Switch the front window and your side entrance door, this way your door is visible from the street. Then turn the window in the pantry into a door to gain access more directly to your kitchen, a closet and maybe a bench for gathering items on the way in or out. It looks like you have to go up a small flight of stairs to get to the door, otherwise I'd say put the additional entrance on the cellar wall on the left of your plan. Depending on space you may need to slide this new mud room entrance to the left and you might have room for a longer closet along the pantry wall and a bench opposite the closet along the outside wall. You would lose the cellar but I am not sure if that is another storage area or access to a basement. Just some ideas. Really like the rest of the layout. Hope my little picture helps to explain my ideas.

Also love how you have reduced the plinth, I did that with our wall of pantry cupboards so that they wouldn't be too tall and difficult to reach things on the top shelves cheers

We have black tiles in our house because we like black. We also have wooden floors. The kitchen is birch with laminate black granite bench tops. Our open plan works perfectly with the different floors because we have stayed with timber and black. Howver I love colour so we have incorporated red dining chairs and mustard and black cushions and rug in our family room. Timber look floor tiles are a great option, realistic and easy to clean. For you, the most important thing is to decide what you really want and go for it.

Before choosing any surface, do the finger test, unless you are house clean slave. The finger test is see what marks show with a slightly greasy(hand lotion) fingers. Most blacks show finger marks big time. Same with counter tops. Best test is scatter with bread crumbs, if that disturbs you forget it, otherwise you will be kitchen cleaning all day. The same goes for concealed handles, they quickly get full of crusted much and chip easy. A working kitchen needs to be practical, easy to clean and totally family proof.