Hi Minnie, thanks for your lovely comments. Our supplier has suggested brick slips so am just about to google them! Yes the existing fireplace is nice but always looks cold to me. I have chosen a lovely light grey coloured log burner that I think will brighten up the fireplace instead of the black surround that is currently there but I take your point of unlit log burners looking cold too! I had also thought about an oak mantle and have seen some very nice ones but thought I would wait until the chimney has I been opened up to see final effect. I also take on board your comments regarding adding texture and colour and struggle with this, on the one hand during the day when the room is bright I love the 'minimal' look and the black tops look lovely and reflect daylight and I don't like any clutter and try and keep them clutter-free but in the evening the black granite tops and splashbacks do seem dark although we have recently installed more spotlights which has helped. Thanks again for your helpx

Humm, I had a similar colour carpet in an old rented flat years ago. It was a hard one to modernise up really but it was just a bedroom and I ended up using raspberry pink and creams which really lifted it. Also a rug over the carpet in the sofa area could draw your eyes to that and the carpet can just act as a background colour. It depends on your tastes really ie as mentioned, a country floral style would work well with the room itself. But, if you have more contemporary taste or prefer brighter colours then you could even go for a vibrant palate on a more tropical floral theme. Introduce neutral charcoal sofa with tropical cushions in deep greens with the same raspberry pinks etc and use lots of leafy plants in the room and artwork.

We had granite worktop with upstand and no splashback in our previous house and I can honestly say it never bothered me; the painted walls were easy to wipe clean and even refresh with a bit of paint when some stain got stubborn (that happened only once!) The thought of grout in the kitchen terrifies me...! :)) We now have glass for splashback and I think it's the best! (I don't have any better pics of our old kitchen, at the time I wasn't into photographing interiors). My advice is not to go for tiles, just keep it simple and clean. Good luck!

As others have stated above, the gas hob arrangement just isn't safe and it needs to be ideally 300mm from the edge. That would be the first thing i'd resolve before worrying about new hobs. I think you're looking at a new worktop for the island then depending on the base units and any built under appliances you could then have a new hob safely fitted. Most hobs upto 750 wide have a 560*490 cutout, 800 and above need a bigger cut out. The other issue you may have with a large gas hob is the gas supply pipe could be undersized for the new hob and your gas man might refuse to connect it. Induction hobs are brilliant but you do need suitable pans to use (and no one with a pacemaker). If you're worried about loosing the gas you could go with domino hobs, basically these are 300 wide hobs which have joining strips so you can make your own hob design and combine different cooking methods, not the cheapest hobs but could be more functional for you.