Hi Jen and everyone else who has made a comment. You always need to consider your personal use in a space, if there is a lot of water involved tiles a definitely the best choice. Timber look alike tiles just like the Hampton style is a bit fashionable at present like many things were before. What is really important is to really love what you select or what someone may select for you. If you love the selections then they will work for you for many years to come and if they are proportionately correct and balanced and not clashing with other choices; suiting your climatic and general environment and effectively in harmony with there surrounds then these choices will work for others too down the track. Poor choices and poor design which is not well thought through is really the true reason for why things seem date or they just do not work. So all in all Jen timber tiles may be the best choice based on what you have told us about your space.

Spotted Gum is a great hard wearing timber with a Janka rating of 11. This means it is high density timber and won't dent as easily as softer timbers like American Oak. A polyurethane finish is the hardest and most durable timber floor coating and it comes in gloss satin and mat. The lower sheen's are more forgiving if you you have pets and young children. Bamboo is another hard product but only comes in short lengths so you would need to take that look into consideration when selecting. Some clients don't like the look of the short boards and consider it a cheap look. Others prefer the longer floor boards of timber. If you do choose bamboo make sure that you find out the coating used and whether it can be sanded and re coated down the track, as all timber and bamboo floors will need a touch up especially if you have pets. Some bamboo floors can not be sanded due the coating used. Hope this helps. Our website may offer some inspiration. Good Luck http://budgetfloorsanding.com.au/

Thanks Melt, sorry I misread your post. We actually intend to do something similar to your Narrabundah friend in that we are knocking out the pantry and laundry to double the size of the room and get some light in. So it's good to know that keeping the stove will work in a bigger space.  We have also been wondering what to do with the gap when we remove the upright stove, so a structure with plants and cookbooks sounds sounds  sounds perfect. Thanks, its  good to hear a success story about keeping the old Canberra stove. We've seen a modern renovation that left the stove in a corner of a walk through area where it just looked odd, so integrating it into a country style kitchen is our goal too.

Ok, so jarrah in outdoor room is bought, cant be changed. Archtiect wants sikkens mahogany stain as protectant. interior trims are negotiable; Archtiect suggested mdf for ceiling cornices and leaving jarrah for doors, sills and skirting and staining ceiling beam walnut. Fans can be changed. stone for fire place cant. kitchen is black ikea woodgrain, no counter tops , splashbacks or window treatment chosen yet. floors are paid but negotiable on wood type. Window frames and sliding door are actually ”stormfront” (greeny grey) not black. Paint choice was lexicon 1/4 chosen to tone down red and yellow timber has backfired but I guess I will have to live with it for a while now. I have put out request for interior designer on houzz but no response yet Yes, I guess I was leaning toward an Aussie bush theme initially hence all the wood. My thninking being, to do something that wasnt in fashion then it couldnt go out of fashion. Now, all I want is something that works and doesnt clash! All suggestions greatly appreciated.