I drink my tea every day from this set, the fine china makes the tea taste better and makes me feel that little bit special. Embrace this beautiful dinner set for what it is, a magnificent salute to the finest china, you are so lucky to have the full set, to try and mix it with anything less would be a shame, love it as your mum did, she had exquisite taste and I promise you your daily cuppa will taste great.

I actually loved most of the before. Not into the heavy wallpaper and the cast iron lights at all! So heavy! To sacrifice that amazing chandalier in the hall is a travesty!

All the 'sad' and disapppinted people commenting here; those who 'dislike this and that, or want to see 'character' retained, etc, etc, ought to get out more; to go see the world. As far as I can see, much of the architectual integrity HAS been retained. Is this 'sadness' a Victorian thing?; must we save all the old buildings, all the trees, the whole planet - from what? For what? Despite the hype, we're not likely to tip the place off it's axis anytime soon. Likewise with older houses; give them fresh breath, i say. Using whatever our creative and forward-looking brains can offer us is a positive solution to all things. My recently renovated heart agrees! This cosmetic reno' is nothing short of a grand improvement on its' former presentation; it's lighter, brighter and far more livable; refecting the owners outlook on life, I'd say. So, to all the 'experts', to those who want to pretend that they'd prefer to live in the dark ages - say, the 70's which were notoriously bland and most everything built then was built to a tough budget. ( I remember building in the 70's, in the 80s', renovating and building in the 90s', the nouties and still renovating now; i just can't seem to leach it out of my DNA as I complete the restoration of a 1930's Cal' Bung', one runied in the 70s' by some hapless 'handyman' who insatlled a plastic Chub and added a Victorian bull-nose verandah! All my homes turned out differently as my tastes and budget changed. Beginning in 1974 when I painted the front door of my 60's 2-bedder, bright yellow, the weatherboards 'Conifer'; the darkest posible green, now cracking in the sun, no doubt! Or has it been renovated by some 21st century house-hipsters? Then in 1976 I chose Avo' toilets, basins and bath ! Used native timbers, unpainted T & G everywhere, too ) I pulled out 'space wasting' french doors and installed open arches ! And wall-papered everything that didn't move. Not every so-called 'mid-century' home is a classic, or is worth preserving. Like this one probably was, they were pretty darned ordinary, particularly compared to those of the Victorian, Edwardian, the Art Deco and Californian Bungalow styles before them; all of which HAD definable chararcter, had enduring stlye; and are much sought-after and highly valued for having it laid, thickly, throughout. 70s' era homes were / are lacking wholly in character; and they lacked space, lacked insulation, lacked lots of design and comfort amenity we all want and deserve today. They're, nevertheless, given a new and longer life when younger eyes and energy are applied to their renovation, design and decor. Good on them!

Thanks Kate. It was a great transformation, however, there are some important engineering issues that need to be considered when changing from tiles to tin.