I agree with Brandi Nash Hicks, the first thing that struck me was that the table would be better the other way around. When not in use and the chairs pushed in it would allow more space on the doorside, no one would have to look at a wall and it would just feel more spacious. You could even have the narrow part up against the wall. Not sure what the TV is for, is this also going to be a sitting area? It looks far too high up on the wall. I would put any other seating so you can look outside. What do you want to use the room for? It would help if you posted photos of the rest of the room.

Well, the chippies van was up the drive when I got home from work - a little unexpected. At first I thought that he was sleeping with the Mrs, but then I remembered that he needed to finish the skirting boards. He's done a cracking job - quite a few tricky internal/external corners, plus the corners not being exactly 90 degrees he was back and forth to his saw all the time. He really did a stirling job. It was 13 meters of skirting in total - which took him 4.5 hours in total (over 2 evenings) and it cost me £90. Considering I was origionally going to do it, it could well be the best £90 I've spent on this whole kitchen. I need to get a lick of paint inside the alcove that's pictured. Our little fishtank will be returning in there, but as it's out I may as well do it. When we get the bar stools, and dining room table & chairs I will update again. So: What would I change/add/remove ADD - Somewhere to hang the tea-towels. We have some on the inside of a cuboard, but they keep falling off. Maybe I need some slightly more expensive 'hangers'. The space where they could have gone we put a spice rack/draw thingie - that's probably better though. ADD - We forgot about the bin! Now we have our pedal-bin basically kicking around the kitchen. The Mrs has already filled the cupboards to maximum capacity so I'm having trouble getting an internal cupboard one past her. I think I may just fit one then deal with her later. The bin has gravitated to a semi-perminant place, but with the kids trying to be *cough* helpfull the wall is already beginning to get the odd splatter of 'stuff' where they just throw their food in the general direction of it. Last night I said 'Well, why don't we just put it in the utility room' - She shot that idea down instantly as she obviously isn't happy about the extra 4 steps that it would take to walk all-that-way into another room. Poor thing! Typical woman lol. ADD - At the start of the project I would have got the electricians to chase in another mains wire from the fusebox so that it comes out of the kitchen wall centrally to the back garden, then I would put a PIR Security Light in. I know that it's not a big job by any means, and I could, and probably will, do it myself over the coming weeks but if I could have had it without a wire on the outside of the house then that'd would have been perfect. Also, thinking about it, I would have actually got him to do it at the front of the house as well as he re-wired the whole downstairs with new fusebox etc.

Hi there, You could opt for a light grey roller blind in dimout fabric to keep with the contemporary feel of the room. Our system allows you to swap the fabrics whenever you like without having to replace the complete system. Check us out at blocblinds.co.uk. Good luck with such an exciting project! Kiera

First of all your room is lovely and I'm reluctant to suggest anything, as I love walnut and I love walnut with white. I can see that you would like to get a softer effect however, and I think you can do this with a relatively small amount of effort. First off - do you want to embrace the darkness of the dining area? If you want a clear separation between the two spaces you can achieve this by painting the dining area a different colour, which will have the effect of shortening the long appearance of the room and making the dining area more intimate and cosy. If this is your only eating space, though, you might find a dark colour a little oppressive during the day (personally I'd love it - my living room is dark green!). I wouldn't use a patterned wall paper in this space, as I'm struggling to decide which wall I would use as a feature wall. Papering a side wall might bring pull it in visually and make the space seem longer and narrower. Colour-wise I love indigo and brass/gold with walnut and a dark, blue-based colour will make the room seem intimate and expansive at the same time. Sometimes the wall with an extractor recess above a hob can look nice in a feature colour, but I can't really see yours from your photo. BUT you could pretty much leave the decor intact and bring some colour and texture in with soft furnishings and accessories. I like your blinds, perhaps you can soften them and add a feature at the dining room end by adding floor length curtains? Maybe just fixed for show. You could stand your dining suite on a flat weave rug and add a large mirror to one wall to reflect the light around the room. Curtains and/or rug would allow you to use some pattern. Alternatively swap out your blinds for softer looking fabric roman blinds. Add the odd accessory with warm metals or bright colour. Suggestion above. Hope this helps a bit :)