Hi Ashok, Leh being extreme cold region will need planning and structure a bit different than our regular home. Factors such as temperature all year round, the extent to which it has snowfall or maximum and minimum temperature drop, the topography of your proposed location, wind speed, these are among many factors that will play role in while planning of your ideal home. With advanced engineering methods and technology, we have many methods to build. Double wall will ensure enough warmth inside the house. -Thanks, -Neelam -Lines and Profile

Shweta, what do you mean by 'sick.'? AAC blocks have lesser thermal conductivity than clay bricks. The house made of these will remain slightly cooler in summer and hotter in winters. Having said that ,for a renovation, you choice should depend on how much you are going to construct new.

Hello Ms Vijaya Yes, I was referring to the old post wherein you gave the details of your requirement. But it is somehow missing in the feed now. Installing a chimney (T shaped one) shouldn't be an issue even if you have a window. You could ask the carpenter to take a vertical support plank (of 18 mm ply) from the wall just above the window. Just to not let that support plank hanging, the bottom of the plank should be fixed to the grill of the window. In this way, you do not have to compromise on the ventilation from that particular window. Make sure dimensions of the plank are aligned with the hood of the chimney and also the height at which it has to be fixed. Something like below. Backsplash gives a splendid look to the kitchen as well as it is easy to maintain. You can also have digital prints to suit your taste, instead of a plain one. The negative sides of a glass backsplash are that it is relatively expensive and prone to shattering. Few things to bear in mind are before going ahead with glass backsplash - the electrical points and any other fixtures on the dado wall should be decided along with the dimensions as provisions have to be made for that in the glass before toughening it. Stick the glass to a ply panel and do not fix it using studs. Now coming to the overall design keeping in mind the aesthetic appeal, below are my assumptions: 1. West facing flat. 2. Your sink tap is on the East wall, near to the toilet. 3. Provision of pooja unit is not required in the kitchen. 4. Crockery to be placed in a separate unit near dining. 5. Kitchen should have maximum storage capacity. A look of a kitchen is decided by parameters like color combination, lighting, quality and type of the shutter material. In the below edited pic, I have given the possible spots for fridge, sink, breakfast unit, platform. You can have two L shaped plaforms (in red) along all the four walls. The placement of sink is indicated by orange boxes and you can opt for either of the position. It is not suitable on the East platform as it will be very close to the cooking range. Never have the sink at the extreme end of a platform, it will impede your movement near the sink and the space underneath is partially lost. The fridge's position can be either on the West side or South side. If you opt for placement on the West side, place a partition unit made of ACP/MDF fret work to hide the back of the fridge (line in yellow) and also to enhance the look of it when viewed from living area. Breakfast unit is indicated by brown box and take care that the dimensions will not hinder your free walking way to the kitchen. Place pendant lights over the breakfast counter. The space/wall to the left of the breakfast unit can be either used for storage or for placing some decor items/artefacts. Tall unit on the North-West platform has two options - in either of the platform corners. I would suggest to have it on the North side corner (beside the utility door). This tall unit can either house your microwave, oven etc. or just use the entire unit by placing shelves. Please refer to the below link for my suggestions on the color combination https://www.houzz.in/discussions/we-want-our-kitchen-to-be-renovated-dsvw-vd~5386939 Go for high gloss laminates/acrylic/PU finish for the skin of the shutters as per your budget. To further enhance the look: - Use under cabinet lighting, profile doors with spot lights inside, some contrast color open boxes in the cabinets (above the platform) to break the monotony. - Go for simple plain false ceiling and place track lights wherever you want to highlight. - Go for ample LEDs with daylight temperature. - Plan to have a handle less cabinetry (both over and under platform). You have the provision to use corner units, tall unit, rolling shutters, wicker baskets and even an island if you really want it (though I would not recommend). If you need help in designing your kitchen and putting it all together in a 3-D view, contact an interior designer. Srikanth Meticular Interiors

Hey gowri !! I am an architect . So having a garden per say on the northern side of your plot is a good idea and as you want it to be sandwiched between ur living and dining area; i wud say u cud push the living to the northern wall and bring in the garden / courtyard space in between the living and the dining area. Make sure the garden allows vertical airflow as it will help the hot air rise up and maintain a cool temperature in the activity areas . This will help u tackle the chennai heat . Providing unique looking sun shades on the first floor base will help u control the light and water that may come with this and also will be a design element. Regarding the plants, u should take care to install plants that only needs moderate sunlight .