Hi HU-648755060 A couple of questions for you. Do you have any floorplans or other details as well? A lot of people say Hampton's Style but that in itself can vary greatly between people. What you have picked out so far all sounds pretty good. I would look at a darker stain, like an espresso for the flooring. The darker automatically adds a feeling of understated luxe. I assume you are doing larger architraves, crown mouldings and skirts and these are painted white? Are you doing a grey grout on the splashback? For a more modern/industrial twist, look for a concrete finish to your kitchen benches. Remember that the concrete looks can be rather patterned so look at full slab pictures before choosing. If you go down this path I would keep all of them the same, vanities, laundry benchtops and kitchen benchtops. Otherwise you could look at a dramatic marble look such as Smartsone Blanco Molassa for the island and then a pared back white, for the other benchtops throughout the house. I hope this helps.

I really like colorbonds wallaby... they have some contrasting colours listed below... this might give a dark enough look without being too dark. however would you consider changing roof and trims first and then see how you feel about the brickwork? It might be all you need to do for an updated look. I'd maybe do roof and gutters same colour and then down pipes in a colour similar to bricks so not to stand out..., garage doors maybe the woodland grey?

I'm also considering the Korlock by Karndean for our extension (open plan kitchen/living and dining). The open plan area is north facing with plenty of sun exposure and I am also concerned about the discolouration over time. We also have a pet and young children is on the outlook, so would be interested on any feedback around durability and whether it's as 'waterproof' as all the sales people say. If it helps, I'm located in a suburb of Melbourne.

Great ideas - love the play pen concept, ha! Good point about finding another location to iron but I’ve asked for the washer/dryer cavity to be moved inwards by 120-150mm so I do have a spot I can slide the ironing board into instead of taking up space where a broom might otherwise live in a broom closet. I’m keeping the stacked arrangement bc a) I have a condenser dryer that can’t be wall mounted anyway so the stack arrangement currently works fine and b) I too wish to use baskets under benchtop for storage. I can’t see much use for cupboards the way I use my laundry and I like that I won’t have to bend for one more appliance (if only it could be the washer since I use it more!) I’ll have to deal with the washer door opening the wrong way for a while but she’s a teenager - at least 14 years, we reckon - so how much longer can she last? I’ve since researched the doors on my brand and they have all changed to the RHS opening now. So it’s a good thing I didn’t locate the machines next to the door! That would have been awkward. My dryer door can be rehung to suit any side for opening. The more I think about it, the more a centrally located sink makes sense to me in a small space and I’m happy to have come to this positioning. It’s arguably the only ‘appliance’ you’d need to stand right in front of while using, and therefore be standing comfortably in the middle of the room, not off to one side. I’ve realised that when loading a machine, you have to stand to one side. And similarly if you’re either opening a lower cabinet or pulling out a basket from under a bench. So putting either of those items bang smack in the middle of a galley arrangement means you’re cutting off your space while using it. Thanks for your input. Appreciate it!