I do appreciate the suggestions ,thank you so much everyone for taking the trouble to share your ideas. I think we will go with the suggestion made by Revolutionary Gardens and create a gentle slope. I was particularly taken by the image of the buried elephant, I would probably have created what looked like a cemetery for several dinosaurs without your wise words. We have so much land around these projections that I can begin the slope at least 100 feet away on every side. For those who have suggested a table and or chairs over the offending projections, the idea makes perfect sense except for the small point that these hatches lead directly into our main sewage system and on a warm day, with the wind in a particular direction, the aroma emanating from them does rather put you off your dinner. Hope the eyesore will be a bit less overwhelming by next spring so will post some pics of how it looks then.

Hello donned2004, Well you could remove all the things from the hearth.. So it has more space.. Hang the mirror and paint the chimney breast a nice colour to bring the fireplace into full focus.. If you wanted to have an even bigger recess.. you could open the fire out up to the sides of the wooden surround.. So taking out the 30's tiles.. Make sure the lintel is in place or doesn't need replacing and keep the surround it's rather nice.. Remove the current tiled hearth if you chose to open it out more.. and install a flat piece of slate.. So then you would have an open brick recess and a lovely iron basket could sit nicely inside for logs! Another idea to continue into the room.. might be to look at painting the woodwork a colour to compliment any wall colours you have.... Some lovely painted floorboards, or parquet or a natural Jute or Coir flooring if you have not already decided upon something.. : ))

I agree with OnePlan. If you keep the walls and skirting the same colour it makes walls look taller, I can't see from the plan how tall yours are. Keeping the full height bookcases in the same colour as the walls will also add to the illusion of space. I really like the sound of your colour scheme. The only thing for me in making the beautiful blue stand out would to not have the grey grout, but that's just down to personal preference. As you don't need to choose the grout till the last knockings, when the tiles are up, stand back and look them ungrouted and then decide if you want white or grey. Going with white adds to cleaner lines. Good luck with what sounds like a great project x

Hi, Love the sofas- think they'll look great together! Grey works incredibly well with that shade of blue however nothing's stopping you from going for a very light blue/green as Period Property Store demonstrated. Don't forget that you can always buy sample pots and test out the colours on your wall first! We've attached some images to get your inspiration started. Happy decorating!