Hello everyone, I'm back. As they never did answer my email, I went to the Melbourne supplier's shop and discovered that, although I do like Kerlite, it is VERY expensive. They gave me the phone number of their tiler, I phoned him, he was going to come out to give me a quote, but never did come. In the end, I didn't chase him, because he did tell me on the phone how much he charges per meter to lay them. :-) Looks like I'll be going with the suggestion of Dytecture and replace just the kitchen area tiles. Now I have a new question. I had a few people out here and am getting contradictory advice. Some say I should strip the existing kitchen, lay the tiles, THEN put the kitchen on top of the tiles ._They_ say it would look better, less cutting of tiles needed, so no patchwork near the cupboards and also the cupboards would be on "higher ground" in case of a flood. The other camp tells me that doing it this way would make the job take a lot longer, and it is better for the cupboards to "sit" below the tiles, sort of a reinforcement and the difference in the look would hardly be noticeable. _They_ say that the people advising laying the tiles first are just being lazy - it is just easier for them. Of course, I would also need more tiles if I put them under the cupboards as well, so there would be added expense as well. While, getting it done as quickly as possible is definitely an attractive proposition, that is not my only criteria, nor would having to supply a few more tiles worry me that much. What do you think?

Hi, we received an email from Houzz about you and I thought I would introduce our business; Sydney Doors to you as we could be of service. We manufacture custom made kitchen and wardrobe doors in a raw or polyurethane finish. We also pick up and deliver and are known for our friendly, efficient service. Please contact me if we can be of assistance. Regards.

Yes, all the Houzzers have been extraordinarily helpful. I am sure in the end, it will be a beautiful room. With regards to the change of sofa style, I was unsure of my ability to keep the white leather clean - particularly the stitching. By finally going with the "Julio" it is slightly more comfy sofa than the "Ariel". It has a higher back and I feel the "granite" colour will give me less hassles. In reality, the "granite" colour has slight yellow/creme undertones which tie back better with the curtains but this doesn't really show up in pictures. Golly, I hope I am on the right track. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. Keep them coming please

Hi Karina. Haha very funny re your art piece, KitchenAid! Baking is so much fun; I'm a baker from way way back, and you learn by just jumping in and doing it. About the height of your combined dining/bench table, it's pretty important to have a height that's comfortable for you whilst you work. I'm tall and my family is too, so we had the benchtop height built higher so we are not getting backaches from constantly having to bend over to work. It's really more important for the one who does all or most of the cooking & baking to be comfortable as you can spend long periods of time reading and working out recipes, then putting it all together. Likewise, if you are shorter, choose a table that suits you. Best wishes and keep us posted.