sounds like lots of colour going on. What colour are your window treatments? what about timber chairs which pick up the flooring & colour in your bench top (stained IKEA style or bentwood) & then some grey accessories... its about your eye matching the same colour for uniformity. does that assist.

I'm always surprised whenever I read discussion threads on the pros/cons of timber vs engineered or timber-look products is that I seem to be the only one who cares about the sound, not just the aesthetics. I grew up in very old houses and for me, that sound as you walk along a real timber floor is majestic and cannot be replicated by other products that to, seem to all sound like fingernails on a black board in comparison (okay not really, but it evokes the same reaction in me as does walking on lino). So, for that awesome sound of "real" timber and for longevity's sake, authenticity's sake, and all the reasons above I say option 2. Of course, budget is also important and I totally understand the width argument too.

OK peeps here are a couple of pics of the new rug. Can you believe I went with my original choice. It's difficult to represent this room and the rug in pics, colours rarely look true and room always look elongated. This rug is 3 metres long and 2.5 mtrs wide but it doesn't look it. Very happy with my choice and thanks again for your help.

I did get a guy out to give me a quote on cleaning and painting the roof. He said he will have to quote it using scaffolding because of the steep roof. That was a couple of weeks ago, but haven't heard back from him yet. I have seen some bad paint jobs of terracotta tiles so am a bit nervous about getting it painted. I wouldn't mind if my tiles were just slightly darker like yours rather than orange, but I do know that the darker they are, the more they will hold heat and Brisbane is hot.