Art studio/ music room/library....anything creative...sewing, reading...writing...It is a beautiful serene space where one could spend many a quiet and memorable time. I can just see my cat making a beeline for what he would perceive is open space only to find himself concertinered up against the glass! If I owned this room I would have to have a frosted border about 30cm high all along the bottom of the glass, Whover owns this place is pretty fortunate and I hope they count their blessings.

It can be done. Clean any grease etc off the doors using sugar soap, fill any holes/deep scratches with polyfilla, reglue any loose edge strips. Sand to remove any shine, use a fine/medium grit sandpaper & be careful not to sand too much around the edges. Apply 1st undercoat (I used oil based sealer binder), leave to dry for 24hrs then lightly sand with black very fine sandpaper, apply 2nd undercoat. Leave to dry & cure for at least 24hrs, sand again. Apply first top coat (I used enamel paint, gloss). Would not recommend using high gloss paint as it will exaggerate any defects. Leave to dry for 24hrs, sand lightly with fine black sandpaper. Apply 2nd top coat then leave to dry for at least a week before using. Recommend removing the doors & taking off all hardware, also paint the backs of door. Put a long screw in the handle hole or catch hole so you can manoeuvre the door(s) while painting. You can do the undercoats outside but recommend doing top coats in a dust free area inside. Wear disposable rubber gloves for easy cleanup. You can speed up the process by using water based undercoats & topcoats but it won't be as resilient. Below is a laminate bathroom cabinet before & after painting.

I think Riven refers to the texture of the surface. Ours looks and feels like real timber, and is not a flat shiney surface like most Laminex. Still very durable and water proof. I believe that it should only be used on vertical surfaces, which was not problem for us. Floors are a real personal taste thing. We got samples of the flooring and samples of the Sublime Teak, and then procrastinated for weeks. Our flooring has texture to it as well. We also had help form a great designer who worked in the tile store we used.

Hi iggs85. I see your point re cost and how you think it may look. I'll attach a photo of one of my semi-recessed basins in stone. We had to use semi-recessed due to space restrictions as well. The benches are 440. Are yours narrower? I did Google stone benchtop offcuts. eBay has some in marble and granite. There appear to be businesses that do sell offcuts. Anyway, I think you would certainly be able to find a beautiful laminate you like. There is such a wide range. There are also some that look so much like stone. Will you have vanity cabinets/drawers under the benchtop? If so, what are your thoughts there? Same laminate or different? Have you visited any shops yet to look at samples?