I live in the Scottish Borders and three years ago there was a government incentive to externally insulate the houses. Due to the construction of the houses (poured concrete they couldn’t have cavity wall insulation ) . The difference to the heating bills is unbelievable but the look of the house is fabulous as there was new render put on new window sills and down pipes .i agree with the comment that just doing one house would stand out like a sore thumb but it just takes one to start the ball rolling . Maybe speak to your neighbours and they may want to do the same . All the houses in my street had the cladding and it has transformed the look of the street . I have since revamped my lounge and kitchen. There was nothing wrong with the kitchen cupboards so they where painted ,new work tops and sink . I did have a breakfast bar that took up a lot of room which I have replaced with a glass table . My next project is my bedroom which is getting refitted with new wardrobes and draws . Ex local authority houses are well built and have big rooms , they are worth buying as you can do so much with them ,I have bigger cupboards than the rooms that are in some new builds . This is my kitchen, it is so much lighter and more space . The back board is the same as the work top , so no tiles to grout .

Kitchens are a big expense - especially the chairs so I would match them to the units - the set you showed matches the colours of the chairs with the units really well, BUT, 1. The pine top doesn't work and 2. You need to add a bit of pzaz to this space. You can paint or cover the pine top with whatever colours / textures you choose as accents then follow these colours through into the pictures and the odd accessory (but don't go mad and keep most of the kitchen utensils and tools in the same colour as the background so they 'disappear' - only use subtle accent colours on gorgeous items so they stand out). This way, if you get bored with your scheme you can just change the accessories and the table top colour rather than the whole lot. Feel free to email me for more help. Good Luck! www.mendinghouses.com: ebooks / blogs / tips & tricks all about property.

The floor is a concern for us and something that's on our agenda. We are planning to change it to a lighter white/grey wood such these. In terms of the blue we used it is actually supposed to be this colour, which looks much darker than the blue in our hallway: I think it was because it needed more coats to achieve this final colour. Either way it's gone now, I think skirting boards should probably just stay white! Mayfly182 that's a great idea about painting an object the desired shade of blue to go on the table! Thanks for everyone's help.

Understood :-) you may be surprised at our costings though, everything we do is handmade but at a reasonable cost as its all done in house, sometimes words like bespoke, custom, crystal and chandelier tend to mean high prices but not with us. If you want to explore your options with me just let me know, no commitment or expectations. You can check out some of the work I've done on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/littlejohnlighting/