It is in fact in the front window of our showroom! there will be much more lighting on the kitchen during the day and possible a few spotlights plus these at night. They are more of a feature than a practical light. The glass is smoked black rather than completely clear which would possibly help in a "real" situation. Thank you for your expert opinion! its always great to hear other ideas on Houzz!

Hi Pavinia, I feel your pain! We had a similar problem at home, until my wonderful husband had the idea of nailing together some old market crates (the type used for fruit & veg) - a bit like what Courtenay Moon suggested! We sanded them down to get rid of any splinters and then painted them. They look similar to the picture I've attached. I wish I could remember where we got the crates from, but I'm sure there must be lots knocking round at farmers' markets around your home town! I realise this doesn't solve the television problem, but maybe you could think about using old pallets - you can often get those at builders' yards. Good luck with your project! I'm sure it will look super

"Upcycling" is still very much in vogue at the moment with items like this really being sought after for a lick of paint! If you're going to paint it, we'd definitely point you in the direction of a Farrow & Ball paint, then it's up to you whether you opt to distress it for that sought-after aged look or leave it for a clean finish. If you're going to restore it, then be prepared to use a lot (and I mean A LOT) of elbow grease!!! But once you get that wood down to the original finish then we'd recommend getting a high quality Tung oil onto it to give it a beautiful and resilient finish. Hope this helps in some way! Regards KB

We recently launched our flagship store in Dusseldorf, Germany. Take a look at our beautiful displays, custom made for us by the kings of furniture, NUTSANDWOODS. Which is your favourite?