Extract 1 A stylish dining room with cream walls and curtains and black carpet as perfect foil to an eclectic array of furniture. Many of the pieces are classics of their particular era, and demonstrate how old and new designs can be happily mixed together. The prototype chair in the foreground has yet to prove its staying power and was thought up by the flat's occupant. He is pictured in his living room which has the same decorative theme and is linked to the dining room by a high Medieval-styled archway where was once a redundant and uninspiring fireplace. Extract 2 Old bathrooms often contain a great deal of ugly pipework in need of disguising. This can either be done by boxing in the exposed pipes, or by fitting wood paneling over them. As wood paneling can be secured over almost anything — including old ceramic tiles and chipped walls — is an effective way of disguising pipework as well as being an attractive form. of decoration. The paneling can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal. An alternative way to approach the problem of exposed pipes is to actually make them a feature of the room by picking the pipework out in bright strong colours. Extract 3 Cooking takes second place in this charming room which with its deep armchairs, is more of a sitting room than a kitchen, and the new Rayburn stove as a good Choice, as it blends in well with the old brick and beamed fireplace. There are no fitted units or built-in appliances, so all food preparation is done at the big farmhouse table in the foreground and the china, pots and pans have been deliberately left on show to make an attractive display, What about the kitchen sink? It's hidden away behind an archway which leads into a small scullery. Here there's a second cooker and — in the best farmhouse tradition — a huge walk-in larder for all food storage. Why is the colour of the carpet described in Extract 1 a particular advantage?