Go with your gut Tracy..... it is a big investment but I have found that if it makes you smile every time you walk into your kitchen you'll never regret it!!!! I've recently moved into a smaller downsized home with my 3rd black kitchen, with drawers, no cupboards, except for the pantry which we use as the crockery and wine glasses stash. Mine is matt but no handles = no hip bangers! I chose to use snow white stone bench tops, the walls are painted natural white while the floors are pale oak hybrid vinyl.

Jacqueline Macho, I agree the sink between the two pantries would be too dangerous. I would check the measurement for your work area between the sink and cooktop. As you have a large cooktop and sink between the fridge and oven...is there enough room to do all the food prep? I love a clean island and have never liked the idea of having any cooktop on an island as it seems too dangerous. A large sink takes up too much room on an island, especially if you’ve forked out for lovely stone or granite. I have for my new build, which we have been in for a month now, put in a small round bowl. I’m glad I did as I use it for food prep, and it has filter water for drinking. It doesn’t compromise the look or use of our island. I have a large and deep sink in the butlers for doing the washing up. I only have one dishwasher...yes folks just one. As my benches are 950mm high I opted for an Asko xxl....they are taller than others. After renting a house with a fisher and paykel dish drawers, I swore never to have them in our new build. So I personally can’t recommend them. Others might like them. Kitchens cost so much that’s why we obsess over them.

We had a guy who printed posters print the photo and stick it on the glass for us (to make sure there were no air bubbles). He delivered it to the glazier who was installing the splashback. There was so much interest as it sat in the showroom, the glazier then started offering glass with pictures actually printed onto them... If your wall was smooth, you could put the 'poster' print onto ther wall as another option.

Don't go with white. While it is easy to replace door fronts and drawer fronts you won't be able to replace the tall vertical panels adjacent to the fridge recess and the microwave recess without pulling out half of your cabinetwork. If you went with a white you wouldn't be able to match the same white as these vertical panels, and the new white would look off next to the old white or vice versa! I'm afraid there is no easy solution that will make the new doors blend in with the old vertical panels, so I would go with a bold contrast colour block that looks good with the white vertical panels, as well as the black granite. Perhaps consider a Piet Mondrian inspired kitchen facelift, by introducing some black edging to the vertical cabinets and a careful composition of blocks of primary colours? Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits