I hate it. I quite like the smell and the look is quite nice (especially if over an ugly building). However the cons, and there are many, far out-weigh the pros. High maintenance, potential structural damage, insects (though I don't mind them too much) and worse - you may as well be building a network of ladders for mice and rats to get around. Ugh. On the structural damage - with old houses, it is essential that the pointing is regularly checked and it has to be redone from time to time. Even if the ivy doesn't cause damage by getting in through cracks, it still traps moisture and holds it in your porous brick walls for longer causing potential damage to brickwork and timbers behind it such as lintels and joists. Even at the very least it obscures the view of your walls so you can't check your pointing regularly and monitor any cracks (which you mightn't notice until too late anyway if ivy-covered). Ivy is just bad news for a building even if it does look nice. Edited to add one more thing, that I forgot - ivy spreads rapidly and aggressively (birds sprinkle the berries around) and smothers trees and other plants so it's not all that environmentally friendly after all.

hi, my sister in law has a very similar sized kitchen to u and shebhasbso much storage she even has empty cupboards!! she put her sink infront of the windowbwith the hob opposite, to the left of the hob shebhas a tall unit with her ovens in it and the otherside she has her fridge and then 2 base units and 2glass display wall units. on the far wall to the right of her sink she has wall units, and to the left of her sink she has a stretch of worktop similar to ur plan which leads to a peninsular island that steps down from her worktop height to create a table. would love to see some pics of what plan you go with and the finished result

Got to agree with radicalman - there are actually a lot of downsides to a concrete floor. Because they're so brittle and hard they are almost guaranteed to crack - they're also very cold and unforgiving underfoot. We offer a poured resin that is just 3-4mm thick and is so similar looking to concrete a lot of people can't tell the difference. Essentially we pour two pigments at the same time and blend them so you get the same finish/effect - but it's warm, smooth, soft (elastic) and really comfortable so you can walk around your home/kitchen etc. barefoot without worrying about it! Aesthetically though I love a polished concrete floor - such a great blank canvas for any style as it complements contemporary interiors and provides a really interesting contrast with more traditional styles! If you want a warmer finish (in a taupey grey or warmer pigment) that's also possible and stops it looking too industrial...

I think they're great for getting rid of stuff although there is the danger that you come home with more than you started with. At the last one I got rid of surplus china, prints, lights and loads more, however I did buy a wooden rocking chair and narrowly avoided buying an old stationary engine. I shall do another one soon as I have just helped my sister move house and now have loads more stuff that was too good to throw away.