Hello everyone, I'm back. As they never did answer my email, I went to the Melbourne supplier's shop and discovered that, although I do like Kerlite, it is VERY expensive. They gave me the phone number of their tiler, I phoned him, he was going to come out to give me a quote, but never did come. In the end, I didn't chase him, because he did tell me on the phone how much he charges per meter to lay them. :-) Looks like I'll be going with the suggestion of Dytecture and replace just the kitchen area tiles. Now I have a new question. I had a few people out here and am getting contradictory advice. Some say I should strip the existing kitchen, lay the tiles, THEN put the kitchen on top of the tiles ._They_ say it would look better, less cutting of tiles needed, so no patchwork near the cupboards and also the cupboards would be on "higher ground" in case of a flood. The other camp tells me that doing it this way would make the job take a lot longer, and it is better for the cupboards to "sit" below the tiles, sort of a reinforcement and the difference in the look would hardly be noticeable. _They_ say that the people advising laying the tiles first are just being lazy - it is just easier for them. Of course, I would also need more tiles if I put them under the cupboards as well, so there would be added expense as well. While, getting it done as quickly as possible is definitely an attractive proposition, that is not my only criteria, nor would having to supply a few more tiles worry me that much. What do you think?

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!

Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

Looks great from what is shown, but could you post a photo showing the whole kitchen please? I am having the same dilemma and very keen to see more of your tiles.