I'm thinking the same way Darzy,maybe I will go with all the same or find a nice tile. I am getting ready to refit my kitchen so may need some help.i am thinking of a grey coloured farrow and ball colour on the bottom cabinets and white on the top. On the back wall of the kitchen I have a brick chimney hood so this time I would like to do something different and not as bulky looking so was thinking of doing a small mantle and just putting a downdraft behind my cooking hob if anyone can advise does the downdrafter really work?

If you are doing in-floor heating (hydronic heating) I would go with tile. If you are not, go with wood. That's from the energy and comfort perspective. It's OK to look at the two options and choose the one that's most attractive. Don't feel like you need to optimize for energy with every decision. Also, both flooring materials are reflective acoustically. Plan your other surfaces accordingly, or you'll drive yourself batty with echoes.

Thanks Decoenthusiaste! Yes that sofa is unavailable here and hard to find anything similar in local stores, but I may have one made up! So yes I’m using the images you post as inspiration and hope to find similar items here, I also love the grey Scandanavian sofa ideas you had earlier, and will use them as inspiration to get a lighter replacement. The blind on my window is screwed in place, but I could easily replace it with something that would let in more light, like the top down blinds (which are new to me!). I’m really glad no one has thought the absence of curtains an issue, as light is scarce here & I prefer the no curtains look. I do agree we should move the car to another part of our drive to get a nicer view out. A radiator cover that could double as a shelf would work well I think, I love the bespoke one, how cool! Also good to find out that you can get ones that allow the heat to rise. Re the music centre, I might replace with an iPod doc with speakers as Glo kindly suggested, In meantime I might cover it (and the dreaded TV!) with a piece of framed art leaning from the floor, aware that’ll be another competing focal point, but hopefully a nicer one! Thanks a lot for the tip re dimensions for a piece of art over the sofa and a coffee table, both of which are on my list to get, I would’ve had no clue re this and it’s fantastic to discover that there are certain rules which, if you apply them, can make your room work visually! Thanks again for the brilliant advice, I really appreciate it.

A15) @Dara Cooke: If you can't afford a quartz or granite worktop from day one then I would recommend using a laminate worktop as a temporary solution. If you don't put tiles up as a backsplash then replacing the worktops can be relatively easy in a couple of years.