Restoring our 18th Century house for contemporary living

We moved into our home, a crumbling yet beautiful English pile built in 1740-something, just before Christmas. We were looking for somewhere big and vaguely unkempt, where our young son could run amok without it mattering, and where adventures could be had and memories created over many years. My husband saw it first, and it's a testament to the magic of the house that he, ever practical and sensible, was captivated by it. Windows rattled, mice fled for cover, plaster dust quietly settled around us but still, we decided, it had to be ours.
The house was divided into 2 in the 1940s, having spent World War 2 as a military hospital, so our house was 'missing' some crucial rooms - our half received the huge formal living room but the grand kitchen was assigned to next door, and the new owners of our house in 1950 built a small galley kitchen off the main hallway. Lots of harsh renovation has taken place in the last 60yrs, so we were keen to update the house but retain - and restore - some of its grandeur. Our first big project was to convert this formal living room into a family kitchen/dining space, where we now spend almost all of our waking hours - and then to restore the hallway to its former glory This is what our new kitchen looked like before, and after... we're working on the hallway as I speak; one day we'll be free of dust sheets and paint fumes, but not any time soon!
The full story of our journey so far, with more before/after pictures is at http://katescreativespace.com/2012/08/07/the-dream-house-part-1-kitchen-restoration/