Keeping things cosmetic will mean that. Angled dwarf wall will need to stay, if not refaced. With terra-cotta tiles that look to be laid around your joinery, your footprint will remain, and replacing doors won't address the side panels of the wall oven Adjoining the cabinets, as to replace this, you need to uninstall the back units adjoining them, so it is almost a rip out and refit. The alternative is paint. Without correct and proper priming products and aplication, this is risky, doors and end panels are quite easy, hoer adjoining wet areas or heated panels, unless you use the right product things can go wrong. Fr light, all horizontal surfaces boulder reflect and bounce light around the work surface, so light, stone is great, but will cost what a new kitchen would, if your painting cabinets, a stone top may be an over capitalization, replacing your doors with new and a laminated top would have an overall improved aesthetic instead, and save stone for a future new layout. That's not to say the bar top couldn't be. I would use this dated feature to create a new one. A stone waterfall or slab end as their known would help draw your eye down to your floor, and provide a contemporary element to clad. Go with a chunky stone edge build up, say 60mm and then it will frame the back wall area to display a feature material, in this case, I suggest a horizontal timber plank. Yu could do a laminate, but a pack of engineered flooring will provide the character aswell as durability, choose something that ties into your floor, and this could be used elsewhere as a feature. Re tile over your spalshbackin, and if you go with all white cabinets, consider a patterned or aggregated white counter, with lint cabinets, then a stone to in a solid white, to stand out against the patterned laminated benches. Or opposite for te same reason, the bar top is what will be touched and stone does that, so an interesting pattern, pebble or grain would add to the interest, and plain white laminate in the practical space will juxtapose this. I would think of using a vinyl (thermolaminated) profiled door, something simple. Like a square shaker style door, both modern and classic but not old fashioned. It will create focus in the kitchen and again front he simplicity of the Benchtops, The splash back could be anything, but subway are great I agree, there is also a DIY acrylic sheet from laminex called metaline which can be installed right over tile, you can even co yourself or have the cabinet maker do it. It has the appearance of a glass splash back with great colour choices. There is a pewter or grey metallic like argente perle, which would tie in your stainless appliances making it overall modern and clean. Good luck?

Hi mistay once you change the footprint of a property you will need to seek development approval from the local authority by submitting plans of what you intend ( ie what you want to build). You will then need to submit a building permit / approval with those plans upgraded to include structural and building details (ie how you intend to build it). You haven't provided the second storey layout but if it goes over your living and kitchen then you will need to work out how it is going to be supported eg beams and columns once you remove the wall. cheers

I would suggest that you join the "Pettit and Sevitt Owners and Friends Club" on Facebook, and ask the same question there. There are about 350 members, with lots of Split Level owners, (even some in the ACT) and so you can draw on their experience. https://www.facebook.com/groups/259388951244530/ From my own experience the Pettit and Sevitt homes were designed to have just enough structure, without a whole lot of redundancy. This means that the oregon beam is designed to span from the nib wall near the stair, to the kitchen wall, and the next span is to the end of the kitchen. It wasn't designed to do the full length without some intermediate support being provided by the kitchen wall. It may actually be two beams, with the joint hidden above the kitchen wall, as this would have been easier to build. You will need to get a local structural engineers advice before you start pulling out supporting walls. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

This kitchen is very similar to yours, and gives an idea of what it could look like with a new bench top and splash back. I personally would remove the yellow glass and either put solid doors there, or clear glass. The yellow glass is the wrong shade for the wood colour.