A houzz contributor, not too long ago, had made a wine rack out of 4'x4' wooden pallets, that are used in the US to move a load of goods with a fork-lift truck. Perhaps they have them in your country. He cut them in half so they were only two feet deep and stacked them up to high counter height. The wood would be a nice contrast with your concrete, might add a little warmth to the space. cascio.offsite@gmail.com

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

Thanks for your advice. Please note that One longer side of the "L" portion is used to pass through, but the shorter side of the "L" portion does not open up so if need be i can put something. there is a french window which is fixed and cannot be opened up on the shorter side. that side is only useful to get some light in the house. My living room is in white and grey combination. Do u want me to have a rug in the same combination or anything else would be fine. Would appreciate if you can suggest a kind of vase that would go with it. My theme is modern style in the house. I was initially thinking something like the attached picture. pls. confirm ur view on it.

I like my L shaped with a small island. Often when there is a design dilemma about too much wood or too much white, it is a U shaped kitchen overloaded with cabinetry. Do not fill every wall with cabinetry just because you can. If you have a pantry, you may be able to decrease the number of upper cabinets no matter what configuration you chose. A clear wall gives more space for some art, shelves or piece of furniture like pie save or hutch.