Either material can be made to look and feel beautiful, but the photos show the worst of both. I love baltic birch plywood with exposed edges, but it must be sanded smooth and clear-coated with a satin finish lacquer or urethane. Concrete (my passion and my business) can be tinted to give it a warmer shade, and either cast against a super-smooth surface or polished to make it smooth. Bedroom walls need to look and be touchable. The ones in the photos give me the shivers.

The next time I decorate by a colour of the year will be the first time. Don't hold your breath. I have nothing against this particular colour but it doesn't work with all the things I've collected over the years, and I am not about to discard carpets bought after hard bargaining with dubious merchants in Istanbul or Islamabad because they don't "go" with a paint colour that someone voted "colour of the year." In its place, I think the colour would be quite nice (better than this years choices, certainly). It's just that my place isn't the right place for it.

We are yet to move into our new home. I like both of these products very much but not enough to use them through the entire house. We have beautiful blond plywood on our very high sloping ceiling in our living space; no nails or fixings visible and a narrow black shadow line between the gaps. we will be having concrete 'sexy floors' (Trade Name) in our studio and garage, a wonderful glossy finish that are absolutely non-toxic. Different patterns available.

Hi Kruti. Those new pieces are lovely. There’s a houzz article in Stories about how to decorate a console table. If you select Stories, then Interior Design, then Decorating, and then type ‘how to decorate a console table,’ in the window, the article should pop up. I think you will find it very helpful.