Hi dinkidi4, I'm dealing with the same thing right now. I did paint some of the walls white, which have been good for the time I've been here before doing the 'real' job, however, I don't want this really textured look from the bricks as there are too many walls. I'm about to try Dulux Acra tex on a wall to see if it gives a smoother bagged finish. So still showing the brick lines but not so rough. I'll show photos of the original bricks. Dark, very textured with lots of holes and missing bits of brick as well as deep grout grooves. Such a hard decision - cost and I don't want to make it a flat boring plasterboard house. I have extremely high cathedral ceilings so not a cheap job to plaster either. Excuse the white box - I was playing with it to look at removing arches. Any thing else you've found out since would be a great help

search "floating timber stairs" in HOUZZ photos and there's pages of examples...which one gets the vote??

depends what you need...take some measurements and photos to various suppliers and ask for quotes and suggestions...it may be more cost effective to replace whole walls than several small windows but you need to start with confirming the best floor plan and structural restrictions and researching different options...no point in deciding on options that are not available locally or way out of budget...would love to see a floor plan and photos to better understand what you're planning to do

Hi! We are doing similar. 3m island with 40mm benchtop in honed Nero Marquina marble; and 20mm perimeter bench in polished Jet Black granite. I feel the thicker benchtop will allow the island to ‘shine’, and to be honest, just didn’t see the point of continuing that thickness with the perimeter. My sister in law has done the same with her concrete benchtop - 60mm island bench in concrete and 20mm perimeter in white concrete and it beautiful! Good luck with your decision!