A good wide angle lens to avoid distortions, a tripod, knowledge of white balance (essential if there are lights on, or varying light sources), and ability to use the camera manually rather than auto. A flash is useful too.. Point upwards to the ceiling. Also, lights on shouldn't be a rule...it really should depend on the room and light type, for example side table lamps can add atmosphere and warmth to the shot. Often lights render the image too yellow though (this is where knowledge of adjusting white balance manually comes in), and can appear as a big glaring blob on the photo. I would avoid ceiling lights unles they are small spotlights/down lighters. And get the composition right....usually a photo taken from the corners of a room works best. Detail shots (different lens needed) are sometimes required, but I don't really get why estate agencys sometimes include a photo of a vase of flowers...

I would consider having something other than downlights - either in addition to them or instead of - in the dining/living area Downlights especially LEDs can be an unforgiving light and don't provide any options. In my kitchen I have LED downlights, however, I have dimmable halogens in the dining bit, with a pair of wall lights, which make it feel warmer, cosier and more relaxing. I would have liked a pendant light fitting but the downlights were already there and we didn't want to go to the bother of redoing the ceiling. I would agree with Jonathan on under cupboard lighting - don't underestimate how much light you need in a kitchen and utility room. We have under cupboard lights and also in-cupboard lighting in the glass fronted wall cabinets. We have 18 downlights in the kitchen part (roughly 4.5m x 5.5m) of our kitchen/diner on two different switches (the diner bit is on a third switch/dimmer and wall lights on a fourth ) which proves most useful. Our utility is a separate room approx 3.5M x 3.5m and we have 6 downlights in there. Probably obvious, but don't have the downlights situated directly above the worktops/cabinets, if you have wall cupboards. Try to ensure you get full coverage of light over the room, to avoid dark patches, that can be aided by having tiltable downlights.

hi Fiona, I think you may be heading towards a lot of work with the suggested exposure if there roof timbers to your bungalow. there are a number of potential adress to consider before attempting this work. I will attempt to outline some of these to help you to weigh up the work involved as follows: 1)Are the timbers worth exposing, wil they look good. 2)How will you extend the dividing walls between rooms which will stop at the current ceiling and not extend into the loft. What will you do to hide electrical wiring that will no doubt be run without any consideration between joists and down partitions to switch runs. 4)Depending on the configuration of the house you may have pipes running in the ceiling, together with water storage tanks, if you have a gravity fed cold water system. you will need to consider how you will create proper fire separation between rooms that you intend exposing timbers. how will you insulate the room. with the current regulations requiring increasing levels of insulation there will be more insulation required that you home currently had, so you will probably have to insulate under the rafters, which may present challenges. The above is by no means an exhaustive list but should give you a few things to check in making the decision. Personally I would leave well alone, but if you still want to do this get a surveyor to produce a specification if the works and get some competitive quotes in from a few builders. I hope this had not scared you too much!! best Rowland

Hi Isabel, must have been a terrible time for you. As you state, limestone is porous and does need re-sealing often. This is one of the reason people now prefer stone effect porcelain instead as it is much easier to maintain. As the damage is done I can’t see the point of re-sealing it. Short term you could try indoor/outdoor rugs to cover up the worst bits. These rugs are made of recycled plastic but can be easily hosed down outside if they get mucky. The rugs below are from Next but there are sold everywhere. My stepdaughter had a new kitchen and had the old floor removed along with the UFH. It was a messy job and they moved out for a few weeks whilst it was done, but there was a lot of renovation work done at the same time. I do hope you find a solution. If you do decide to change the flooring, have a look at porcelain which is dead easy to look after. Good luck.