We have raked ceilings in our new split level extension that follows the fall of the land (and in the rooms that were part of the skillion sections of the old cottage) and I love the sense of space they give and also the fact that the inside reflects what is happening on the outside of the house. We have used ceiling boards (painted white – I didn't want to feel like I was living in a cigar box) both in the old cottage and in the new section and they certainly add an enormous amount of visual interest to the rooms as well. However, I endorse the comments about the added trickiness of light fittings. Pendants with rods are out and pay particular attention to the little rose/canopy thingies that connect pendants to the ceiling – make sure that they sit flush with the ceiling and don't have weird unsightly bits that you can suddenly see because of the angled ceiling. We have successfully used LED downlights with a recessed diffuser and dimmer switches to make sure there is no glare but if the raked angle isn't too extreme they are a definite possibility.

We had a house with a timber ceiling - it is a tricky decision. If it is a cheap display home build perhaps cover it, but if the quality is good it is a much harder decision. I think it looks good now and could be made very interesting. Also that look is "back". Make sure your lighting is very good and the heaviness will dissappear somewhat. The floor is lovely.

Indoor plants, like any gardening, is trying and seeing. Choose some indoor plants you like, put them around and see what happens. If they stop looking healthy then move, water more or less or feed then rinse and repeat. This is both the best and worst part of any gardening. Can be obsessive. You'll only get a great result through long trial and error or dumb luck. Unless your a professional I guess ;).

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. Bowmandrum , I definitely agree you need to tick as many boxes as possible for potential buyers. In answer to a few of your questions, we are in Sunny Brisbane, so the weather is not really an issue. However, our dilemma between a pool and spa is the very difficult access, the size of machinery dictates what we can actually accomplish. Hence, from our point of view it very much is a case of asking the question, if we can only manage a spa - will people appreciate it/want it or is it not worth it. Based on feedback with the poll it looks the spa will be worth the investment.