I had a similar situation in a house I moved into years ago. I did a quick fix of painting all of the walls, woodword and the cupboards the same shade of cream. Sounds a bit OTT but it really knocked back the cupboards, which in all honesty are not something you want to make a feature out of, and created a calmness to the whole space. In your case, I would go for an off white so that the gang plug wires, radiator pipes and covers hiding the wires for the extractor fan etc., are disguised as much as possible -- that will tie in with the palest of the tiles in the splash back, and then you will have a pretty basic colour scheme of a very place colour and the dark worktop, fireplace and floor, which will stand out more. I think you need more storage with doors -- that bookshelf isn't doing anything for the kitchen. If you could get something in there that could hide lots of clutter -- even if just something cheap from IKEA, that would help greatly. Or work something around the filing cabinet that you have? A huge cheap mirror over the fireplace would bounce some light around too. If you don't want to go for undercupboard lighting, and if you have enough plug points, how about some lamps on the worktop, especially at the FF end with a floor standing lamp at the end with the chair. For the table, I would go for a table cloth and reupholster the chairs if they are not to your taste. A new blind in a much fresher colour would be great. Depending on the colour of your filing cabinet (if you use it), I think a petrol blue could add a nice vintage vibe to the chimney breast, and make more of a feature of it. I would try and go down a vintage/slightly industrial route rather than country. You may have some stuff lurking around that you could use, once you have got the base colours right -- currently it just feels a little cluttered and a bit of a mish mash. Best of luck. Looking forward to seeing some after shots :)

Hello Amanda, : )) Do you mean in the kitchen? Yes a nice idea. I like flat plate too, but really plain. Well the best way to describe how I feel about certain alterations is to tell you about someone I knew who "did up" her flat to such a degree that she literally took away all that was characterful about it.. Sometimes it's best to leave things as their patina develops over time and results in something quite special. Restoration is one thing but you can also restore the life out of something and thus diminish in certain contexts the value- and so it's good to know when to stop.. So yes, I'm firmly in the camp suggesting leave them, but of course it's entirely your choice. : ))

Hi Herbie Many of our pendants can be adjusted in height to suit your needs. What is the overall style of the room? Are you thinking contemporary, industrial or more of a traditional style? Here's few ideas. All lights are adjustable in height. And you can view our full lighting ranges on our website. Brooklyn 3 Light Pendant Bar - Satin Chrome Glass Bowl 1 Light Pendant Shade - Champagne 6 Light Diner Ceiling Pendant - Smoke Hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to contact us by emailing customerservice@litecraft.co.uk or by calling 0161 359 4777

In my opinion your plan looks like a typical suburban kitchen and given the architecture of the house you should be aiming higher. In my opinion a U shape of units doesn’t suit the corner window and you should be working to continue the simplicity of the architecture. I would want a contemporary handless kitchen with wide drawers and a palate of dark textured grey warmed up with a minimal touch of wood. I would put all the appliances together in a tall bank and then have another tall bank with everything hidden in them. I would make a decision about what goes under the windows based on their height- I might choose reduced height wall hung storage drawers then have the same put in the living area at a lower level to hide AV equipment. I would have the sink, DW and hob in a peninsula and have a flush fitting ceiling extractor above. Remember to source whisper quite appliances. Although you could probably fit in stools at the peninsula I think less is more in this case as it is not a massive space I would choose an eclectic oversized refectory style table with mismatched chairs and low but simple pendant lights over it and make this the key sitting area for guests with drinks. I would want dimable LEDs in the kitchen ceiling, LED plinth light, some walkover up lighting/ wall washers in the living area plus task lighting and then outside the glass doors I would have walkover lights in the patio. For this principal room I might even consider a lighting technician to put in a system that helps you get the mood right. Personally I think you should be looking for a kitchen showroom that specialises in contemporary kitchens or a designer that has a portfolio that includes this sensibility. Given that this is the main room you must get it right. In the utility area I think it just has to work. Personally I would put extra tall units in here to maximize storage and reduce the need for cabinets that could crowd the kitchen space.