Kitchen's suffer from extreme humidity variation, so you should fully adhere the solid or engineered flooring to avoid a bowing/warping floor in a few months time However, here's another viable option; luxury vinyl tiles (LVT). Generally, LVTs are 2.5mm thick, made from 100% pvc (therefore waterproof), come with a thick polyurethane wear layer that normally is backed up with a manufacturers warranty, with a wood or stone effect finish. LVTs are great with underfloor heating and unlike ceramics, they don't break when heavy objects are dropped on them and unlike wooden floors, once laid, LVTs need no further maintenance other than regular vacuuming and washing. LVTs are almost indestructible! There are many options available but us Flooring Gurus recommend going for a recognised brand. The whole idea about an LVT is for it to look authentic. They need to genuinely look like the wood or stone flooring they are mimicking. Cheap alternatives, when installed, look ... well ... awful! Try looking at Polyflor's Colonia and Camaro. We sell these products online at www.flooringmegastore.co.uk and if you made contact with us, we'd be happy to despatch a few free of charge samples to you, plus a glossy catalogue, to help you research the products a bit more. We're the Flooring Gurus!

If it's a drop underneath that's about 1m then perhaps a lowered seating area might be better for keeping you out of the wind ? If you have a gravel or stone floor in that section - and enough space - then a kadai fire bowl in the middle will keep you cosy too ? Look out for second hand boat cushions for weather proof seating. Or make your own using foam and oilcloth . Then add floki rugs or thick throws or sheep /deer/reindeer hides to sit on ... A photo and some measurements might help ?!

Well we live in a flat on the 4th floor in Edinburgh city. So we loved the thought of being able to expose the original stone walls of the flat. You can see from the pictures that we had it done for the kitchen and lounge. Since everything of ours are modern, the stone wall really brings an edge to the design. And in the lounge, we painted it the Farrow & Ball Downpipe which we think really sets it off next to the stone. Especially with the mouldings on the window, the lounge has become quite a grand looking space even without any furnishings. And we didn't even get to varnish the walls as we liked the way it looked now. There doesn't seem to be any problems with the dust coming off the walls.

hi there looking for advice for new kitchen floor 70s bungalow refurb - large open plan kitchen / living room - house is built on concrete slab and architect has included lots of large windows as kitchen end is south / southwest facing. read that dark colour in either polished concrete or natural stone carpet would gain most thermal mass gain energy wise (other than dark tiles which we want to stay away from) any thoughts advice would be appreciated! thanks