I redid a whole mustard laminex kitchen once with the wipe on stuff from hardware that binds paint to any surface. It looked amazing ..like brand new. I wouldn't do the bench tops though. Rather.... paint walls a warm white and all cupboard doors a really nice pale grey ( be careful....no blue grey, pink grey or green grey) A soft warm grey. The bench tops might then looks OK for replacement later. When painting...wipe on stuff, follow their instructions, coat of enamal paint, wait 24 hours, light sand and another coat, repeat and then final coat after 24 hours. Remove door handles before you paint and chuck in bin....get new white handles with a rounder shape. Should look good and not cost much. .

This is a bit of a balance of time/money, but....Your major pluses are that it is a neat, contemporary kitchen with lovely bench tops. 1. Colour: You CAN paint cabinets - and if you prepare them properly, then the paint should last. You can get a specialist to spray them - it's cheaper than swapping out the units - or (worst case) hit Bunnings and go for the "white knight" and rustoleum products. If you prep. properly, and apply carefully, it works. A classic warm white colour would help. 2. I agree with oklouise: rethinking your lights, and replacing the fluro tube, would help.. Have you considered open shelving as an alternative to cabinets at the right of the sink? It's a lighter look, and gives you a great chance to personalise your space. You can get good floating shelf kits at Ikea at a reasonable price. Alternatively, shelf brackets are around $5- $20 each at the hardware store. Get a local timber yard to cut you lengths of timber to fit the space - most are quite willing to chop for free; and it then fits in a standard car boot/hatchback. Paint, stain or varnish to suit. Pine is cheap and paints well, but fabulous wide timbers can be bought for well under $40 a linear metre. A hint of natural timber can add a lot of warmth to a space. 3. You have a dust-catcher void above your oven unit to the ceiling. It is fairly easy to box it in. If you can't find a "ready made" cabinet product in the right dimensions, then get a handy person to sheet it in to match your cabinet materials/colour. It's too high for everyday stuff, but could be a great place for a few bottles of special occasion wine/picnic basket/ the vase you use twice a year when donor visits. 4. Consider boxing in your fridge, and putting new cabinets or even shelves above it. It can be a great place for a pop of colour - e.g. cook books! Try Ikea/Bunnings for products. Match the height to any shelves or cabinets to those on the right of the sink for symmetry. 5. Open each cupboard and think: could you use this space better? Ikea and Blum in particular have pull-out drawers that can be retrofitted to existing units. Go online and grab some organisers, under sink units, etc to use your existing units more efficiently. Even a spice rack or a cutlery insert can make a difference. 6. The dark coloured security grill is not helping. Do you need it? If you can remove. it, then do. Externally, the beams etc on your deck area seem dark. You may not want to change out the veranda/pergola top, but painting the rafters a lighter shade will help. 7. Check the dimensions at the end of your stove/ bench top. It is clearly intended for seating, but it could be a bit generous. Could you tuck a narrow unit in at the end, and still retain decent legroom? Even a 15 to 25 cm space is enough to tuck in a narrow cupboard/wine rack. I've seen one used as the perfect nook for storing serving platters and baking trays. 8. Borrow space. You have the laundry beyond. There could be some opportunities to install some new shelves/cupboards to take some of the pressure off the kitchen. 9 . I'm not sure about the stove area. You seem to be missing a range hood, and new cupboards in this area might obstruct the open plan feel, the light flow, etc. If you do decide to put either shelves or cupboards above the bench/stove area, then make sure these are high enough to keep your view into the living area, and allow you to chat to guests across the bench top. Good luck!

The bathroom transformation is amazing! The mirror you chose was a great option! Thanks, the Clipsal team

I love those benches I have used one as sewing/desk with trestle legs, love it. The following is my idea with timber bench tops and using your cabinets, This would work if you could run the plumbing across to the left,either inside or externally. ,I have moved the sink to allow you to use the 80cm cabinet as your dish rack, the window won;t allow this. Or you could just swap the sink and cooker and use other shelving for the dish rack Back wall R-L 60cm cabinet,cooker,60cm cabinet 800 void for sink,60cm cabinet.fridge. Wall, using the 80cm x 42cm as plate drainer with timber open shelves on both sides, extraction is a simple ceiling extractor fan. I have added a narrow 60cm Island which uses both 40cm at both ends,like the sink there's a void which can have a couple of stools andr rubbish binscan be placed under the sink cheers