Just a thought, have you checked your lovely flooring will persist under new cabinets or more importantly the gap created by the island bench. Possibly put a simple narrow breakfast bar (with power point of course) across a couple of the window sections, lovely to sit and look out of the window and preserve the look and the light. Then you would save some depth into the living space, as the current breakfast bar is quite large and deep.

I love using sisal rugs and I have one in my family room that I have found very good for a busy family. I have spilt Coca Cola on it before and it is easily removed by dabbing with water and dabbing until the coke is gone. It is a more corse fibre so it is not soft but I love it. This is the sisal rug in my family room that I have had for years and I still love it. I think it is a timeless material and also helps to create a more relaxed casual look. I say go for it. Hope this helps- as you can tell I am a sisal lover!!!!

Thanks! We do really love the pressed metal and weatherboard. It would be a shame to cover them up. So it Would be okay to have the weatherboard suddenly change into a dry wall ceiling and then on the side have pressed metal? do we even need even a small border or something? I kind of like how the ceilings themselves denote the old rooms of the house. It’s a nice reminder. noted re floors. We will just replace the shoddy ones. agree re floating floors. thanks so much!

Even you are not a professional property painter these tips will make you just follow the steps and the outcome will be surprisingly awesome and you might think of changing your career to a home improvement specialist. Summer and holidays are the perfect time to rest and to disconnect from the routine of the day. However, it is also a time that is used to carry out tasks at home that we have not been able to do the rest of the year. One of those tasks is to paint the house, so I am going to give you a series of tips to paint the ceiling of the rooms and obtain a professional result. In principle, painting the walls and ceilings of a home is not too complicated, but we must follow a series of recommendations to obtain a good result and make as little dirt as possible. If we want to paint a whole room, it is always advisable to start painting from the ceiling, following the following steps: MATERIALS FOR PAINTING THE CEILING To paint the ceiling we will need: Roller. The length of the hair of the roller will depend on the roughness of the surface, that is, if the ceiling that we are going to paint has gotelé we will need a wool roller with the hair as long as possible, while if the ceiling is smooth, a roller is advisable with short hair. On the other hand, long-haired wool rollers are more appropriate for vinyl or acrylic paints and short-haired ones for plastic or water-based paints. Finally, if the roller is new, we will eliminate the loose hairs by wrapping adhesive tape around it and then removing it. If it is new or has little use, it is not advisable to put it directly in the bucket as it will absorb too much paint, better paint it beforehand with a brush and then put it in the bucket. Paintbrush. Better to use a round brush to paint the corners and edges that the roller cannot reach. Extension stick. There are sticks to which we can roll the roller to be able to reach the ceiling and to be able to carry out the passes comfortably, quickly, and without too much effort. The paint must be of the best quality, in this way we will prevent applying more passes of brush than the regular application and get a good result. There are also anti-drip paints on the market that are especially useful when what we are going to paint is the ceiling. A bucket and a tray to paint. The bucket must be wide to properly remove the paint. In addition, we could use a tray in which to moisten the brush when we paint the perimeter of the ceiling. Protectors. Painter's tape, plastics, cardboard, newspaper, cap, protective glasses ... everything we need to protect furniture and floors and also so that we ourselves do not end up painting more than necessary. STEPS TO PAINT THE CEILING Schedule the task. This first step is necessary since the more time we prepare the whole process, the less time it will take to do the whole task. For this, we will remove the less heavy furniture as well as curtains, lamps, etc. We will cover bulky furniture with plastics or fabrics that we no longer use. We will also place painter's tape where it is necessary and we will cover the floor with cardboard or newspaper to prevent it from staining (it is not advisable to use plastic for the floor as it can break and not protect it properly). Clean and repair defects. Before applying the paint, we will repair any cracks and damage that the ceiling may have using putty. Then we will sand the surface and clean it with a damp cloth, insisting on the areas where there may be stains. In case of humidity, we will treat it with a specific product. Paint the perimeter. Before starting to paint with the roller, we must paint with the brush the entire perimeter of the angle between the ceiling and the walls, as well as all the areas that the roller cannot reach. This step is very essential since if we do it after application using the roller, you may detect some marks that are very hard to remove. First hand with the roller. Once we have soaked the roller with paint from the bucket and we have drained it conveniently, we will begin by painting vertical stripes from the corner of the bedroom door wall towards the window, avoiding going back over the already painted surface. Care should be taken that the paint stripes slightly overlap to avoid unpainted gaps, but be careful not to leave visible marks. It is also very important to slide the roller on the surface and not press, as it can cause chips on the paint that are difficult to repair. Second hand with the roller. Once the first coat has completely dried (see the repainting times recommended by the manufacturer), we will apply the second coat by painting horizontal stripes, that is, in a direction transverse to the first coating application. This way, we need to ensure that the paint is evenly distributed and we will lower the risk of having marks left on the process. The final touch. Finally and before the last layer has dried, we will roll without adding paint in the same direction as the first coat, in this way we will obtain a magnificent result and we will give that professional touch to our ceiling.