Hi Deco Everything that I have collected part from the dining set which was an investment has been from garage sales. So I am quite happy to part with everything... I think the most expensive was $10.00. My problem is that I cant focus because you are right. I just have too much going on in different styles. Going with the style of the dining table - where do you think I should head with rug choices from everything I am reading - it says I should zone out the room?? I am staying away from leather couches and heading towards a cotton fabric. I really just want the space to be comfortable. Thanks for the tip about the ideabook. I've been collecting here and then, but mainly watching how people solve their dilemmas. I look but don't comment much.

Can I suggest looking into having a quantity surveyor assess your property (and you can claim the cost of having this done). They will provide a depreciation schedule for you which will tell you how much each item will depreciate in value over the maximum number of years you can claim. If an item is at the end of its depreciable life, they will tell you what you are able to replace. Even if you only have tenants for a short while, you are able to claim depreciation for a pro-rata period that your asset is income producing. What all this means for you in terms of design - there may be ways to improve the look of your property in line with what you will want it to look like when you eventually move in, which could gain you a tax benefit. Of course, you have to have the $$ to spend on it in the first place. Oh - and in terms of furniture - do you know about Casey Auctions in Hallam? they are close by and you may pick up some really good bargains. I know we did!

Samantha Hammer, very excited for you getting a new kitchen! I waited 14 years to finally get my new kitchen and am in love with it... the kitchen we had before didn’t function at all and was all brown with salmon pink benchtops and very enclosed and depressing! We knocked down a wall and totally redesigned the entire layout. (the first two kitchen places I had out to give me a quote totally mocked my design and told me I had to stick to the layout I had. The third place built the kitchen to exactly the plans and measurement that I drew up myself and I am so glad I stuck to my guns and persisted until I found a kitchen place that listened to me!) Now we have a kitchen that is bright and open and I love! Stick to your guns when it comes to your new kitchen and go with what you want and what you believe works best for you! :)

Tribble - I think we're seeing this from two different perspectives. I want a house that isn't going to go up in flames while I'm inside it. I'm prepared to accept that the house might go up in flames, but if it gives me good time to get away, that's okay with me. Random embers are not going to set a fire-resistant wood deck on fire; it will take a lot more than that. And by the time the fire is that powerful, I would be long out of there. It was the "stay and fight" mantra, not fire resistant decks, that killed people in those bush fires back in 2009. By the way, the fire requirements where we were (NSW) required roof sprinklers. Turn on the sprinklers, and the deck and everything around it, the sides of the house, etc, were all going to be hosed down, and nobody had to be there to do it. Just turn on the pump and get the heck out of there. You might want to look into those, because for me, the knowledge that we had those sprinklers was a big security feature. We also had fire resistant screens all along the side of the house exposed to potential fire, so, again, it would have been difficult for embers to get in or under the house. And yes, we had requirements that the subfloor be protected by non-combustible walls. They required concrete blocks to protect the subfloor area. A massive bushfire would have taken out the house, maybe, but there was enough there to protect us long enough for us to get out. And that's what matters in the end. I don't believe you can totally fire-proof anything except a totally concrete and steel structure, with nothing but concrete and steel inside it. 9/11 showed that a concrete and steel building will still burn because of the combustibles inside it. So, it's a matter of risk assessment based on the best advice you can get, and that often comes from the guys in the RFA. The OP should find out what the actual regulations are, and then talk to the guys that actually deal with the fires, and base here decisions on that.