Hubby and I have stayed in Venice twice, once with our young children. We took a vaporetto to Murano to visit the glassworks. Fascinating to watch the men work. The kids each were given a beautiful clear glass horse figurine, which all these years later they still treasure and display. On our last trip, we visited a small shop run by siblings. We purchased the last of a collection of seven pendant light globes their father had blown for the shop. They were all the same shape but different colours of glass. We purchased them for the new modern house we planned to build the following year or so. We are pleased and grateful to have such unique, handmade and time-honoured beauty embellish the spaces in our home, and the lights always interest guests and we then have a story to tell.

My son used to help me cook in the kitchen - he is 190 cm, I am 175cm. I have an old-fashioned breakfast bar which is raised above the level of the kitchen benchtop. My son would stand at the raised section, I would stand at the lower section, it worked really well. An alternative might be to have a pull out step in the kick board spaces for your wife to stand on - I don't know if it would be high enough, but it might make things more comfortable. Speaking from the point of view of a tall woman, I will have my next kitchen cupboards and laundry raised at least 10 cm to make my life more comfortable - bending forward for any length of time is seriously UN comfortable!

thanks how2girl, but I guess my question is more about polishing concrete that has been sealed/oiled than it is about concrete benchtops (hence those threads were a bit generic). A bit more research suggests to me that a sander is the tool to use. I'm thinking of attaching some used carpet to a sander. I'm still unsure of whether to use a polishing cream - I think it perhaps can't do any harm though, and may add to the shine. Then the question becomes whether it makes sense to add bees wax over the top. To me, it seems it would protect the shine. But I'm guessing all of this.

Hi AndrewJason, Again! :) Depending how many people in your home. Do you have other linen store somewhere else in the home? If so I would consider going with the linen hall cupboard in the laundry for tall things, then using the full length of the wall for the bench, units under at the outside door end, and put the sink nearer to hall door: think about the order in which you would usually use these things. Dirties in from the kids rooms and the bathroom, rinse, soak, hand wash, WM, TD if you need to, out the door to the "rotary or linear, unit for air movement and solar assisted moisture removal with appendages and wiring" ! When it has achieved its optimal, goods are brought in and bench is used for folding and stacking. The shirt rail under the overhead cupboards are brilliant! As are rails along the other walls for towels in use or pool towels, airing, finish drying etc. My preference would be to move the hall and outside doors to the center of their walls so you have two sides of "U" with walkway between down the center of the room, for cupboards, benches etc between the full length of the room. Go on knock out those bricks!!! Even with the loo door on the right hand wall the space would be very helpful. Hope this is helpful. Cheers, Margot