I'm an artist so apologies for focusing on the art... the space looks fantastic and I'm a fan of natural wood also but some of the painted designs above look fantastic too. Your funtiture tonally complimetns the staircase as it is and looks good too and as that is gorgeous strong floor pattern I think it unlikely you're going to be changing that. Personally I would change the rug/carpet at the front of the photo first bringing in something much lighter and simpler and without the intense pattern. I would change the gold frame on your picture also which would benefit from being simpler and lighter too... more contemporary as it were, and the same is true for the clock which needs toning down a bit as black is too strong. Simple to do. At the moment you have gold black and what looks like dark grey framing your wall decorations, once they all tonaly work together you will create space which is much easier on the eye. Whatever you decide to do with the wood will dictate which tones to use. At the moment though there is too much going on.... for me at least. Once you've decided on the above you're possible going to need to change the lamp shade too to fit with your lighter design... again very simple to do. Hope that helps..... Simon

Hello folks! I haven't disappeared, just had whooping cough (yes, seriously!) with a garnish of gastric flu and torn muscles from coughing fits. So that has severely impeded our efforts (hubby's had it too, and it lasts around 3mths so we're not out of the woods yet!) with our new house (which I now describe as semi-derelict before we bought it) and so had no time/mental energy to properly get updated on what's been happening with you guys. Truth be told, I've started reading a few times & either got interrupted (mummy-ness) or fallen asleep, without finishing. I've missed this, but u guys, esp Monica & RoRo have been in my thoughts. Where to start?! I think I've taken in all that's happened in this thread since I went AWOL but might have missed some finer points. Monica, I'm so sorry to hear what u'v been through, with the RTA & the cowboy tiling / wallpapering on top! (& work always picks worst times to intensify - I just started on a Task Force this week, when shd really still be on sick leave). I mean, a marker?! Seriously?! Isn't it common knowledge / common sense to use a lightly applied pencil? Sounds like u r doing best thing by looking at it as a learning experience. Still, he deserves an honest review somewhere. Anyway, onwards and upwards, I'll look at the lounge link when I've finished this post. BTW I LOVE your artwork. Vivacious, bright and deep - is there an insight there? ;-) And RoRo, wow you've got a lot on your plate! We've been so frustrated with being held back on our projects by health, but u have taken on a bigger scale of project altogether, sounds like it's verging on municipal! U guys inspire me. :-) Thinking of starting a thread on our living room, it's the most 'civilised' room of the house so far, but I didn't take the north-facing position into account when I decided on a colour scheme of turquoise, grey and lime. (Doh!) So far I've made some headway on a concept I'm excited by, but it needs some tweaking so it doesn't feel 'cold' with the blue tone of the natural light. Are you up for sharing some of your thoughts on this??? Hope so. :-)

Thank you for your comments. Ash - I agree this would be the low cost option and if cost becomes a deal-breaker then this is something we would consider. I don't think there is room to move the boiler there so I think I would end up having to put a cupboard in to cover them up. On the higher cost end - I am trying to persuade my husband a good idea would be to level out the back of the house and (so a small extension) and then knock through from current kitchen to the lounge and taking some of the lounge to make the back room go all the way across. Putting the kitchen far left as you see it going as far up into the garage as where the boiler is, having the rest of garage as a dining area, and a sitting area going across the back of the house with bifold doors onto the garden (going from right hand side). The main patio is to the right of the garden and we have two sets of doors currently onto the garden through the breakfast room and lounge, which I don't think is necessary. My other point is the room referred to on this plan as 'lounge/diner' is a bit small to be the two rooms so we are just using as one lounge. As you can see the actual square footage isn't massive so making the most of the space is key. Hubby's concerns are about the open plan nature, also the cost for what we potentially would gain. Also the old 'lounge/diner' being a bit small for a lounge - to which I said make it the playroom with the main sitting area being the new on at the back. Thoughts?

The floating staircases are called "cantilever" staircases, they generally require a structural wall because they are steel plates bolted to the wall and clad in whichever timber you like and most popular balustrade would be glass, so they will not suit all house types, the split level staircase, with the landings are easier to produce and can fit in most house types and are still very contemporary, I am also a fan or the curved staircases because I understand the work involved but i would suggest the curved staircase would be more suited to a traditional house type.