to Australian Hardwoods. Selecting a grade of timber does not translate into colours it is merely the quality of the timber board ie in the imperfections of nature - Select Grade has less gum vein and grub marks than say Standard Grade - however if you choose a commercial named grade then you get whatever the suppliers offers in their own grading. Oh and by the way be aware that many imported products are products with Formaldehyde which is toxic. But I agree with Paul if you are after uniformity then you need to go with an engineered product, the beauty of hardwoods lies in the variation so that no two timber floors will be exactly the same. Hope this helps a little more - being a tradesman we do not necessarily base our choices on colours but rather performance of the timbers which varies from species to species.

Basically , black and white is lazy , and has been done to death . Of your two inspirational pics , I'd go for the brown one any day , even though IMO the doors look too cheap and plasticy , but it has more colour and character , the stone is way more interesting -- in a good way -- and I think not only will it make a better impression now , but also in 20 years time . If you can get the doors to look like they have a few percent of wood in them haha , not just a plastic and adhesive and sawdust mix , it would be even better ! Similarly , that folded perspex on that hood looks tacky too , and personally if considering it , I'd go glass or ( preferably in that colour combo ) copper , with lights to tie in -- maybe just me , but why spend $20k or $30k , and then save $2k and look tacky ?

The wow factor can be achieved in many ways. You have a big parcel of land at 700sqm. At the moment you have a big box as your house plan with, in my opinion, too many rooms for only 3 occupants. You obviously have a decent budget, so look at a plan that has multifunctional rooms, that will offer the same use but not vacant rooms not being used. You have 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and 4 living areas, for 3 people. Do you have a view, will you ever actually sit at the balcony or just have to sweep it when dust accumulates. Build smart not necessarily big. Are you needing a house with all these rooms, or are you trying to impress friends and family. We all want to impress our friends and family, but a nice looking home with a wonderful FEEL and the WOW factor doesn’t have to be lots of rooms that may not get used.