Yes to whitewashing!!! Also paint the doors and trim white, in my opinion the floor can stay if it is hardwood, or maybe painted dark charcoal white, polished concrete sounds great, too. And yes to pendants, maybe the bird cage ones that seem to be very popular. Reupholster sofas in a solid white or blue, put a large blue and white striped rug and white curtains.

You should have minimum 5 ft but 6 ft is ideal. I've played pool where tables are 4 ft from the wall and it is too close. The standard pool cue length is 57" and the draw length is about 6" so 5 to 6 ft would be ideal.

Personally I think you are better to wait until you can afford to put back an in ground pool as the one's that I have seen sitting above the ground look like an eye sore - a temp pool - that looks like it could collapse at any time. Maybe while you save for the bigger project you could rent / buy a large Spa Pool.

I am wanting to get a pool put in (not too big ~7.5m x4m) - the section slopes off quite a bit and the height of the house is about a story above the ground at its highest point. Im just after some ideas for layout and how to get a good flow from the deck above - there are 2 bigger decks (covered and uncovered plus the wrap around). The covered deck which has bbq and table and chairs is above the green water tank and connects with the kitchen nicely (id quite like to hide that tank somehow), the open deck connects with the lounge area inside. Long term plan is to have a covered space with outdoor kitchen, bathroom and space for dining and lounge settings beside the pool. It has a great view of the ocean from the house ( and the section below up to meter or 2 from the fence line). there is septic tank in line with the green water tank (so don't want to get too close to that). This is in the tropics, so shade and shelter is a must - the sun follows the open deck across to the covered deck side and the house is on the west more sheltered side of the island. Any ideas would be appreciated. The last picture is of the house in front, it is very close to the fence line, but is a lot lower down.