I'd love some smarter storage solutions - mine looks clean on the outside - but open a cupboard up & it looks like a bomb site!

Go with your gut Tracy..... it is a big investment but I have found that if it makes you smile every time you walk into your kitchen you'll never regret it!!!! I've recently moved into a smaller downsized home with my 3rd black kitchen, with drawers, no cupboards, except for the pantry which we use as the crockery and wine glasses stash. Mine is matt but no handles = no hip bangers! I chose to use snow white stone bench tops, the walls are painted natural white while the floors are pale oak hybrid vinyl.

The outdoor office: Over the years we have been asked to design within our garden rooms the addition of an outdoor office. It is becoming more and more common for the self-employed and company employees to work from home as appose to that mandatory 1 + hour drive to the office. Rather than locking up a room that really isn’t a practical office space within your homes current structure, think about your garden and the ability of designing an office within the folds of the garden. If you consider all the elements associated with a garden office there is absolutely no reason for not creating this practical area. I mention ‘considering the elements’ and note a few obvious and not so obvious aspects below to be thrown into the design mix to see if they are of relevance or not. For the obvious elements think about : o power supply and the safety of o internet access o natural light and air o workable spaces for desks/worktops, meeting facilities (formal or informal), o usable kitchen facilities o sanatory facilities for both sexes o storage of materials For the items that may not seemingly be thought as obvious: o ease of persons coming for meetings etc and thinking about the pathway needed to get to you outside of walking through your home o doorbell / intercom facilities o parking o waiting area o ability of having an office pet as always a great ice breaker and helping soften those serious moments o house plants to soften the inside and outside Always consider if there are any conditions placed upon this form of structure and by contacting your local council, they will be able to point you in the right direction. Me personally the beauty of such a working space is the ability to grab a coffee and wonder out of the office into the abutting garden rooms just to let meu think laterally about a project I may be working on. If this is something you would like to investigate further do not hesitate to contact myself at chris@scenicbluedesign.com.auor give me a call on my direct number 0405 663222 www.scenicbluedesign.com.au

Hi, since your kitchen is small and there's a lot going on I would go with a very light coloured back splash. A very light warm grey as suggested could work nicely here. It would also brighten up the area a little. I certainly wouldn't introduce yet another colour. Introducing something like a bright red will draw attention to the backsplash area, but the design of the kitchen doesn't lend itself for such a high impact visual focus. Keeping it calm and neutral will make the kitchen look more like a unit rather that bottom and top cabinets with a big red/black/maroon stripe through it. The company supplying the back painted glass should either have a range of available colours to choose from, but usually any standard RAL colour should be available at a minimum. They will most likely have the RAL standard colours fan available for reference as well. I'd go with the one of lightest warm grey shades that is in the standard range. Your worktop has warm tones in it, your wall is beige, going in with a cool grey will make each colour look "off". The last thing I'd recommend is black. I know it has been mentioned, but it is just too strong of a contrast and non of the other materials and colours would support such a stark, contemporary choice. If you are worried that the existing dark red paint will alter the colour of your new glass back splash, and that's a very valid argument btw, just paint it over with two coats of white prior to installing the new back splash. I'd do that a few days prior to installing the glass to make sure the paint is nice and dry. In terms of maintenance a glass back splash is probably the easiest to look after since its so easy to clean and there's no grout that can attract dirt over the years. Good luck with the renovation :)