I would suggest you take out the cabinet that is to the right of the stove and use it elsewhere in the house -- perhaps in the bathroom or dining room with a hutch above it. Then, I would suggest you have someone install a lazy susan cabinet in the corner between the sink counter and the stove, meaning you would move the stove down a bit and have a small cabinet/counter top to the right of the stove. I would suggest you have the cabinets refinished in white and then paint the walls a pastel you like. If you would prefer white walls, then add white-painted crown molding and paint the ceiling a light neutral blue, such as Sherwin Williams Niagara Falls Blue. Then, I would suggest you choose a favorite accent color and use this sparingly in accessories like towels, pot holders, small vases or floral arrangements, and a valence above the triple windows. For a genuine 1940s look, you might have white ceramic square tiles with a rectangular red border installed as a back splash behind and above the stove. If you are replacing counter tops, I would suggest a light color such as white with a beige or light grey vein or striation for some sort of pattern. You might be able to find the same color and design in floor tile OR opt for a wood floor as another poster suggested.

Hi eclipse 66 I'm sorry to hear about your break in. This is quite tricky to picture as I wasn't certain which walls related to which, but I will give this a go. I wonder if your ceilings are around the 2.4mtr mark, as your doors suggest. Although you have many windows that are probably floor to ceiling, each room is sectioned off by this central corridor, so no real natural light gets down there, is that right? The little natural light that might filter through would be absorbed by the walls, and the colour you have on these walls would not be easily seen. Without. Sounding too mainstream here, I would absolutely paint an offwhite wall the entire corridor and each adjoining living area off that, with exception to your kitchen. All ceilings purest ceiling white along with the window frames and all internal doors. The walls in a satin finish to help the light reflect a little, and move around the wall without being too shiny. You haven't mentioned your floor? Try to keep it consistent in all the living areas including your hallway, and only carpet the bedrooms as these doors would be closed often. With the door filled hallway being a white gloss finish, and a white ceiling in a flat white, the walls will feel a little warmer in comparison, although still a white, perhaps something like a hog bristle 1/4 strength by dulux. In your main living room, and kitchen, paint the hog bristle in full strength, so it feels warmer, as these spaces flow onto each other, feeling larger as a whole. With your doors being so tall, (or the ceiling being comparably low), hang your window rods if any right at ceiling level, use a sheer curtain that even when partly closed let's light filter through, they dress the window but won't block light, for that install roller blinds that will roll right up exposing as much daylight as possible, and if privacy is a factor, the sheer will provide a buffer and still seem light filled. Even if these are never used, framing the window will place an emphasis on the window frame, and more importantly the light they provide, swell as an illusion of vertical space even without it. Aother suggestion for that hall is to use this principle to heighten the ceiling, visually, is to use lining boards vertically, or a wallpaper with a strip or vertical print. Drawing you eye upward toward the end, with a wallpaper, I'm thinking of one I've seen many times over, it's a white or cream background, with an image of birch trunks, the base or top of the trees arent revealed in the picture so it doesn't make the space feel from a low or high perspective. This would provide a creative distraction to the corridor, evoke a feeling as you have walking through a beautiful place, and is graphic but still very neutral. You can even paper you doors so when they're closed, the hallway won't feel so busy. I would remove carpet in the hall if you have any, because a warm closed in space without proper airflow, or light feels stuffy, and carpet absorbs sound and lint, where floorboards or hard surface atleasts has a sound walking down it, which amplifies noise and feels bigger again by comparison. Against this neutral, cohesive space, your furniture andpersonality pieces can really stand out, particularly the red. I would also use this in the kitchen somewhere, maybe a gingham check fabric on the kitchen window or just your accessories. The less is more theory also extends to colour, particularly in smaller busy spaces, minimize these elements, like the repeat of doors and architraves on your walls, by tying them in with single colour, and keep your decorations either in a theme or single colour hue. Scatter your colour around so visually you have somewhere your eye is drawn to around the space. If you get pictures I will know if I'm way off track, but if any of them resonate with you, then great. Good luck. Ml design

Thank you so much for the advice. Not sure about black as a colour choice but love navy blue. That would recede but then maybe the greens contrast not so effective? Or dark grey? My roof will be slate grey. Are these free standing mesh panels widely available? The only mesh with which I am familiar as mentioned has to be fixed to the wall or fence. I had thought that the support would need to be freestanding but as my area is also very windy (Lots of Norwesters) I will need to choose carefully from what is available so they are in themslves protected. I have planted jasmine before in Europe but not been successful with an abundance of flowers either in France or Uk, which Is why I didn't list it. However, I am willing to give it another go as the foliage and habit are lovely. Am now going to look up the hedging you mentioned. Was thinking of getting the garden landscaped by someone local to my area but I am sure, like you, they will wonder at the 1.8m restriction! Sadly my subdivision permits only oak trees ( which they removed when subdividing) to be planted which we know grow over 1.8metres. What they hoped to achieve by creating that constraint is beyond me but I am not going to go against it as someone down my road was 'made' to remove their newly planted magnolia trees as they were already over 1.8 when planted. Further I won't live long enough to see an oak tree grow to its prime! TIA of further comment. Kidssiam

Hi all. Two questions re my living room in a very cool but neglected house in NZ. Property was architect designed, built in 1980 but with a very sixties vibe. So it’s an eclectic / Interesting mixture of mid century architecture (floor to ceiling glass, atrium, flat roof, trees) but with 80s appointments (bathroom colours and fittings, crazy paving, floors, garden hardscaping, etc) After being built (to a high standard) it looks like it was neglected by subsequent owners. We bought it three eyars ago and have replaced the roof, skylights, plumbing and wiring. All stuff that had to be done. We redid the front garden because it needed it but it was also the first project we did for lifestyle reasosn as well – because we wanted to not just because we had to. Nice feeling. Two Questions : First - we’ve been here a couple years, and not really solved the living room furniture layout thing. The room is long and relatively narrow. It’s generously sized, but it always feels a little empty. It’s like it’s too large for a ‘single’ seating zone arrangement, but not quite big enough to create two distinct areas. The reality is I feel I have three different possible things I want to ‘look’ at – the fireplace, the garden via the beautiful end glass wall, and, frankly, the TV and Hi Fi. So we tend to settle on an L shaped arrangement, with the open part of the L facing the window and TV in summer, and reversing it so it embraces the fireplace and TV in winter. So what would I like? I’d like to create an area for talking and an area for tv watching / family time where the sofa s closer, but I’m stumped on how to do that without being too far away from the fireplace in winter (brrrr) or being too close to the very large window and its torrents of sunshine in summer (too hot to be comfortable and furniture fades fast in NZ high-UV sun). Ideas and thoughts welcome. Second question : flooring I was a bit iffy on the (original) marble tiling when we moved in but I've grown to love it. I hate the carpet though which definitely isn’t original. I’d like to replace it but can’t decide with what. I’d prefer something that links the three zones – kitchen and entrance area with its marble tiles, living area (currently carpet) and outside patio (grey concrete tiles). More tiles are out – pretty sure three different kinds of tiles across the three zones would look odd - so I’m tossing up w simply replacing the carpet (what kind? What colour? Grey to match tiles or amber-y to bring down colour from the brick wall?) or installing wooden floors. I was leaning towards wood except when we went to the wooden flooring shop both design consultants suggested simply replacing the carpet would look better (they’re wooden floor salespeople??????) which makes me wonder if they are seeing something I'm not. All advice appreciated. It’s a beautiful house, and any improvements I make are about lifestyle not resale value. I’ll be carried out of this place in a box.