Hi, we at Dual Designs are often designing kitchens up to the ceiling. It is usually because of the client requiring more cupboard space, along with making sure the design will suit their beautiful dream kitchen. We have designed cabinets up to the ceiling in large and small rooms, both work really well. It mainly comes down to person taste, some people would never leave a gap at the top, with the 'dust trap' word mentioned. Others who don't mind a gap would often say they can't reach high units and don't want to use a ladder. We always consider both the practical side along with the design and give an honest assessment to help our clients. I would think taking the cabinets up to the ceiling can work though a good designer will confirm this for you, so I hope that helps and good luck

I think it will be difficult to find something to match. I could be wrong but, from the photo, it looks like the drive was some kind of crazy paving made up from broken slabs - 2 or 3 different colours (?) which have since weathered & faded. So if you found something similar to replace them, the colour would most likely be brighter. What happened to the parts of the drive that the builder took up?

Humm, I had a similar colour carpet in an old rented flat years ago. It was a hard one to modernise up really but it was just a bedroom and I ended up using raspberry pink and creams which really lifted it. Also a rug over the carpet in the sofa area could draw your eyes to that and the carpet can just act as a background colour. It depends on your tastes really ie as mentioned, a country floral style would work well with the room itself. But, if you have more contemporary taste or prefer brighter colours then you could even go for a vibrant palate on a more tropical floral theme. Introduce neutral charcoal sofa with tropical cushions in deep greens with the same raspberry pinks etc and use lots of leafy plants in the room and artwork.

As others have stated above, the gas hob arrangement just isn't safe and it needs to be ideally 300mm from the edge. That would be the first thing i'd resolve before worrying about new hobs. I think you're looking at a new worktop for the island then depending on the base units and any built under appliances you could then have a new hob safely fitted. Most hobs upto 750 wide have a 560*490 cutout, 800 and above need a bigger cut out. The other issue you may have with a large gas hob is the gas supply pipe could be undersized for the new hob and your gas man might refuse to connect it. Induction hobs are brilliant but you do need suitable pans to use (and no one with a pacemaker). If you're worried about loosing the gas you could go with domino hobs, basically these are 300 wide hobs which have joining strips so you can make your own hob design and combine different cooking methods, not the cheapest hobs but could be more functional for you.