Hi Phil, we are concrete worktops manufacturers , feel free to contact us with any questions. Cast in sinks and grooves are no problem. With good sealer concrete is comparable to stone or wood. It give good protections but need to be cleaned daily. Spills which are left for days could stain concrete. Best, Vlad.

Thank you for all your comments. I considered bi-fold windows but there are several problems associated with them: - when closed you would get several panels therefore several frames to "ruin" the view - when open they would cause a "hazard" as they would be roughly the height of my children's head and i could see one of them crashing into it! I had a look at NorDan, many thanks for recommending the company. That's a good start but from the website it doesn't look as though the windows would open all the way up. I am definitely going to look into Sweedish website. If you have any recommendations for brands that would be great. Many thanks for all the comments.

thanks all for comments. The fact is, I’m paying the ID a fee for design. She will give ideas as to what she thinks works for certain things and whilst most of them (thus far) come from a place she has existing relationship with, not all do. She is already coming in well in excess of my target budget- which I have mentioned to ID 2x now - and whilst I have some flex I also am going ’ok, I can get these items elsewhere for cheaper - not by even negotiating, but by just going onto other suppliers websites and it pops up with stuff like ‘10% off first order’‘ Now that adds up to thousands saved over the total project. We aren’t talking 50-60 quid. I’m not asking the ID supplier to beat that price - but just match. Which I don’t think is unreasonable given total spend , and the fact that other suppliers are without any negotiation happy to give 10% off, so I’m pretty sure the supplier will not be losing money on all this if they just matched the competition. It just leaves a bad taste in mouth that I’m the client of the ID, not the store that is the preferred supplier. It’s over budget. And I’m seeing considerable savings achieveable by going to another supplier(s). It makes me wonder who is working for who here, and I don’t know of many people who would be happy to pay more for an object from store x, when the store next door sells the very same thing for less.

Today's question :) ... can anyone recommend somwhere to source engineered wood flooring at a competitive price ideally in and around london/ trustworthy online suppliers. Thanks you all so much :)