Hi ritevibe, It seems that many of your worries are to do with the ongoing maintenance and wear that will inevitably come from renting your property out. Timber would quite obviously look amazing in your space, though the damage and maintenance could be restrictive. Have you investigated timber look 'parquet' tiles? Being porcelain, you are not going to find anything more durable and long lasting. It is definitely worth a look at what's available in this material, I will attach some images for your reference and a link to give you a starting point. (http://www.houzz.com.au/projects/683682/par-ker-timber-parquet-porcelain-tiles) In such an environment, I think cost effectiveness would probably be better understood over the life of the floor, as vinyls and floorboards are going to require significant amounts of maintenance, are going to cop a bit of a beating and are not going to last as long as tile. If you want more info I am happy to help out, Best of luck!

We have a similar home in a sydney beach suburb. We are in a different position where we have bought ours as a downsized but are just about to restore the old 50s beauty to its former self. We have quotes of around $400000 to gut and change the floor plan which includes 2 bathrooms and a new kitchen and also add internal stairs to the garage and a large deck off the back, lift some ceilings and replace gutters, eaves ect ect ect. Attached are my inspiration boards and what the house looks like now, hopefully in about 4 months I can update you.

^^ Chalk paint will get the job done. If you're comfortable with DIY then mix up your own, or if not, it's worth going to a specialist store and getting some advice, even just to build your confidence. There are lots of online tutorials for chalk paint as well, so jump on youtube first so you know what you're dealing with. That brick wall could look really great painted, but maybe even better with some panelling over the top.

Hi everyone, well the good news is my house is having the pictures taken tomorrow morning ahead of the first home open. Thank you all for the advice offered and shared. In the end I had to keep to a low budget as its unlikely I'll get it back in the sale price. What I want to do it MOVE it quickly, as the market is poor and we are heading toward Christmas. The first 30 days are VIP. So I did the following; -exterior eaves, guttering paint - whole house interior wall paint (grand piano quarter) and one ceiling - carpet throughout from Harvey Norman - verticals, as other spotlight/ikea options did not fit. I needed to have these made. - new lightfittings - remove exterior rotary clothes line, put an Aldi one that comes from one wall. - cleaning of pavers with high pressure cleaner (my new found friend) - cleaning of kitchen tiles and grout with toothbrush, gumption and patience (gumption is also my new friend) - new shower screen So there we have it! Thanks again for your help and colour suggestions, and multiple suggestions to CLEAN. This CLEAN priority cannot be understated. I considered staging the home however I believe as it is modest and first home buyer home and a new migrant market, it wasn't worth the spend. Fingers crossed!