You seem to have answered your own question 😊 I think white would actually be nice and freshen up the space. I wouldn’t go too dark as it looks quite a dark space, however a gentle pale grey might work.

Black

Diamond

I prefer option one without the glass. Option 2 looks a little clunky?

I am not keen on the glass doors in this set up ; I think that they accentuate the lack of symmetry. the first option looks much cleaner. It might be possibly that the wood on the left hand end, which I love, means that the glass makes it just too many diferent things going on

The first image looks classy and timeless - I like the run of white wall cabinets which seem almost to disappear. But with glass doors in the mix, that illusion is lost and, to my eyes, the result is cluttered.

I think converting the former dining room into a cosy lounge area is what we will do. It will provide additional seating to our current living room when we have lots of guests also.

I will look on Pinterest for inspiration

Thanks very much everyone this is very helpful! Really appreciate it

I have a quooker and the "tank" that you refer to is so small it's more of a tube. It takes up virtually no space at all. I can't comment on the other brands but I hear that Zip is quite good. There are so many to choose from now. I would also remember the old adage "buy cheap buy twice" or nowadays some of these have zero spares or customer service if something goes wrong.

I think you have to have some caution about the quality of these imported taps. Given they cost the same as a high end kettle and only 5% of the price of the brand leader for boiling water taps I would be concerned they don’t meet U.K. standards for safety which could be an issue in rental properties. I say buy a nice kettle instead.

Dishwashers are fitted without a cupboard around them, they fill the whole space. A door can be attached to the front of a dishwasher if it is an integrated one (that’s what I have). Before buying a dishwasher, have a chat with the suppliers and get their advice. John Lewis are very good for that and you often get longer guarantees too.

Hi,

Is there an option to move the washing machine somewhere else?

Do you have a storage cupboard next to the bathroom maybe that you can transform into a mini laundry space?

as that would be ideal, and then you could put a dishwasher in the current location of the washing machine.

Having a dishwasher in the space of a current cabinet, if far from ideal. as dishwasher doors open down, so it would be blocking the area in front of the sink. So highly impractical. as well as you would be losing storage space in the kitchen.

Piur has a very good point, that is a dishwasher opens downwards so it may scrape the handle of the cupboard next to it. If you have a cupboard near the sink that isn’t a corner one, you could use that?

Your profile has disappeared? However, I agree with Isla, take samples of your work to quality independent shops, or sell via Etsy, EBay etc but then that will be online. You could try craft markets too. Or even take some samples into local “posh” hotels and pubs. You will reach more people if you sell online though. Good luck.

Since there are not enough hours in the day to try to sell these everywhere I think you need to be smart about how you do it.

Firstly I would forget about what other furniture sells for- you need to consider the man hours, materials used and come up with a value that you need to achieve after other costs you then need to add about half again to cover the time spent selling and insulate yourself from the loss of stock not selling. So say a side table needs to sell for £500 to justify the materials, your labour, the time spent selling it and the tax you will pay on your income. You then need to look at where you need to advertise in order to achieve this. It may be that you find a high end design specialist with a showroom- they might mark it up at £1200 because they also want to make £500 and they will have to pay VAT on their sale. You might use a forum such as Etsy and work out their cut and price it accordingly. And of course you can do both. Don’t forget to have several pieces with the same feel so people have option- for example make sure that you have more than one size of coffee table, remember people are generally prepared to spend on their living room more than their bedroom. And remember that if you have an outlet like Etsy many people are impulse shoppers so have something smaller and affordable for them such as picture frames, chopping boards, serving platters, trays, door stops, keepsake boxes, draughty games, dog bowls etc etc

Best of luck.

Thanks for your replies, They're all very useful and have given me some more options to consider.

An idea of how old your children are and what type of play things you need would be helpful. Are you talking play equipment - swing / slide, trampoline, football goal, playhouse, sandpit, etc? Or just space for them to play? My preference would be for natural play where ch can use their imagination in which case I’d plant some small trees and shrubs that they could run in and around / hide, etc. The tree stumps type of equipment suggested by Sonia would be great for jumping around on. A planting patch / raised bed might be good to get them interested in growing. A small pond (if children are at a safe enough age) is always fascinating for children. This type of thing also incorporates the play into the whole garden rather than separating off an area, which in a few years might need to be changed. You could incorporate a couple of seating areas - shady under a small tree and a sunny patio. Depends on what you’re after really.

A lovely blank flat canvas. Small trees and shrubs would be easy to care for once established and don't require much maintenance. Having had to start from scratch myself the sooner you plant them the better. Houzz has loads of inspiration.

I had a garage built in my back garden under permitted development and apart from the up and over garage door and a little door into the garage from the garden, I had a window put in as well. Nobody said I couldn’t! It was in 2016 and I haven’t been thrown into jail yet…….The pvc window was a freebie off Freecycle so a bargain too. Go for it!

Hi Sonia

What a good idea about the window!! full steam ahead for me then! ill do some before and afters on here once i can get cracking.

all the best!

I have an LED mirror cabinet (with hardwired charging socket), and a 1200mm vanity. Everything can be hidden away so it doesn't get covered in dust.

Not for me I’m afraid. Orange is my least favourite colour. If they had chosen black or darkest green it would have sat better within the landscape, but each to their own!

it depends, for a commercial space I think it would work really well.

However, I don't believe I would specify it for a residential project unless the client wanted something really different. I could see a some designer or an architect or an artist making that choice. But it could be very polarising if wanting to sell the property.

However, getting it painted something more traditional isn't too difficult.

Personally, I would pick it for myself.

Perhaps paint the wall (walls) and door all the same colour so the difference is not so obvious?

Maybe paint the whole wall and woodwork one colour so the difference is less obvious?

In process…

I used V33 tile paint. Required three coats but with no priming or undercoating.
My plan is to re-vinyl the counter tops.

I think olive green is probably my preferred colour for plinth as suggested above +/- the white end unit panels

Love olive green and will tie in nicely with the other colours.

I would have shelves matching the slatted panelling in colour to the left of the tv. Is it oak veneer? Does the side of the panelling finish in line with the tv? If it does stop the shelves short on each side i.e. the tv side and the wall. Oak, pale grey and white are a great combination. I wouldn't paint the storage. It just needs a few well chosed objects, maybe a plant or two?

The fluted panelling is very smart but looks unfinished, especially with the tv half on and half off the panelling. Is that intentional? I would add more panelling to the left side. I wouldn’t paint the tv cabinet, it looks lovely as it is.

Do you have photos of the areas you are describing? Finding it quite difficult to picture what you mean.

Your light positions sound like mine (also minus roses)

Why not try adding a circle of paper on the ceiling in the hall or painting it as you're decorating anyway. I have seen a georgian rose as small as 20cm btw

I have seen roses pretty close to the cornice, I guess it would have been a common place to try and light under the stairs and i think georgian roses were actually designed to protect the ceiling from candle or gas light so may be historically accurate??!

sorry thought i'd added the photo!!. For another room, with a ceiling rose - wonder if you know how do i hang a heavy light? Do I add a noggin between the joists or a flat board to spread weight and screw through plaster rose and into new noggin leaving the light rose visible. Or do I take the lights chain and wire throught he rose and secure chain to joist?

Dorota, so which room are you wanting to neutralise? Do you mean you want to paint over the navy and go for a more neutral look? Not sure which mirror you mean or where you want to put it.

Hi Sonia, I meant that all throughout the flat the color is blue. I don’t want to change the color but I wanted to keep it tonal rather than using complementary colors like orange or red. Monochromatic look it’s what I was going for I think but not boring if you know what I mean.
The mirror I’m talking about is the one above the fireplace. It’s got silver frame which I feel it’s wrong. Something like this here on those attached pictures?

@Sonia we do like the green, but I think it would be too much across the whole room! A softer green might work, but i do want to paint behind the log burner in a darker colour I think. I think if we were to find a rug large enough to get both sofas sitting on it, we might as well carpet the room, or at least buy a section of carpet in the size we need and have it edged. Thanks for the photo inspiration.

I like that the cupboards are a neutral shade like the walls, but if you want to add colour (please nothing that “pops”) you could paint them and the fireplace in a charcoal grey, or a sage green. No point in wallpapering that wall, there isn’t enough room. Can’t see the rest of the walls, but if there is a blank wall anywhere you could wallpaper that and then take your inspiration from the the colours and styling within it. So choose your wallpaper, then paint your cupboards/fireplace and walls to Co-ordinate. The light shade doesn’t quite go so maybe a wicker one, as already suggested, may fit better. Botanical wallpaper may go nicely to tie in with your garden view.

Hi Emily,

What a lovely room!

I’ve drafted a design concept that complements your current style with minimal alterations. Observing the industrial elements throughout, I envision a sleek update—think painted cupboards, fireplace, and skirting board. Additionally, a new washable rug and some greenery could bridge the indoor and outdoor spaces beautifully.

I’m currently offering a free initial design consultation where we have a methodology to define your own personal interior design style. If you’re interested, let’s connect and bounce some ideas around! My email is info@thestudio84.com

Do you have a picture of the peeling paint? Sometimes wallpaper bubbles if painted due to the moisture in the paint. It may well settle down as it dries.

This has happened to us in a couple of rooms - currently fixing one now. Whoever painted first in our house failed to properly mist coat the plaster...grrrr. Only came to light when we had new window board fitted and the paint (only done a couple of years prior) came off in sheets like yours. Small mercies is it came off your walls now before you have done too much. All the best with fixing it and decorating - will all come good in the end :)

Thanks Kim, that was my thought too. As we can peel up to the plaster it feels like the paint didn’t stick to the plaster so I thought they might not have mist coated properly… but that was 25 years (and several coats of paint) ago, it’s strange it’s happening now. Indeed we’re glad it happened before we applied the more expensive top coat but now we’re wondering about the other rooms in the house… we might do a scratch test in every room to check 😂

...I thought I would make some suggestions for fast growing hedging plants that are nevertheless able to be pruned and don't grow into the leylandii monstrosity mentioned here. Portuguese laurel is fantastic. it's fast growing, evergreen, disease and drought resistant, and shade tolerant and has lovely oval shaped shiny dark green leaves on red stems. It can be pruned into a lovely shaped hedge (or topiarised for that matter as an individual specimen) and won't ever look hacked at or grow too big like leylandii does.. Grisellinia is a lighter shade of evergreen shrub that's a great hedging plant ... good for coastal exposure and relatively fast growing, creating a thick, robust hedge in a few years. As far as deciduous hedges go, hornbeam is better than beech, as it's more drought tolerant. if you're looking for small to medium sized trees for a medium sized garden, cornus contraversa variegata has horizontal branches that give it fantastic structure and variegated leaves that stand out against other foliage. Acer griseum has
gorgeous peeling bronze coloured bark... For a small garden, Cornus alternifolia 'Argentia' the silver pagoda dogwood, has small, delicate silver green leaves and a neat appealing growth habit that works in formal.and informal gardens alike.... The weeping silver pear - Pyrus pendula salicifolia - has a graceful weeping growth habit with reflective grey green leaves and textured trunk. although I love the natural shape of this tree it can also be topiarised for a more formal garden feature. I hope these planting suggestions are useful for those of you worried about planting trees and hedging that will take over the garden. Rest assured that all these specimens will add structure to your garden without dominating or crowding out other plants. if you would like a designer's help, please do get in touch. Thanks! Francoise Elvin, Greenmantlegardens.com

I get disappointed by articles suggesting we limit plants to one or two varieties. The more variation, the better for pollinators , particularly in extending the length of time plants are flowering, and some simple tips on this are really useful, like adding bulbs, and autumn flowers . I also think that when promoting shrubs, the ground cover that works with them is really helpful info for new gardeners. I wouldn’t be without geraniums in my garden, I love pulmonaria, woodruff, wild garlic. Vinca, forget-me nots, violas hellebores and ferns, good for pollinators and for cutting down on weeding.

This is a dream kitchen.. absolutely love the baby blue with blue & white matching splash back.

My favourite colour combo - light blue, white and wood.

Some of these are truly stunning. My only concern with the dark wood is that you need a light room to begin with or it could be quite oppressive. I really like the mixture of painted and natural wood/wood veneer but would also consider oak or white oiled oak. Blakes London are masters at this. I don't like the combination of bright colours and wood. I prefer black, navy or white. No 10 is a beautiful kitchen but slightly spoiled by the main door colour and non-matching frame. More thought was needed in the event of existing wood clashing with new. I think it's more effective in an open plan space.

Lots of good ideas thank you. I think curtains are underrated as they can look great and provide easy cupboard areas without requiring the space which a cupboard door would need. There was space in this project but my clients potentially wanted to change the boiler and other items housed at a later date, so this gave them more flexibility.

We downsized this year to a 3 bed duplex apartment with a bathroom and ensuite. As there’s just the 2 of us we decided to convert the extremely small shower space in the ensuite to a utility space. We left the extractor fan in place to cope with any residual steam from the condenser dryer. An added benefit is that I no longer have to carry all the laundry up and down stairs (my first thought when I saw the basement room in the article).

I’m still looking to maximise storage but it has worked out so well!

Thanks for the feature in your post!

Good article. I totally agree on spending as much as you can afford on sofas and beds. Good quality sofas last for ages - you certainly get what you paid for! The accessories in my home range from Habitat through to charity shop finds. An example is this plant pot which was from a charity shop for £2. It’s originally from M&S. My biggest expense was my horses head for £35 from an art shop, weighs a ton!

Gorgeous refurb. It states the house is a new build and I can’t believe the original kitchen in a new build was that dated wooden one, is that right? Anyway, I love the blue and white palate mixed with the wooden elements. Has a New England vibe.

Hi Sonia,

It's a modern house, rather than a new build; I think it was built about 1995 ish - and the before pictures are the original kitchen as far as I know. I think my favourite part of the finished result is how much lighter and brighter it looks!

Eleni - Omorfia Interior Design

It’s a good question. We currently have a double oven under counter, with 5 ring gas hob above. It’s what came with the house. We will be re-doing the kitchen, probably in 2026, but are already considering options. We’d love a range, but as we get older, having a high level oven would probably be a good idea, but I’m with Isla on liking to keep things low level where possible. That said, we have a very nice fridge freezer, although somewhat bulky, and would like a traditional larder/dresser unit. Lots to ponder as we work on other parts of the house first!

As my kitchen is pretty small I have an electric hob with the oven below. However, if I had the space I would certainly prefer an eye level oven. Cleaning a low down oven is the worst ever! It does self clean but not very well - it doesn’t do the racks and seems to miss half the internal door! I do like the look of ranges and some now have an induction top rather than the gas jets, so a bit easier to clean. I think they suit a cottage style home more.

Thanks! At the moment, before I propose it, the wall is probably the hardest part for me to do, so maybe a few seats could frame it initially, and a wall later on. I do like the thé deciduous look, but I think an evergreen will maintain a look of life during winter!

Prime with Zinsser 123 followed by 2 coats of paint suitable for exterior use. Make sure the coats are thin. Good luck.

Yes. You’ll get a better, more robust finish.

Thanks so much Sonia, really sorry to jump on your post Rob N! Hope yours turns out great then I can copy your steps if I have no success with finding my manufacturer.Yes I would use a primers first, the Zinsser one is excellent.

Thanks Sonia and Isla for the good ideas!

Wow that is a pretty out there update. However I do have a soft spot for the American house styles with all that lovely cladding, so it could work and certainly more interesting than the usual grey windows and white render combo. However, some planning depts are not that keen on updates to the front of a house if it differs too much from the neighbours. I do like it though.

We don't live on a street of houses, we are in the country and stand on an acre plot. The front is very flat. We have added a deck to the back of the house as attached which has worked well. Also added a carport to front. Will attach photos. Glad for all your suggestions.

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I agree with logs. They can add another element to the room and wood can look really good with a contemporary style. You can actually buy posh logs that have a tidier outline and are decorative rather like wallsauce’s picture.

For the bottom shelf of your media wall, consider stacked logs for a rustic vibe, lighting with ornaments for ambiance, or painting it black with ornaments for a modern touch. You could also try vintage vinyl records, potted plants, or framed photos. Experiment and see what fits your style best!

Might help to see your iving/dining room