Looking at these homes, purely as investment, the interior is adequate and up to date to rent and earn you income,however they also provide the perfect canvas to adapt student approach and learn some skills in them. Start with salmi ging through and prepare a layout, draw a p,an with as much measurement as possible, take photos and record these for future reference if it becomes a rental. Then remove and rip out anything you're wanting o update or improve, demo only what you know you have budget to replace, and nothing that requires a sign off trade, ie electric, plumbing or gas or structural. Just aesthetics. Then prep work. Patch, prime and undercoat, so you can paint all surfaces, this will be great hands on practice and build confidence on other jobs that stem from it. Simple hole patching, soft plaster patches, sanding, replacing skirtings etc is where youll learn basics, once you paint it, a blank canvas, then its a matter of working out floors! Starting from the ground p, replace carpets, or boards and learn to haggle trades and suppliers with quotes to supply and install, with investment, time is money, so know where to do it yourself,and where to hire out. Of course, maybe with the first of he two, try whatever you can, and then use these skills on apt2. I would use this time to focus on a flat pack DIY kitchen, these layouts are easy, and I would consider only replacing Benchtops as the cabinets look quite new and neutral, then a new splash back, tap ware and appliances. Bathrooms, laundries any wet areas will need consideration, water proofing, fit out, tiling are all things not to mess with, too costly. So hire the pros. Window treatments can be ordered online say enough, and then furnish it to suit.

i also think the outside stairs work better for coming home with the groceries in good weather and, having lived in a similar upstairs bedroom overheating can be a problem: use the best insulation in the ceiling, roof and walls including between the ceiling of the living areas and the floor of the top level (our top level bathroom used to get a hot floor from the heat in the roof space). Shade cloth roller blinds or shutters on the north facing window. (do you like the French balcony?) will improve comfort levels and check out "stack effect" ...having a window open downstairs and a window open on the opposite side of the house upstairs will flush out the house as hot air rises..install closing doors on stairs and hallways to reduce draughts and contain heat in cold weather and add ceiling fans to increase air circulation

Hi siriuskey, In answer to your previous question, no we are not having as big of an oven/cooktop shown in the design. Ours will be a 60cm induction cook top, with a 60cm built in oven underneath. I'm guessing this is just the picture they have in their design software. It seems a bit distorted anyway. At this stage we are not sure if we will be repainting the kitchen & dining space. I guess it depends on what colours we go for, as it was only recently repainted. It is really only the one wall in the lounge room that is still natural wood, the remainder of the house has been painted in the light grey. The previous owners had already started to organise the reno, just before we bought the house. So we have a 'custom' flat pack that they order, to replicate the current kitchen layout. They choose StyleLite for the doors in either Frost or Arctic (http://stylelite.net/product_info.html) and it is a high gloss. One of the kitchen companies is happy to take away our flat pack and modify it to suit our new design. This would save us money on cabinet costs and get it out of our way. So, for these reasons we are keen to stay with the white cabinetry. Originally we were thinking of a black stone top with a little metallic flick in it (http://www.caesarstone.com.au/colour/6100-night-sky) but we are now considering a less stark colour like a grey (https://www.silestoneusa.com/color/marengo/) which would be perhaps more of an industrial style look? All of the poles in the lounge room, dining and kitchen are the blue colour, which we are keen to keep if possible so that the entire space has some continuity. Plus with cream coloured carpet, we don't want to repaint the lounge room ones! They are different colours in the other rooms. Having said all this, we are open to ideas and plan to take our time getting the design and colour scheme right, so we don't make it too modern and detract from the feel of the house.

Could you try taping up some large pieces of coloured paper (the colour you like) in an area that you see from different angles and areas that look into the kitchen area. Live with it for few days or week; then go out of your comfort zone and tape up, say black and do the same. Check it out, live with it and see if that might give you some inspiration on the colour. I’m not keen on the stripe but I’m also not keen on the fridge. Bigger and more modern.