Daylight on a rainy day in Ireland, ah. The easy thing to do is change the bulbs in the recessed fixtures to the maximum allowed. But this will not help with overall illumination because the recessed fixtures point straight down, not sideways. For that you need to add a surface mount or close to ceiling fixture, meaning new electrical work. Some recessed fixtures can be converted to pendants, by the way. Since it is so dark, I suggest painting the whole thing a nice bright white, including the laminate cabinets. There are many discussion posts on painting laminate cabinets on Houzz. I would paint the interior of the missing-doors cabinet with an oil based white paint, too, to brighten it up. Choose a white that coordinates well with the countertop, flooring and tile. The tile can be changed, of course, sooner or later. With some fiddling, you may be able to adjust the sagging cabinet doors under the sink. These are often much used. If the hinges have seen better days, replace them with identical ones, or swap them with less-used hinges, say from those upper cabinets you took down. It's an old house trick to swap worn parts with less-used parts from elsewhere. Most undersink cabinets can use a coat of white paint on the bottom shelf or Contact paper if paint is not suitable.

East Kent Eco - again thank you for your input. As a pro I wonder if you could offer your thoughts on a couple of scenarios 1 - Leave bath where it is - what would be involved in moving the shower 4-6 inches to the centre of the bath? I did consider the P shaped bath and will consider your suggestion for a shorter bath to allow room for the toilet, but I currently had to put in a door stop to protect the shower door from the entrance door handle and I would be concerned about a rounded door being even closer. If I left the bath where it is I have a couple of options, turning the toilet and cistern 90 degrees to the adjoining wall - see above for the considerations there, or I have also considered switching the toilet and sink. I would put the sink facing the wall where the cistern currently is have a large-ish vanity from the base of the bath to the wall, and the if the toilet was where the sink is it would not interfere with the doors for the hot press as the seat would be considerably lower than the sink is currently thus giving me the better access I want. In this scenario the main issue for me would be the toilet would be facing the entrance door, a bit unsightly but if it gave me the space I want I think I could live with the compromise. 2 - A bit more involved, but I have also considered moving the bath sideways along the short length of the room, shower end over the space where the cistern is currently and moving the sink and toilet to the space where the bath is currently. I think this would allow me room for a vanity and maybe also a tall storage cupboard for the towels and linens currently in the hot press. The obvious concern with this is the shower spray in the direction of the hot press, if I got the storage I needed elsewhere in the bathroom I wouldn't be concerned about those getting wet, but would want to ensure I don't end up with a leak over the stairs. Access would also be an issue if repairs were required for the shower pump or the hot water system. You would have to step into the bath to gain access. Is there a solution to waterproof the cupboard?

Hello nicnoll, Another idea could be to have a wall light that is all about the bulb! A few links to both ideas.... Copper is good too... Guessing you can have them pointing up or down for ones that don't have a moving hinge.. http://www.oldschoolelectric.com/vintage-light-bulbs/ http://www.industville.co.uk/collections/wall-sconce-bar-restaurant-lamps/products/vintage-barn-angled-brass-wall-lamp A ceiling light.. http://www.industville.co.uk/collections/ceiling-lights-lampshades/products/brooklyn-vintage-brass-cone-lampshade OR.. One other idea... have a rose with multi flex wires... centralised where the current one is.. Then choosing cable/flex and lengths.. run them along to where you want.. either along ceiling.. in loops with hooks to loop round and fix position, so then excess becomes a drop pendant to add something lovely.... Or you run them in loops across the ceiling to the opposite wall and have a wall light fitting but the electric cable comes from the one ceiling point. So less to do wiring wise.. Plus this makes for a very interesting bespoke installation.. with coloured flex cable running in loops along the hallway.. . : )) http://www.urbancottageindustries.com/historic-lighting/ceiling-roses/multiple-outlet-ceiling-roses/ceiling-rose-multiple-cable-flex-outlet-vintage-brass http://www.urbancottageindustries.com/historic-lighting/fabric-cable/twisted-lighting-flex/copper-fabric-lighting-flex-cable-twist

Hello Edele, Well one way to maximise space is to reconsider the appliance aspect. So for example you could have a free standing range oven.. which will have hob and oven in 1 piece. This could give you much more space to play with, so possibly you might want a double height fridge, which would be best placed to go at the other end.. The other thing you could easily do is take out those shelves above the worktop and instead have a row of shelving on the rear wall.. Then you could have a row of cabinets all along the top. This gives a slightly different feel to the kitchen, making it more streamlined but also potentially offering you more storage space.. Re positioning the cabinets and painting them can also achieve a new look whilst using what you have.. Replacing the handles with touch/open mechanism hinges on the inside also gives the cupboards a really stylish appearance and nickel or brass (depending on colour of cabinet door) cup handle for the drawers... . If you were to take away the armchair.. you may be able to move along the table a little, add two chair to the head of the table to seat 6 and then at the other end on the far wall (where I suggested some shelving) have a butchers block or table for additional food prep... It could have wheels so you could use it when dining for serving and so forth.. : ))