Agree wiuth Barbara and anyone thinking iof putting a paint-loaded brush or roller anywhere near a vintage timber piece of furniture..."it would be a... SIN! Seems the compulsion of the mass renovcators is to paint everything....and its the easiest solution. Don't think happy renovators and DIY-ers have changed much over the years either. I have just finished stripping five coats of enamel from the most beautiful set of silky oak french doors with etched frosted glass...how many SINS there!!! Silky oak is an open grain timber so the last coats had to be done by the funny little man out in his bush shack restoration shed...and Oh what a beautiful job! I am over the moon and do not care what it cost...although it was not a lot compared to what I'd have paid in Sydney. Here a tip for any appreciators...(.if there are any left) of fine timbers. All you need is an old enamel bath tub and gallons of metholated spirits....just give it a bath and save yourself hours of scraping and fumes and burns. SORRY about the deviatiuon but this is my latest Soap Box...don't paint vintage timber! About your problem Wendi, I think, with Barbara, wait until you have your whole dining set and then stain the piece to fit in with the timber in that...( unless you are going to get a white one...( tongue in cheek). I've seen some really nice dining sets with the best of both ...legs and table frame in a (cringe) painted colour and table top in timber...saw a really desirable inlaid table top at my favourite little man's shed last week..the rest was painted and had a drawer for each place....with old metal handles. Legs were on castors.. The chair seats were upholstered...but needed recovering and the frames were metal...could have been an alloy of sorts. The combination of unpainted- stained timber..especially in inlay, with the painted parts, the metal frames and upholstered chairs just fitted together perfectly...so best of both. You migh be lucky enough to find the perfect table with a natural timber top...( and I wish you to find one with an inlaid design featurting timbers of different hues....) then your lovely little cabinet/sideboard might fit perfectly! There are some lovely timber stains around today...timber can be stained any colour...as long as its a transparent dye. A wonderful product is FEZLAC...that's the base and it is a shellac. To this you add the stain -colour you want. I've used it to put designs (fake inlay) on the backs of some really lovely old chairs...imitating the different natural timber hues in real inlay....So above are a few words, tales and suggestions that I hope will inspire you NOT to paint that cabinet.

Thanks everyone for all your feedback and tips. Below is the plan I have come up with. Not sure how clearly it will show up. Have wrestled with the position of the ovens and sink - thought about swapping them and about having them centred but then think there would be too far between fridge and cooktop/ovens. Cooktop is 600m gas, then two below bench 600mm electric ovens, 900mm rangehood. Sink is double drain, double sink (1550mm in all). I know this seems excessive and against trend but I could not live without my double drain as always defrosting meat, bottles of milk etc and like to have one clean side and one dirty side of the sink. I love the idea of a bi-fold door appliance cupboard for toaster, kettle, microwave but not sure how practical it really is. Will the doors when open be painful and stick out near the fridge???? Do like the idea of having all that stuff tucked away though. What do you think of dishwasher position? Think I will make that gap between island and bench with dishwasher 1300mm as suggested. The only drawers I'm planning on having are a bank of 3 x 3 800mm in the island. I know that are more economical space wise but trying to keep costs down. Should add that behind the L-shaped benches will be windows as much as possible. Looking forward to your feedback. Thanks greatly.

yvonne.. re sanding cupboards I had mine professionally sanded because they were looking worn. timber is American Oak and it really didn't lighten very much by sanding. so depending on your timber you might not achieve much. i would change a few upper cabinets with glass doors, white perspex or remove a few doors, paint the back of shelving and hang wine glasses or whetever and break the load that way. I replaced my range hood with a pull out chrome one and that in itself made a difference nt tying in with the chrome handles. see pictures. maybe you could paint the legs or reupholster the stools to white...all part of the kitchen.

Wilson Art also have a range of matte anti-fingerprint laminates. I just discovered them through my cabinetmaker. Not sure of price but I believe these laminates (and those of Laminex Industries) are in their 'premium' range. I, too, am curious to know how cost compares to other laminates and even 2 pac