1. It's a small kitchen and we've combined it with a new living room. So we wanted to hide all the rubbish away behind cupboard doors. And the thing I like about our cupboard doors is the new range of Formica we've used. My wife chose the colour - it's like a non-vintage champagne -, and the pearlescent surface gives it a beautiful depth. If you think fake veneer and greasy spoon caff table tops when you think Formica, think again.  It’s come a long way.

2. The upstand we've got on the counter that divides the living area from the kitchen was an inspired suggestion from an architect friend, Stephania Kallos. We weren't sure about the idea at first, but in practice it's brilliant. The division between the two rooms is a really nice clean line of white Corian instead of a pile of kitchen stuff.

3. Top tip for floor tiles: the bigger the better, regardless of room size. We would have put down 1200mm x 600mm tiles if we'd had the patience to wait a couple of weeks extra for the delivery. I wish we had now, but the 600mm x 300mm still look great. They're dark grey and come from Royal Mosa who do an incredible range of subtle greys.

4. Overall we've gone for very clean lines and a combination of white and greys. But the perfect seasoning to this rather minimal and just-so look is a really nice and very big antique French mirror. The silver backing to the glass and the gold leaf on the frame is all a bit distressed and patinated which is a brilliant foil to the clean modern lines in the rest of the space.

5. My favourite utensil is this casserole. It's the biggest Le Creuset make and can fit three brace of pheasants with room to spare.

6. But the best bit is William. He's supposed to be a silver poodle but has grown up to more gun metal than silver, and when he's caught in a sunbeam sitting on the dark grey tiles he looks as if the kitchen was designed for him!