Refer to your fridge specs before you close anything in. Fair Trading laws in this country have obsoleted warranties. There is now a sliding scale of reasonable expectation on consumer items which means manufacturers will rely on their tech specs more than ever. Check what minimum clearance your fridge officially needs on the sides and above the machine for ventilation before doing anything. Get your lighting working for you. Choose a 'warm white' lamp - not daylight or cool white. Cool whites kill off the warmer hues and makes things appear cold. Change, add or move your lighting to have two small gimbled ceiling lights wash down the face of the joinery instead of one bright light focussed on the fridge. Lighting can make a poor space look great or a great space look poor.

The stained glass windows seem to be at odds with the exposed brick, but probably match the original part of the house. If the stained glass windows are giving privacy from an overlooking neighbour I would keep them, and work to make the brickwork more like the original part of the house, so it seems less incongruous. This could be done using a traditional wet plaster or solid plaster technique, which you would need to complete befor your gas insert fireplace is positioned. I would finish it of with a traditional timber fireplace surround and mantle piece, which would be the focal point of a more contemporary room, but link in with the original architecture. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Hi MaxCC, Your 'artwork' is called a wall niche. As far as I know, they were originally used to display religious icons, such as The Virgin Mary. I'm not religious but I do admit that I have a special love for wall niches. I have used them twice in homes that I've built as a place to display my 'Lamplighter' Lladro, so that he is on display to guest. The niches were always placed just inside the front entrance as yours is. Sadly I don't have any photos to show you, as we have just moved house and everything is still in storage. My suggestion, to help you with how to display the object that you will put into your niche, would be to keep the wall itself neutral but paint the niche in a metallic paint. Your want the object on display to be the item of greatest interest and the metallic paint [Resene have some wonderful colours to chose from] will help to draw your eye to that space.

I actually think a mid-silvery paint would work well for the walls , and fit your brief , better than any off-white . Tied in with the charcoal and wood , it will look industrial , and you can add almost any tone of accessories and kitchen fittings , from blacks and wrought iron , to brass , copper , rose gold , and/or reds ,oranges , blues , yellows , most greens , etc .