Hi ritevibe, It seems that many of your worries are to do with the ongoing maintenance and wear that will inevitably come from renting your property out. Timber would quite obviously look amazing in your space, though the damage and maintenance could be restrictive. Have you investigated timber look 'parquet' tiles? Being porcelain, you are not going to find anything more durable and long lasting. It is definitely worth a look at what's available in this material, I will attach some images for your reference and a link to give you a starting point. (http://www.houzz.com.au/projects/683682/par-ker-timber-parquet-porcelain-tiles) In such an environment, I think cost effectiveness would probably be better understood over the life of the floor, as vinyls and floorboards are going to require significant amounts of maintenance, are going to cop a bit of a beating and are not going to last as long as tile. If you want more info I am happy to help out, Best of luck!

I love a good wool carpet and wouldn't have anything else. Colour choice would depend on the effect you want in your room, the lighting and what colours you have in furniture and furnishings. There are not a huge range of colour choices but a cream or light tan should compliment your bricks nicely and not restrict your other colour choices. Don't be afraid to use pale colours in wool, I have had both light and dark colours and find the light colours show less fluff and dirt and are easier to keep clean.

I think this will look fabulous! Very modern and stylish. Looks like you gave a good amount of natural light so it wont darken the place too much.

I laid a mid-dark grey/light charcoal in my sons bedroom 2yr ago. Every bit of lint, fluff does show. The dirt didn't though. We are renovating and this room was recently inundated with rain as our roof is off :-( we now need to replace this. I will be using the same colour again....now I need to figure out what it was!!! I vaguely remember 'granite'. It is also a twist-loop with a pattern, so doesn't show tread marks. The place we are renting has light cream throughout. OMG. Terrible- the dirt. I know what I'd rather see. Give me lint anyday!