I wonder if you should look into this a lot further. I find it hard to believe that you can't sell a house in the kind of location you describe, walk away, and find a nice place maybe in one of the more peripheral areas, that will meet your requirements, give you cash in hand, and not touch your $100,000 nest egg. No, you certainly wouldn't end up in the inner city but you could end up in a situation that provides the facilities you need and gives you a financial cushion. That said, my real concern would be how to make this house workable for boarders while preserving your privacy. I think you need to provide a floor plan of what you have for anyone to make anything approaching informed advice.

It's tiny so lends itself to containment and simplicity. I'd shift your mango tree to be a few feet to the front right so it could shade you and hide the view of the boxes. They grow pretty big don't they? The Perth Bricklaying's idea of brick planter boxes is good and I'd surround the sides and front with them. You could have a lower growing hedge all round. Hopefully your neighbour would like a little backdrop to their bit instead of the slabs. By shading from the front you will create less sun and heat for anything growing inside the wall, like the groundcover, and some flowers in pots in the outer corners perhaps. which would be nice to look out on, and obviously watering is the key to their survival. :)

Julie Herbert - thank you sooo much!!! I have seen these trees and wanted to know the names of them :) ...and now i know..I was googling fireworks trees hahaha. Thanks again!! I'm sooo happy now~

Yes , my first thought was pretty much along the lines of everyone else -- a large artwork -- personally , I'd go for an abstract with that 'bladed on' look , in either tones of reds and oranges and yellows , OR several blues and maybe green and silver . Go big -- at least 1.5 metre wide by 1.2 tall . There's some cool mixed media ones available for $400-500 on-line , that have bits of tinfoil and corrugated board and the like added too -- certainly adds some visual impact . Add cushions to match , large candles on the TV cabinet in the same colour pallette , and if you're adventurous , get the blind remade or spray coloured , again keeping to the same pallette to tie it all in . OR as an alternative , how about the wall behind the couch in fake 3D brick wallpaper ( reddy/orange and cream bricks ) , and the wall behind the TV painted an earth toned orange -- the white couch and black TV cabinet and white wall / blind / ceiling would would contrast nicely -- maybe add a larger white faced clock with bright red or orange numbers -- you've gotten a vast improvement on a budget .