Most people will add a window treatment and matching towels and consider the decorating job done.  But take a look around.  You will most likely need furniture of some sort in the form of stools or a table and chairs.

Bar stools come in just about any style you can imagine from the very contemporary to the more traditional. With several height options—chair height of roughly 18 “, counter height of 24” and bar height of 30” you can find a stool that meets your requirements.

Storage is always an issue in kitchens.  There never seems to be enough room for all the “gadgets” we need.  If you have the space, adding a bakers rack is a nice way to openly display and store those items you use often. Try a  Bakers Rack for your kitchen design offers not only shelving and wine glass storage but also has a butcher block look top for extra chopping space. This is the perfect solution if space is an issue.  Home Styles a top brand of bakers racks offers a solid wood bakers rack with a stainless steel top for additional prep space.  The white wood is just the right complement to a cottage style kitchen.

Many of us long for an island in our kitchen but do not have the space or the budget to add one. A kitchen cart is a nice alternative.  These carts supply the additional space for storage and preparation and can be moved around the room. You find that kitchen carts come in any size from a fully self-contained unit to a small cart that takes up little space.

Wall décor will add the final touch to any kitchen decorating project. Choosing wall art that complements the design or theme of your kitchen is easy.  If you have a Tuscan kitchen filled with warm earth tones and rustic finishes, look for prints or wall décor that depicts the making or enjoying of wine. Linon Vetro offers several wine bottle prints.  The Lazy Lobsterwall décor by Infinity Instruments adds a touch of whimsy to any kitchen.

Every kitchen needs a clock.  It is often difficult to read the numbers on the tiny clocks found on the stove or microwave.  When choosing a clock for your kitchen, keep your decor in mind.  A kitchen full of roosters needs the Chanticleer Wall Clock by Infinity Instruments.  (chanticleer means rooster in French).  This is also a good choice for any Mediterranean style kitchen.  If you live in an older home and have what you lovingly refer to as a “retro’ kitchen, spice it up with the Red Round Wall Clock.

A kitchen can be a fun room to decorate.  It is inexpensive to add wall art and interesting pieces of furniture. So take a look around and design your kitchen and see if it needs some sprucing up.

• When selecting a coffee table, take into consideration who will be using the room (and the table) the most. You might really admire the coffee table with a glass and stone top but if you have children, it might not be the best choice.
• Buy a coffee table with your sofa in mind. One that is not in scale with your couch can make the table appear too small or too large, giving the room an unbalanced look and feel. A coffee table should be two-thirds the length of the couch’s actual seating area when centered in front of the sofa.
• Coffee tables are also called cocktail tables so that should be a big clue right there! These low tables are intended to stand in front of the sofa and are designed to hold drinks, food and more importantly, the remote controls. The height of the coffee table should be level (or only slightly higher) than the seating area of the couch, so that you can easily reach anything in front of you without effort or strain.
• Your new coffee table should complement your décor. If your furniture is more traditional, choose a rectangular or oval shaped coffee table. If your style is more contemporary, select one that is half-round or square.
• Purchase a coffee table to match your lifestyle. Do you have toddlers? Select a coffee table with rounded corners? Just recently welcomed a new puppy into your home? A metal base coffee table with a glass top will (hopefully) eliminate chewed up furniture.

• Coffee tables add functionality to your living space. To make them even more functional, take into account the features you want your new coffee table to have.

• A magazine rack is an easy way to control newspapers and other reading materials.
• Seems like you’re always putting things away? Other storage options such as baskets, drawers and cubby holes can really help to keep your living space tidy and clutter-free.
• A tray top coffee table consists of a top made of one or more removable trays and is really convenient, especially if you like entertaining.
• Even Discount Coffee tables have gone high tech! A lift top coffee table has a mechanism that raises the top of the table from cocktail to dining table height; great for families that like to sit in front of the television while eating.

• When a square-cut edge of plasterboard butts against a tapered- edge board, fill the joint flush before you apply the jointing tape (1).
• Where two cut edges meet (2), press filler into the 3mm (’/ain) gap to finish flush. When the filler has set, apply a thin band of joint finish to it and press the paper tape tight against the board. Cover this with a wide but thin coat of finish and feather the edges. Finish off as before.
• A self-adhesive glass-fibre mesh tape can be used instead of traditional paper tape for jointing new plasterboard or for making patch repairs. The 50mm (tin) wide tape is a strong binder and does not need prior application of filler to bond it in place. The tape is applied first, then joint filler is pressed through the mesh.
• Applying the tape
• Ensure that the jointing edges of the plasterboard are dust-free. If the edges of boards have been cut, burnish them with the handle of your filling knife to remove all traces of rough paper.
• Starting at the top, centre the tape over the joint, then unroll it and press it in place as you work down the wall. Cut it off to length at the bottom. Butt the ends rather than overlap them if you have to make a join in the tape.
• Mix the filler and press it through the tape into the joint with a filling knife, then level off the surface so that the mesh of the tape is visible. Allow the filler to set.
• Complete the joint with plaster-based joint finish, as with paper tape.

And for our viewers that like to work with plaster here is another great do it yourself article on plaster wall repair from our friends over at Diy Guides.

Boards 900mm (3ft) wide are normally used for this technique. The wall must be prepared in the usual way.

Set out vertical chalk lines on the wall 450mm (1ft 6in) apart, working from one corner or from an opening . Draw a horizontal line 225mm (9in) from the ceiling, one 100mm (4in) from the floor and another centred between them. If the wall is more than 2.4m (8ft) high, divide the space between the top and bottom equally with two lines. The pads are placed where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect.

Using a spirit level and a straightedge that is almost the full height of the wall, check at each vertical line, noting high spots at the intersections of the lines.

Apply thick dabs of bonding plaster to the wall with a trowel (2) over an area for one board at a time. Space the dabs 75mm (3in) apart vertically. Do not let the plaster overlap the area of the next board. Using the straightedge to press it evenly and a footlifter to position it, press the board firmly against the pads so that the plaster spreads out behind it.

Check the alignment, then fix the board with plasterboard nails driven

Bond a pad on the most prominent intersection point (1), using a bonding- coat plaster or a proprietary tile adhesive, and press it in place. This pad forms the datum point from which the rest of the pads are levelled.

Bond and plumb the other pads on the same vertical line, then complete a second vertical row, two lines from the first. Check these pads for level vertically then diagonally with the first row. Work across the wall in this way, then fix the remaining pads on the other intersections. Allow two hours for the adhesive to set.

into the pads round the edge. Do not drive the nails in fully. Fix the next board in the same way, butting it to the first, and work on across the wall, scribing the last board into the internal angle. When the plaster has set, remove the nails with pincers or a claw hammer, protecting the plasterboard surface (3).

Work round angles and openings (see opposite) and, when all surfaces are covered, fill and finish the joints.

Use a straightedge to mark the position of the battens on the wall with vertical chalk lines. The lines should be placed at 400mm (1ft 4in), 450mm (1ft 6in) or 600mm (2ft) centres according to the width and thickness of the plasterboard being used. Bear in mind that sheets of plasterboard must meet on the centre lines of the battens. Work away from any door or window opening and allow for the thickness of the battens and plasterboard at the reveals.

Cut the required number of furring battens from 50 x 32mm (2 x 1%in) sawn softwood. The vertical battens should oe cut 155mm (61/4in) less than the -.eight of the wall. Horizontal battens should be made to run along the tops and bottoms of the vertical ones and any short vertical infill battens above and below openings.

Nail the vertical furring battens on first, setting their bottom ends 100mm (4in) above the floor. Fix them with masonry nails or cut nails, with the face of each batten level with the guideline , and check with a straightedge and spirit level that they are also flat and plumb, packing them out as necessary.

To fix plasterboard to furring battens, follow the procedure described for nailing to a stud partition. However, the boards at the sides of windows and doors need not be notched to receive panels above or below the openings. The procedure for filling and finishing joints between the boards is identical. Cut the skirting board to length and nail it through the plasterboard to the bottom horizontal furring batten. If it is a high moulded skirting of the type used in period houses, it can be nailed to the vertical battens.

Now nail the horizontal battens across the tops and bottoms of the vertical members, inserting packing to bring them all to the same level.

Masonry walls are often uneven and, if the lining is to finish straight and flat, this must be taken into account. To check if the wall is flat, hold a long straightedge horizontally against it at different levels. If it is uneven, mark the vertical chalk line already drawn on the wall which is the closest to the point where the wall bulges most (1).

-Hold a straight furring batten vertically on the marked chalk line keeping it plumb with a straightedge and spirit level, then mark the floor (2) where the edge of the batten falls. Draw a straight guideline across the floor (3), passing through this mark and meeting the walls on each end at right angles. Align all furring battens with this line.

Fixing to metal studs Some modern houses may have metal-stud partition walls. If you need to fix into these studs, use special self- tapping drywall screws.

Nailing to a stud partition Timber-framed partition walls may simply be plain room-dividers or they may include doorways. Start fitting boards from one corner when you are plasterboarding a plain wall; if the wall includes a doorway, work away from it towards the corners of the room.

Starting from a corner

Using a footlifter, try the first board in position. Mark and scribe the edge that meets the adjacent wall if this is necessary, then nail the board into position (see far right), securing it to all the frame members.

Fix the rest of the boards in place, working across the partition. Butt the edges of tapered-edge boards, but leave a gap of 3mm (Vain) between boards that are going to be coated with a board-finishing plaster.

If necessary, scribe the edge of the last board to fit the end corner before nailing it into place.

Cut a skirting board, mitring the joints at the corners or scribing the ends of the new board to the original. Fit the skirting board.

Starting from a doorway

Using the footlifter, hold a board flush with the door stud and mark the position of the underside of the door head on the edge of the board. Between this mark and the top edge of the board, cut out a 25mm (l in) wide strip. Reposition the board and fix it in place, nailing it to all the frame members .

Fix the rest of the boards in place, working towards the corner. Cut the edges of tapered-edge boards, but leave a 3mm (Nin) gap between boards that you intend to coat afterwards with a board-finishing plaster.

If necessary, scribe the last board to fit any irregularities in the corner before fixing it in place.

Cover the rest of the wall on the other side of the doorway in a similar way, starting by cutting a 25mm (1in) wide strip from the first board between its top edge and a mark indicating the lower side of the door head.

Cut a plasterboard panel to go above the doorway, butting into the cutouts in the boards on each side of the door. Sand away the ragged edges of paper before fitting the panel.

Clad the other side of the partition with plasterboard in the same way.

When all of the plasterboard is in place, fill and finish the joints. Cut and fit solid-wood door linings and cover the edges with an architrave moulding.

Cut and fit skirting boards, nailing through the plasterboard into alternate studs behind.

Use special galvanized plasterboard nails of lengths appropriate to the thickness of the plasterboard, as shown in the table below.

Space the nails 150mm (6in) apart and place them not less than 9mm (Min) from the paper-covered edge and 12mm (/2in) from the cut ends. Drive the nails in straight so that their heads sink just _below the surface without tearing through the paper lining.

A range of dry-lining plasterboards is available from builders’ merchants. The boards are all made with a core of aerated gypsum plaster and covered on both sides with a strong paper liner. A grey paper facing is for finishing with plaster while the ivory-coloured paper is for direct decorating with wallpaper or paint.

Plasterboard is made in a range of thicknesses and sheet sizes, usually with square or tapered edges. Tapered edges are invariably on the ivory-coloured side of a sheet, whereas the edges on the grey side are always square.

Plasterboard is fragile, having very little structural strength. Nevertheless, the sheets are quite heavy, so always get someone to help you carry one. Always carry it vertically on edge — there is a serious risk of breaking it if you carry a board face up.

Manufacturers and suppliers of plasterboard store it flat in stacks, but this is usually inconvenient at home and is anyway not necessary for a small number of sheets. Store them on edge instead, leaning them at a slight angle against a wall, their ivory-coloured faces together to protect them.

Stack the sheets carefully to avoid damaging their edges.

Cutting plasterboard

You can cut plasterboard with a saw or with a stiff-blade craft knife.

Support a sheet face-side up on lengths of wood laid across trestles. First mark the cutting line on it with the aid of a straightedge. When sawing, hold the saw at a shallow angle to the surface of the plasterboard. If the offcut is a large one, ask a helper to support it as you approach the end of the cut in order to prevent the board breaking.

When slicing plasterboard with a knife, cut fairly deeply into the material following a straightedge, then snap the board along the cutting line over a length of wood. Cut through the paper facing on the other side to separate the two pieces.

Employ a keyhole saw, a power jigsaw or a craft knife to make openings in plasterboard for switches and other electrical fittings.

Remove any ragged paper after cutting by rubbing down the edges with an abrasive paper.