I hate it. I quite like the smell and the look is quite nice (especially if over an ugly building). However the cons, and there are many, far out-weigh the pros. High maintenance, potential structural damage, insects (though I don't mind them too much) and worse - you may as well be building a network of ladders for mice and rats to get around. Ugh. On the structural damage - with old houses, it is essential that the pointing is regularly checked and it has to be redone from time to time. Even if the ivy doesn't cause damage by getting in through cracks, it still traps moisture and holds it in your porous brick walls for longer causing potential damage to brickwork and timbers behind it such as lintels and joists. Even at the very least it obscures the view of your walls so you can't check your pointing regularly and monitor any cracks (which you mightn't notice until too late anyway if ivy-covered). Ivy is just bad news for a building even if it does look nice. Edited to add one more thing, that I forgot - ivy spreads rapidly and aggressively (birds sprinkle the berries around) and smothers trees and other plants so it's not all that environmentally friendly after all.

Yes that was one of the issues with our place. Narrow corridors, poorly lit. But by rearranging the access to key spaces, blocking some doors and creating a new double width doorway to the principle room, what was a narrow hallway is now integrated and useful. By converting the large loft, we now have a stairwell lit by two velux windows which also throw light into the heart of the building. Lastly the old underhouse garage is now a studio, glazed with full height blue-grey aluminium windows and a door. Our originally depressing, generic ittle bungalow on a sloping site has become a four bed live-work space on three levels that is beginning to feel more like our home

hi, my sister in law has a very similar sized kitchen to u and shebhasbso much storage she even has empty cupboards!! she put her sink infront of the windowbwith the hob opposite, to the left of the hob shebhas a tall unit with her ovens in it and the otherside she has her fridge and then 2 base units and 2glass display wall units. on the far wall to the right of her sink she has wall units, and to the left of her sink she has a stretch of worktop similar to ur plan which leads to a peninsular island that steps down from her worktop height to create a table. would love to see some pics of what plan you go with and the finished result

I absolutely love Christmas lights, and it doesn't matter what colour or style, the more the merrier. I've only got one issue: Please people, take them down in January at the latest. By all means go all out from December til 12th night, in fact I applaud you, but if there's one thing I hate is defunct Christmas decorations hanging round in April. In fact I've seen some people leave them up all year and they think as long as they don't switch them on it's OK. No, sorry, we can still see them....And you're killing the magic!