Those columns are indeed structural.

I unfortunately did not have time to take photos this morning, but here is an approximate floor plan. I can take photos if you still need them.

We were considering extending the walls all the way to the ceiling as one option?

Where is your stovetop? Can't really tell from photo. What if you removed that half wall (beams intact) and extended the benchtop out into the loungeroom a little ways so you essentially have an island. You could front the cabinet to match rest of cabinets and install a beautiful piece of timber as your benchtop extension. Hopefully, any electrical wiring/gas connection (if stove is there) could be moved. The addition of timber could serve as extra dining space or a place to have breakfast. Also a place for family and friends to gather so the cook isn't so isolated. I'll attach photos to give a an idea what I mean. They aren't all exactly what I'm proposing, but you get the idea. Also, do your current track lights provide sufficient lighting for kitchen? Maybe consider changing them for beautiful pendants with a lower drop.

Just a few thoughts.

I like the overall concept of the kitchen but it is rather disjointed.

I agree with clearing everything off the surfaces and trying to keep them free miss a feature bowl for the island. You could add an eating area as this would make it more purposeful but I would not do it if it compromised the size and functionality of your living area.

The piece of timber joining the two walls at the entrance seems superfluous and I if was removed it would instantly look more contemporary. You could extend those walls up to the height of the cabinets and repaint in a lighter colour. This could reduce your light but this can be dealt with in other ways.

I love wood cabinets but the top ones up look heavy- perhaps they could be painted a light colour to reflect the light coming in from the entrance but I would revisit your lighting in general. There is a lot of timber with the floor, cabinets and ceiling and this makes the space quite dark? if you did extend your walls you might find the kitchen darker so paint cabinets.

I like the idea of wallpaper but only if you have an even shaped wall and if the pattern works with your living scheme.

Whatever you do with your walls will need to correspond with the adjacent entrance walls.

You didn't mention your budget but I would start at the simple end and if it doesn't give you the result you want move to the more complex solutions.

All the best

Thank you all for your ideas. To answer annb1997's question the stove top is in between the two beams.

I think I need to clarify - we plan on painting the beams white, and the walls a light grey. Currently, this is not our house but a house we plan to purchase. The clutter will absolutely be cleared off. As for the lighting, we were planning on running track lights perpendicular to the beams like so:

I like oskuee's idea of adding artwork on the opposite side of the wall with the fridge.

And philippawright I completely agree with removing that piece of timber joining the two walls.

My main struggle was with those walls looking a little strange. But perhaps with simple improvements like the ones listed above will go a long way.

I like the idea of moving the walls up to cabinet height - but in all honesty I'm quite short, and I was considering removing those cabinets as I cannot reach them anyways. What would you think of having one big open shelf there? To display some pretty glassware and such.

Lastly, would moving the fridge over to the opposite wall, and extending the counter into that space where the fridge was, help with the light? I feel as if it would open up this entire section:

Your other ideas sound good.

If you can do without the cabinet storage a shelf would look good but it could be at a height that was not functional for you. Storage is useful so I wouldn't rip them out until you were sure you didn't need the storage. The other thing about open shelves is that things get dirty so you have to be able to clean them.

Moving the fridge could work as you could then reduce the height of the wall but it may make the kitchen more public to the entry area and you need to think about whether you want the fridge so close to the dining area and visible from the living space.

From what I can see it looks like an interesting home and I if everything else ticks your boxes I wouldn't reject it based on the kitchen as it definitely has potential!

Hope that helps.

Agree with others on opening up the kitchen more but you will need to carefully consider the impact on your living space. My thought would be to move the fridge to the opposite wall nearer the dining area, extend the bench to where the fridge was and move your cooktop to that area so you can have an extractor fan as there doesn't appear to be one. Leave the corner wall but take it to the ceiling so you can hide a ducted extractor fan. Level off the dated breakfast bar and extend a bit into the living area to make a larger bench and casual seating area. You don't have a separate pantry so you will need to work out how best to incorporate adequate storage. I would keep the overhead cupboards for the same reasons as @philipawright.

Oh sorry, Jazimova, I missed the sketch. Thx for answering query re stovetop. And now I see it wouldn't make sense to extend bench outward. I do like the track lighting you showed. Very cool.

Hi Jaz

there are a couple of things we would explore if doing this.

I would move the fridge over to the other wall and rework the cabinetry along that wall to suit... and I would also reduce/close off the window to do it. I know the window is a neat feature, but I think connecting the kitchen to the living would have more value.

this will allow the front walls to be removed completely and replaced with cabinetry.... and connection to the living.

the columns can be clad in some feature cabinetry as part of the design. We did one some time ago where we created a vertical shelving box out and recesses. Looked great.

I think with a bit of work, the columns could either be reduced to one or eliminated altogether with a feature beam (can't see the ends in your pics to know) if you want to go that far.

Cheers