Hi Nikhil. What's the actual colour of the cream paint so can attempt to find a granite although it is hard online as colours show differently. I'd also keep upstands in the granite and maybe even the splashback for a clean look. I'm not a pro hence take my comments accordingly (!) and I know you didn't ask for layout advice so I hope you don't me saying but I'm not sure if the sink is in the most practical position as you can't stack dishes next to it etc. I'd also check the safety regs for a gas hob so close to a window as it may potentially be dangerous if the window is open. I'm also not sure where the fridge freezer is in relation to the rest of the kitchen?

Hi, we at Dual Designs are often designing kitchens up to the ceiling. It is usually because of the client requiring more cupboard space, along with making sure the design will suit their beautiful dream kitchen. We have designed cabinets up to the ceiling in large and small rooms, both work really well. It mainly comes down to person taste, some people would never leave a gap at the top, with the 'dust trap' word mentioned. Others who don't mind a gap would often say they can't reach high units and don't want to use a ladder. We always consider both the practical side along with the design and give an honest assessment to help our clients. I would think taking the cabinets up to the ceiling can work though a good designer will confirm this for you, so I hope that helps and good luck

Hello Charlotte, Having just had a look at the picture and layout of your backyard, I would have a couple of suggestions which may be useful to you; I am not a landscaper, but as I have just completely re-vamped my own garden, I have learned a few lessons along the line ;). First of all, think twice before you remove the raised beds/borders, as they are in the right position to provide screening for your yard and it's much better to have larger plants sitting in the actual ground, as they'll thrive and require much less watering than those in planters; also, the beds look nicely part of the existing structure, so I'd probably rather try to incorporate them into th scheme, or maybe remove just a part. You could try to incorporate some of your desired seating into, or rather onto, the beds, by building (or buying) some simple seats out of decking planks o.s., therefore saving space whilst still keeping the precious(!) soil. In terms of ground cover, I think the gravel is a great idea and it will look and feel soo much better than the existing concrete! Another thing that came to mind is that you could section the floor space a little by building some raised decking where you want the seating area to be (I imagined it on the left hand side of the picture along the raised beds, but in an irregular shape to make it interesting and more natural). This will create different "zones" and will, strangely enough, make the space feel larger. It's difficult to describe all this adequately, but if you are interested in the idea I could do you a quick drawing or mockup for further explanation :) Plant wise, I would recommend to go for those varieties that do not need full sun - I can very well imagine large ferns and wild flowers, maybe some bamboo, palm trees, or hedge plants for screening. I did quite a bit of research on the RHS website for my garden; it gives you the option to look for varieties suited to your soil type and climate, which I, as a novice gardener, found very useful! Hope this helps a bit; I tried to keep it short, so feel free to get in touch should you have questions :) Best Regards, Stephanie

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.