Thank you all! Fiona, the tv wall mount would be very difficult to move..this would be a last resort. Old house = asbestos = wanting to minimise major wall alterations! As for putting the chairs on either side of the kitchen door, I tried this before, and did just again, (I'm a sucker for punishment) and it probably would have been a good look, but the front door opens into the chair on the left side of the kitchen door/opening (on the left side when faxing the kitchen). There is a very limited space here, and the door swings through most of it, it is kind of dead space. Although a long narrow table along the wall was my vision for this area - a place to pop keys etc and put some much needed decorative features. The only other variation I can do is to angle the chairs slightly from where they are now, so that they angle in towards each other (with the one closest to the tv facing slightly away from it. There's only two of us and when we have people over we generally aren't watching tv (we don't watch much at all) anyway. So what is the overall verdict, after all that? Do you think we can still achieve an ok look with the configuration we have, perhaps with a different couch and all the decorative features previously mentioned? Or do I have to sell my chairs too? Although not keen to do that, I would if it means having a room I'm happy with. Thanks again! I have felt very supported by you all during this very stressful weekend of managing a decorating crisis!

The project manager has been quite lax in making a decision which has not been approved by you. He should discussed any design changes with you and then had it documented and signed off. If the windows are not what you want have them taken out straight away. Do not settle for something you don't want as it will always be a sore point for you. There is no excuse for poor communication!

Hi Stephen Irby, urgent question for an old thread. I've been looking at the Oliveri sonetto single bowl with left hand drainer (1.2mm 18/10 304 grade) as I want a quality sink big enough for bakeware and large pots. I have existing cabinet constraints (600mm) for the bowl, and want to also install an inline filter to replace the puratap. Will this fit in with it? The cabinets are 600mm deep. Also Oliveri have been getting rather a bad rap in reviews regarding scratching, difficulty cleaning and even rust! Is the sonetto range made in Australia?

Sounds like a very stressful situation! If there is absolutely no way the builder will allow you to change things (even if they did, I imagine they would ask you to foot the entire bill of pulling the tiles down and replacing all water proofing in addition to new tiles), I can make a few suggestions for improvement. Firstly I would suggest replacing the tiles above the vanity with a white mosaic, a patterned or a textured feature tile/strip. You could also use this same tile to replace the vertical feature in the shower. There are some beautiful shapes and sizes available to choose from. Secondly I would address the grout situation in this way: Floor - dark colour grout & Walls - Light colour grout. Lastly if it does not prove too difficult or expensive, maybe replace the tiles below the vanity with a plain white tile (could be similar size). Good luck and I am sure once you have a lovely mirror up and some crisp white towels, it will look just wonderful.