First, what do you need light for? Do you do paperwork? Is your desk in your window? You'll be getting afternoon sun. I'm recommending LED lighting to people, but Fred says it has a way to go in brightness and affordability. I recommend sky tubes to homeowners. I've had 2 in one of my houses.

Firstly...are you sure they are jarrah and not som other more exotic timber? If you are fortunate enough to have a genuine 1932 built cottage I say "Don't Do it!" Just look at the beautiful timber in that floor! It would be sinful to paint it. I have a 1924 cottage with beautiful hoop pine floorboards all from the day it was built. My suggestion is to have the boards sanded and polished. I would not even dare go near them with polyurethane. I have turned back the clock and used the methods of the period of the house...a mix of pale boiled linseed oil and kero. Put it on with a mop or a deck mop or a wool mop leave it soak in. Re-do and leave it soak in,,,( you won't get patches...the floors will just soak it up.) Third coat, add a bit of turps to the mix as a white ant deterrent. Then, when the floors look like they've soaked up enough, get a big old fashioned string mop...if you can find one...or use a deck scrubber and old towels...or even a wad of new ones...100% cotton...its worth it, and rub off as much of the surplus as possible...wear sox so you will notice when the sox do not get oil stained anymore. First go is a long process but you will be really pleased when the floors have had several "drinks". After that you could get just an ordinary floor varnish or oil or just a sealant. Some of the modern wood treatments are really good. Then, every so often do the boards over with your "Oil Mop". You will never find timber like that again and, in my experience, it adds to the value of the house big time. Do what you like to any gyprock and plastered walls but PLEASE love your floorboards and any natural timber...especially from that era. I've been in this old cottage for 32 years. Everyone wants to know where I sourced the "new" floorboards", and who did I get to make my silky oak windows! Hope that helps.

Hi everyone - just an update on our bathroom. Thank you again for all the suggestions. As all renovation projects go, we started with a basic touch up with tile paint and repainting the vanity; the tile paint was a disaster. To be fair it is very humid in Cairns at the moment, however the instructions were to leave it longer to dry. In the end we have ripped out both the floor and the wall tiles, we have reduced the height of the roman bath to a step in shower (we tiled straight over the shower floor with mosaic tiles). We managed to get a second hand vanity in fantastic condition, are replacing the shower glass from higrove (thanks for the tip) and even got some brand new tiles from the dump shop for $15.00. We thought we would try our hand at rendering and we are very happy with the effect of getting rid of the besser block walls. So for colours we have grey floor tiles, and white wall tiles. We are up to the wall tiles now and very excited about showing you our bathroom renovation which fingers crossed should be finished next week. Thank you again for all your comments. I have learnt a good lesson on weighing up the benefits of using what is existing in the space, to starting again and look for DIY tutorials on YouTube.

I think you can very well still have plants in a windowless room- as long as you're willing to give them regular little 'windowsill holidays' in another room. I'd go with succulents, there are some great warm colour combos (see Pinterest for ideas) and the geometric shapes mimic your tiles. Of course, there are some incredible fake ones around too, saw one last week I could not pick from the real thing. I'd be tempted to mix in some of both to balance aesthetics with practicality! Separately, I'd be careful of adding any soft furnishings (rugs, spare towels, etc) to a small powder room. We are all aware these days that a flushed loo spreads germs a meter around it- I wouldn't want to be collecting and trapping them! I think (subtle) fragrance and votives would warm this lovely space without impeding hygiene.