This room needs some greenery! It's surprising how much difference a little (or even big) plant can make to a room. Theres a few blues, and a lot of dark charcoal, grey in the room - you'd have to compliment the armchair otherwise adding anything too hard would make it lose it's character. Perhaps a light rug to brighten the room, and a coffee table to break it up - which you can also add little colourful items to.

Having lived for years with a front loader in the kitchen under counter and now with a good sized laundry I am resenting the laundry for the space it wastes! I would rather have a "european solution" and a good en-suit and walk in :) really it is a matter of how you want to live, in reality if you spend your life considering resale you won't enjoy your home, prospective purchasers will love or hate whatever you do, those that don't want a space solution will be the ones who want the big ensuite and robe anyway! Do it with love then others will love it too, good luck

Keep the brick, please don't paint or render. Both eat into your budget (rendering in particular is not cheap), and will mean more ongoing upkeep (render still needs to be painted on a regular basis and with a two-storey house, that is a lot more work). Our house is rendered and we would never have it again. Whenever the house moves, the render doesn't, so is prone to cracking or, over time, pieces even falling off. Even subtle movement can cause hairline cracks, which means regular patching and painting. Quite frankly, most people render an older house to make it look modern, but when rendering becomes passe (which I think is already starting to happen), then the house will look dated again (and render is almost impossible to remove once its on). Also, if you're in an area prone to termites, termites can get in between the render and the brickwork and you won't see the telltale signs of "mud" at the access points to let you know they're there. As far as the rest of the house goes, I totally agree with what Timandra Design recommended.

Just to help clarify your understanding you have three elements: 1) A basin, which has a drain hole, and may or may not have an overflow hole. 2) Something to plug the drain hole to stop water leaving the basin. This could be a plug (often rubber or plastic), or a pop-up waste (usually chrome with a rubber ring). One or the other, but not both. 3) An overflow hole, which is near the top of the basin, and is connected to the drain. Not all basins have them, but it is a good idea. If you leave the tap running the water overflows into this hole. The overflow hole never has a plug or pop-up waste. I hope this helps with your understanding, Go back to your supplier and ask them what they are talking about as it makes no sense. Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls