The blue is awesome (grey is too trendy)! The reason it stands out to you is perhaps because it's the only real colour there. Bring in the blue in a window treatment, a small appliance that sits on the counter, a pretty tray or area rug. Also, it is more appealing often if there are more than 2 colours - so right now you have a white and blue colour scheme - bring in red or orange or fushia - something from the other side of the spectrum (like you did with the yellow flowers but in a more permanent way)!

Thanks everyone for the warnings. Honestly I had not thought that could be possible so just in case I'll gear up with a mask to avoid inhaling any of it. I will still need to remove it, but from what I read the problem with asbestos is if you sand it and make it into breathable particles, so ripping it out should be ok. I've looked up in youtubr and there seems to be a tool called mastic remover that you can put on your floor sander and it would scratch the surface removing any of that stuff.

Get the professional sander guys in to repair the living areas and kitchen but don't go too dark with the stain as it will kill the lovely grain in the matai. I'm thinking a couple of tones richer than the timber knots showing in your photo, definitely no yellow tone at all. In NZ stepping on to carpet especially in a kiwi winter is so much nicer than a cold floor board shock!!! A nice area rug for the lounge and you're done.

Sorry for the delay....well I still haven't quite got to the floor yet. I have friends and family advising that black would show up every bit of dust etc and one friend who had a shiny black floor and felt that she was forever mopping, and if the light shone on the floor on the wrong angle you could see where the mop had been. I think this would frustrate me too much especially with young children and a cat so I think a whitewash look could be a good option, or reclaimed battered timber perhaps.......see why I haven't chosen the floor yet. Lol. You could always go a black but a weathered matt reclaimed timber that could look good too. Good luck!