Hubby would love almost anything by Jason Martin; in fact he bid on some of his paintings, but the price always went way higher than estimated. http://www.lissongallery.com/artists/jason-martin I'd love Escher's Relativity. Not because it's my favourite (it's not), but because I could play with it, turning it around every day and spending years deciding which side would look best in my living room light.

Wow, thanks so much for all of the amazing tips. They have really helped us out with what might work best in the house. @ Isidora Markovic We are going to treat the wooden floors and keep them dark in Colour. I thought in the kitchen, we might add some spotlights on the ceiling to brighten up the area as a short term solution. @minnie101 Thanks so much, I agree to paint the beam white to blend it into the ceiling. The grasscloth paper will definitely be going. I like the brick as a feature wall and feel the grass cloth is a bit cheap looking. I like the idea of a warm neutral colour. The previous owners shared a picture with white walls and the whole room looked rather cold. As above, I agree that spotlights and lamps will warm the room up a lot. We are based in South Africa, so have many nice paints to choose from. Delux seems to be big here. @Lyn Hickson Thanks so much, Lyn. The precious owner actually owns all of the furniture and the art work. We have travelled quite a bit and thought it might be nice to print some of our images on canvas and hag them instead of art work, so hopefully it will work well in the room. Thanks @ Man About The House - The DIY & Odd Job Handyman - The wooden panel above the arch is actually a bamboo wallpaper which we will be removing - I agree to paint it a neutral/light colour. I'm also quite drawn to a grey colour palette perhaps with some navy/neutral furniture and accessorise with yellow and wood. (not sure if this will work but just a thought). Really appreciate the feedback so far. As much as I would love to live in it first, Im too much of a keen bean and definitely want to give it a lick of paint and get the dirty work done while we have time and before the furniture gets in. Thanks for all the advice - will post some after pictures one it comes together. :)

There are definitely good decorators and bad ones - I certainly agree with Jenny Boyd and A.S.! Some professionals are most certainly better than others and just because they do this for a living doesn't necessarily mean you're guaranteed a quality result every time. I've had superb results from good decorators, and shocking outcomes from others. I had some so-called professional decorators do the rest of my house and the finish was even worse than my kitchen efforts - paint splashes on hardware and glazing, poor coverage, dust dried into the workwork etcetc. Just shocking! So I should have qualified my statement with get a professional to do it if you can verify that they really know what they're doing and that their standards will match your expectations!

Looking to refresh your home? Enter now for a chance to win a complete 2-bedroom interior painting service from Qatar’s trusted painting professionals! Our skilled team delivers flawless finishes using premium paints – perfect for upgrading your home’s look and feel. Don’t miss out – quality painting services in Qatar are just one entry away!