Plants or shelving are both great however an idea not mentioned yet very suitable could be a coat hanging area with a small table for house keys etc if you do not currently have that sort of area? This creates a foyer and is a good place for a quick chat with people you do not want to invite further into the house. Shelving would almost close the space and make the area smaller (visually) and plants may not be something you like. Good luck

There are so many options today on flooring. Engineered timber products, bamboo, solid timber overlay, timber look tiles... What is important to know first is what you are laying over, how solid is it, how level is it, how even is it? Given that you have a number of different top finishes, it sounds like you may have different sub floor structures. Whatever you go for will be determined by how stable the substrate is and what structures you are laying over.

Depends on budget. Many dwellings (probably majority actually) don't setdown the floor structure to end up with a flat floor throughout. It costs extra money to achieve for something that is to most people un-noticable. High quality dwellings do this all the time however. If you're going to that level of detail you should also look at setting down the floor edge where the sliding/stacking/bifold doors are (if you have them) so that the door sill is flush. This something you'll see continuously more often than the bathroom/ens floors. It was mentioned on 'The Block' recently and I've now had numerous clients asking about it and/or presuming that this how all floors are done.

I would suggest keeping the brick fire place with a clean up to keep the character. Agree paint the ceiling panels white however keep the beams as the are (if in good condition) to keep the character of the home. Paint the remaining walls white or light grey. The 1/2 brick white wall and timber paneling on the right side does need to come out to help you create the open plan space you are craving. The kitchen area - I'm not sure of size judging by the photo - I would suggest storage/cabinets the full length of the back wall to the windows where the dinning table is and cabinets/draws under the window also. Giving you plenty of storage for the home. I would suggest an island bench with a lower section to use as a dinning table. All your storage is in one place and allowing you to remove the storage you have across the bottom window in the lounge room. giving you more space and more light in the room. Or paint them white also. If you can remove the window coverings and replace with lighter roller blinds that disappear in the white walls or even white block out curtains. Good luck with the project from the Team at North.