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!

Having lived for years with a front loader in the kitchen under counter and now with a good sized laundry I am resenting the laundry for the space it wastes! I would rather have a "european solution" and a good en-suit and walk in :) really it is a matter of how you want to live, in reality if you spend your life considering resale you won't enjoy your home, prospective purchasers will love or hate whatever you do, those that don't want a space solution will be the ones who want the big ensuite and robe anyway! Do it with love then others will love it too, good luck

bigreader I'm okie..thanks for caring ..just need time to readjust kind of walked out on my job..so looking for stuff to fill in my time ..I hate being bored and sitting sround fiddling my thumb been looking for courses to do and taking my camera out.. these I took yesterday in Warrandyte..

Hey Macy, Your dead on right, marble is porous and does need to be sealed though does need regular upkeep to maintain its luster. It can be costly though to do this and can only do this so many times until the marble is worn down. Though even when sealed marble can still easily stain and the sealing isn't always full proof. Porcelain however is a lot more forgiving and isn't porous. Can easily clean and allows for the stronger chemicals like bleach to be used when things get out of hand in the bathroom or kitchen. The main issue is probably grouting and despite what you install the grout will always age and look tired. The advantage with porcelain though is you can continue to clean the grout and tile and not worry about damaging the tile like you do with marble and other porous materials. I've seen many of my clients spend thousands of dollars on marble in high traffic and wet areas when porcelain can achieve the same result without the stress of stains and cleaning. My advice is choose carefully and use marble as a feature rather than in high traffic areas, wet zones and where it cleaning will be an issue. Refer to the more info link under the poll photo for more info. Thanks Paul