Ask Alice

Do you have an interiors dilemma? Consult our resident specialist

Q. Dear Alice, I have chosen beech wood worktops for my kitchen, but a friend has told me that they are very high-maintenance and don't keep their looks well. What do you think?
Marion Bartlett, Hull

Q. Dear Alice, I have chosen beech wood worktops for my kitchen, but a friend has told me that they are very high-maintenance and don't keep their looks well. What do you think?
Marion Bartlett, Hull

A. Well, Jenny, your friends are right; all wooden surfaces in the kitchen need protection from water - and beech worktops are notorious for becoming rotted with damp, especially where the water permeates around the sink area. But you can carry out some basic maintenance to keep a beech worktop in good shape. There are two different ways of doing this: one is to coat it in several layers of oil-based varnish, which can be sanded and re-applied every couple of years (you can choose between a glossy or matt finish); the other way is to apply Danish oil every six months - or every two months around the tap area.

Q. I need to buy a new mattress, but I've got an old-fashioned iron bedstead that is 4ft wide and I can't find anything to fit it. Do you know where I can get one?
Louis White, Greenwich

A. One of my best-kept secrets is Norris Bedding in Coldharbour Lane, south-west London, a family outlet that has been making mattresses with luxury materials by hand since 1945. It can make any mattress to order in any size, including superb 9in deep-sprung ones, wrapped in horse hair with woollen felt sandwiched between two layers of cotton felt, all encased in a heavenly cotton ticking. Norris Bedding has a loyal following of customers who quite rightly rate them for both quality and value - prices for a handmade mattress start at £245 (020-7274 5306; www.norrisbedding.co.uk).

Q. I have promised my children that we'll get a dog, but I have a beautiful white minimalist home and I'm worried about getting dog hairs all over the furniture. Which breeds can you recommend?
Saskia Thorburn, by e-mail

A. Ideally, Saskia, you want to choose a breed that is going to complement your beautifully chosen interior as well as shed as little hair as possible. I once had a Golden Retriever and was horrified by the huge drifts of hair I had to clean up several times a day (poor Toby had to go in the end). Remember, too, that size is no indicator of how much a dog sheds - a Jack Russell may look small and neat, but it leaves spiky little white hairs all over the place. Bedlington terriers and Portuguese Water Dogs shed very little and are perennially fashionable breeds. Other interior-friendly dog options include the fantastically shaggy Briard, the intelligent poodle and the bred-not-to-shed Labradoodle. And remember: whatever dog you have, invest in a good vacuum cleaner.

Design dilemma? E-mail askalice@independent.co.uk