This is very similar to a detail I am using on a house I am designing. In this house the screen behind the woodburner is a pre-coated steel corrugate. The manufacturers are happy with the temperatures the paint will be exposed to in this situation. Talk to the suppliers of mini-orb to confirm it for your situation. To function as a heat shield the steel needs to have sufficient ventilation space behind it, so needs to be fixed on heat resistant spacers and have sufficient openings top and bottom of the screen to allow the air to flow freely. This can be achievable with sufficient perforations or with clear openings. You will need lining such as plasterboard behind the screen. The detailing of the edges for the screen will affect how the screen works with your design, so think that through.

Hi Magic M new kitchens have more drawers than doors. They also have soft closers on doors and drawers, as well as full extension runners on the drawers. Your kitchen is therefore immediately showing its age because it clearly has more doors and is probably missing the other elements I mentioned that are considered standard in today's functional kitchen. So it really comes down to your budget. If you have the budget I would replace the whole kitchen with cabinets (more drawers than doors) with a shaker style profile. Custom cabinets to the ceiling. Manmade stone such as Caesarstone benchtops. You could think about the same stone on the splashback as subway tiles are on their way out. If your budget doesn't run to a new kitchen then the Annie Sloan chalk paint as suggested is a good option on both the existing cabinets and the new add on ones. Any of your suggested colours in muted tones would work.

Actually I think you can have whatever style cabinetry you want so long as the colour scheme is the same, consistant colours are what helps create the 'seamless flow' from old to new. We did the same kind of renovation 2 years ago - a huge extension onto our 1900's cottage and the front hallway (in the original house) joins the new hallway so flow was very important as we did not want it to look like the old house stopped and the new house began. But honestly the cabinetry can be more modern if you prefer, and completely different from your existing, as from my experience to create the perfect flow between the old and the new the most important details are: 1) Paint and colour scheme: If you want the old house to connect well with the new extension make sure you repaint the walls, ceilings and cabinetry in the original part (at least the hallway and areas that connect with the new) the same colour as you paint in the new extension and keep the colour scheme very similar between the old and new. 2) Flooring: We had solid hardwood flooring in the original house but unfortunately is was so badly water damaged and patched throughout so couldnt be saved, so we installed the same wide-panel reclaimed-look oak flooring that we were using in the extension - essential as the old and new hallways joined. 3) Doors: Try and find doors as close as possible to the ones you already have. We had some difficulty with this as ours were solid timber and had 5 horizontal panels but in the end we managed to find one supplier that had similar and with so many doors in the new extension it really helps create a more seamless look 4) Wall panelling (if applicable): We had waist high panelling throughout the original house and our builder copied this throughout the extension (his suggestion). Couldnt be happier with the result and it definately wouldnt have looked right if the panelling stopped suddenly where the new house began 5) Consistant ceiling height: Really important when blending old with new, make sure you keep ceiling heights the same at the point where the old meets the new - or go much higher, this also works. But dont go just slightly higher or lower! Other than that there is no need to try and replicate other period details like cabinetry and cornices. Love and celebrate the original part of your home that has the quirks, ornate ceilings, fireplaces etc and let the new extension compliment without trying to compete

Hi Nancy, Just thought I'd offer a few thoughts for you to consider. How much you change depends on your overall budget and how much of the house needs updating. My guess is that you wont be changing the window frames so why don't you include this colour in the overall colour sceme? I agree that the joinery looks to be of really good quality and it would be a real shame to dispose of them. I fear if you update the cabinets with a new finish, the granite will let down the overall updating. While these images may not be the right tone or style, I would suggest considering green cabinets and a light or grey bench top. The green on the cabinets could be paint or 'whitewash' if you want the Hamptons vibe. You could also mix and match and have green lowers with white high level cabinets and look at a 'hand made' look wall tile. Good luck, C.