Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in replying! So many thoughtful suggestions, thank you. I haven't yet got around to taping out the kitchen, boundsgreener, but I hope too soon. Even just pacing it out has made me realise you're all right, there's no way a G shape will work. The space at the sink surrounded by the benches would be less than one metre. So that's good to realise now! I can't do banquet seating as there's a window behind the table. The wall behind the buffet unit is structural so we can't remove it (and I'd imagine it might get expensive too!) So what I'm thinking now is more a revamp/update with the current layout, but still moving the fridge across and creating a pantry, plus an appliances garage (love that term!) in the corner. Oven, sink and dishwasher in the same spots. This will still give more room for dining as the fridge won't be taking up space on that side of the kitchen. I'm now worried about losing the bench space that the buffet unit gives us, though. It was going to be offset by the extra G shape, but as that's gone and there won't be any room for the buffet (though I'd love to keep it as an island on wheels, hazzaran!) there will be less bench space than before. I like the idea about a wooden benchtop to save money, Pazz, but is it practical? Won't it get lots of bacteria in it? I'd still love some natural stone in there somewhere, and was thinking of those beautiful hexagon marble tiles they have on the Block. That might be cheaper than a caesarstone benchtop! I am not a big fan of laminate, though, for some reason it always really looks really plasticy to me. Thanks again for all your great advice and for helping avert a layout disaster! I really appreciate all the advice.

Hello Kelly! The drawing of your soon to be kitchen is amazing, the exposed beams add a raw element and texture to the room whilst keeping the space feel open and inviting. You mentioned you wanted to place your dining table in the opposite direction with white chairs. I get the feeling that you might like a more eclectic or scandi look, timbers and whites! The above pendants you mentioned you loved are beautiful woven baskets, however as someone else mentioned these styles will cast shadows due to their cut outs. To counteract this try using some low wattage globes (if these pendants are only decorative) - look at using downlights for task lighting. Here's some inspiration: You could try these pendants if you are fond of the timber/woven style: https://www.golights.com.au/tuukka-halonen-pilke-pendant-light-in-black-white-or-natural-birch-60cm https://www.golights.com.au/secto-design-seppho-koho-victo-pendant-light-natural-in-46cm https://www.golights.com.au/graypants-scraplight-pendant-light-moon-in-recycled-cardboard https://www.golights.com.au/herr-mandel-lampframe-pendant-light-wood-34cm https://www.golights.com.au/nordic-tales-bright-sprout-pendant-light-wood-holder-w-white-cord Or if you want to add some glass to balance the textures you could try these: https://www.golights.com.au/tom-dixon-fin-light-pendant-round-13-5cm-brown-blue-silver https://www.golights.com.au/pendant-light-metal-industrial-vintage-glass-14cm-in-black https://www.golights.com.au/sandra-lidner-selene-pendant-light-in-clear If you need help find us here: https://www.golights.com.au/ or cal us on 1300 798 220! Good luck with your search can't wait to see the finished result :)

Daniel Lindahl - I didn't say to get rid of it - I just said to change it for something else - I have a 70's home owner built - cavity brick - Daniel sometimes it is working with what you have in order to keep costs down - paintings - if you have several - can be changed around your home for a interesting look - as our homes are our homes - the paintings - can always be shared in various rooms/walls to suit ones mood.

I've been playing around with a pantry location. Originally, I was going to move the pantry into the laundry with some custom shelving and cut the laundry space in half. Now, Im thinking of cutting into the study area and building a wall there, and converting the new space into a long and narrow walk in pantry. Either that or build half a wall and put built in shelving in the study. Building the extra wall will reduce the need to cover in the door way that is currently in place and instead utilising it. Thoughts? p.s. this isnt too scale.