hello bonnielynn75 and THANK YOU! your comment put a smile on my face re the red on the interior side of the door. It IS red on the inside as well, he insisted on that when we purchased it. no one here has it red on the inside and I wanted it to be white on the inside. do you see my dilemma?;) I agree with everything you are saying, I suppose this is the reason why so far I was not 100% sure about the black for the door either, although I like black...Agree, there is too much wall and I find the house to be looking a bit 'bland' and would like to change that. I LOVE shutters, but read somewhere that you never put shutters on wide windows, so got unsure about that, too...but perhaps just the one as I stated earlier. Would the color on that shutter be the same as the door (if I ever settle on a door color)? Unfortunately window boxes are not an option as we have quite a few cats and they may be used as litter boxes;) please don't tell me to get rid of the cats;)... Regarding the stoop (entrance) : we need to add another step (made of cement) on top of the existing step: it was removed when the new door was fitted. We were thinking of putting slate tiles or something dark to match the roof, if that makes any sense.... It is porous cement so unsuitable for painting, I think. What place in Ireland did you visit, we are close to the Irish Sea in the country surrounded by sheep;)...

Hi guys, Leelee we are definitely doing the vintage bits on the wall. We actually have some vintage cereal boxes that we are planning on displaying on the shelves (filled with cereal of course)!. Sarainitaly - I'm investigating thenIkea planner but it's painful to work (or maybe it's just me!). Here's a pic of the walls totally painted green now. Think the shelves will look great along with some pictures dotted around. It's the cabinets now that will b a pain! BTW it was pure enthusiasm that stopped me waiting until the water heater came off the wall to paint - lol. I will have to paint the patch when it's off.

Jen, are you sure everything is in proportion? I'm asking, because that store seems to be just a bit wider than a door (so about 1 m) which is fine, but doesn't give much space to manoeuvre inside it. Also, a bit too many doors in a small space, but I'm afraid I can't offer you a remedy for that. You have two wide, massive windows and a door in between, I think that will give plenty of light. Personally, I'd just add skylights or a glass roof. Or a long strip of glass all along What you don't seem to have is ventilation windows. Trust me, you're going to want one in the utility, or at least a good fan. Transom style windows could work too if you can open them. I really wish you'd see an architect... there are lots of different, small things that a professional can spot from miles away that you wouldn't even consider. As I said, I regret we didn't; our house is great, but it could've been even better!

not alot happening at the moment, its winter! alotta rain, lotta. but i am bedding down to get this over with and maybe in the spring the spirits will rise once more. i hope so. i would love to feel i was doing something to keep my hopes and dreams alive, i dont see what i can do until the spring. when i bring the topic up, especially to those that moved away and came down this neck of the woods, they say they had friends who felt it was too far too and moved back home. i guess thats how i feel, thats what i want and i just want to be a bit more uplifted, i think rain dampens down things a bit!!! santa Ma Margaret!