I would suggest putting a splash back in, firstly for ease of cleaning behind the stove top. Secondly for aesthetics. Looking at the joinery around the fridge it is very much a focal point, to create a sense of balance why not add a darker splash back. Something that may work would be to look at a dark mirrored finish, which would add bling and tie in the light fitting (check to see whether it is rated to accommodate heat from stove) or even adding stainless steel. Another thing that could work would be stainless steel tiles, or glass tiles that have a metallic finish, or even a glass splash back with a metallic finish. As geometrics are in, you could also look at using perhaps hexagonal tiles with a few different tones, one being a dark grey and create a feature. With the addition of the dark tile it will tie in the dark joinery. Lastly freshen the space up with some bright accessories, it's easy to create or recreate a space with on trend coloured accessories.

Could you push the new addition & deck forward toward the north by about 1200 - 1500 mm? New kitchen - (in back of new room) Better for tall kitchen units (south side) plus you gain visual connection, better flow with dining/family/decks, island bench or return from east to west. Laundry - continue shower wall right across toward stairs & move laundry entry to stair side, laundry is bigger? The flow to and from is less restricted & could you use under stairs as storage in here? Dining room - benefits from this longer wall to display art piece etc. & less disruptive flow of foot traffic. Change/remove the nib wall at the bottom of the stairs. Consider the path through this room is to your kitchen which has the most traffic plus laundry/bathroom access through to deck & spa. WC/bathroom placed further away from dining room is better. This option could also enable you to leave the bathroom window as is (cost cut). I know you have already had the plans drawn up but I hope without confusing you I have helped you to see that a couple of changes can maybe improve it a little more. When you spend serious money you have to get the best value from this long term investment in your quality of life. What is your existing house & land like?

Fair enough on the bench tops - they are beautiful! Looking at all the photos I would do what someone else mentioned first and replace the splash back tiles with something white. I'd also replace the framed picture on the wall with something framed in white and introduce as many lighter things into the room a even in the glass cabinets to reflect some white. I Also think the whole space needs some colour. I don't mean great big swathes but touches of say the colour that makes you the most happy (mine are a coral pink and a duck egg blue - but never together!).

I've been playing around with a pantry location. Originally, I was going to move the pantry into the laundry with some custom shelving and cut the laundry space in half. Now, Im thinking of cutting into the study area and building a wall there, and converting the new space into a long and narrow walk in pantry. Either that or build half a wall and put built in shelving in the study. Building the extra wall will reduce the need to cover in the door way that is currently in place and instead utilising it. Thoughts? p.s. this isnt too scale.