Hi bagpu55, thanks for your comment, you will find that the level of scratches that come through on the sealer will depend on the type of gloss sealer used. Polyurethane or solvent based sealers last a lot longer and are much more durable, even with animals present. Having said this, the negatives are that solvent based products take some time for the strong smell to escape in a confined environment and are not the most eco-friendly of products. And eventually the scratches will come through particularly in high traffic areas. As for the dust, the gloss will show it a bit more. Based on the fact that you do have a number of animals in your home, you probably will not regret going with the matt finish. The concrete won’t have the ‘wet’ shinny look, but you also won’t be sitting on your couch possibly looking at a lot of scratches on the floor when the light hits it just so. A possible compromise is a satin finish sealer. It will provide some shine and enhancement to the floor without showing as many scratches. I hope this helps you out a bit. Good luck with your choice and post some pics of what your finished floor looks like. Always great to see the finished product!

Yes, it does come down to personal taste, but the overall look of your initial kitchen that has the concrete look tiles is beautiful. It would appeal to a wider audience too I think than the navy blue. If you concrete look tiles looked like those in the picture it would look great (as compared to a more matt look concrete tile which may not look as good). I say no to the herringbone look timber in your whole place downstairs. It will probably cost more to lay and I think it adds complexity that you don't need in a home as beautiful as an old queenslander. If you do decide on timber, I would stick with it being just straight planks. (Herringbone is flavour of the month now and I love it for tiles, but it makes a very big statement that not appeal to everyone if you are putting it in a much bigger area like kitchen etc). Good luck.

Hi there, we just do a wipe down every day for cleanliness ( can still see some marks with this) and a wipe and buff once a week to look as new. We have red wine, turmeric, beetroot, coffee drips, grey ‘pencil’ scrapes from plates. Oils are pretty much a daily addition on our benches too, and as it is also our backsplash it gets tomato sauce, spatters etc from cooking. All disappear with the wipe and buff method except for the pencil type marks which I use another Enjo product called marble paste on then follow up with the usual routine. I think you may have to make the hard decision between the fresh concrete look or a stone that shows less marks in certain lights- choose whichever feature will make you the happiest in the long term. Either way you will love your new space.

will the gas fire be expected to be open on both sides? the standard gas log fires can be installed with a simple stud wall without any extra special problem for the other side of the wall and some have efficient power flues that can exit under the floor or almost horizontally and/or with bends in different directions for more flexible installation.. manufacturers' websites have quite detailed installation instructions with specific measurements that should be studied before choosing the heater