Hi plankandtrestle The undertones are tough to pick until it's in the flesh! Monument could be a good contender... if you want a true charcoal you could ask the paint counter to use only pure black and white to get your desired charcoal... I have monument on my gutters, downpipes and trim see below. I've paired it with wallaby which is a brown grey (you could darken) Hope this helps K x

Hi Lil, I believe your original plan works much better than the revised version. While the notion of ideal working widths is great, the larger problem here is the post. I worked on a project very similar to this last year where a post could either be connect to, or separate from the island. What we found was that by separating the island the space between island and post became very awkward. It's not enough of a space to comfortably walk through or be seated at the island in front of. Instead of your room feeling open and generous in proportion, it is going to start to feel cramped and awkward. We have a kitchen in our showroom (Kitchen Studio Tauranga NZ) with a 6ft gap between bench and back wall and it works wonderfully. It allows someone to work at the sink and a second at the island with ease. Stick with the original plan. It will feel a lot more spacious, without compromising work flows.

i also think the outside stairs work better for coming home with the groceries in good weather and, having lived in a similar upstairs bedroom overheating can be a problem: use the best insulation in the ceiling, roof and walls including between the ceiling of the living areas and the floor of the top level (our top level bathroom used to get a hot floor from the heat in the roof space). Shade cloth roller blinds or shutters on the north facing window. (do you like the French balcony?) will improve comfort levels and check out "stack effect" ...having a window open downstairs and a window open on the opposite side of the house upstairs will flush out the house as hot air rises..install closing doors on stairs and hallways to reduce draughts and contain heat in cold weather and add ceiling fans to increase air circulation

Your ensuite definitely looks like tiles are pink in the original photos. But, then the last photo posted the colour is a greyish, pink. I am sticking with my original choice, and recommend a white vanity top, no veining. You also have white tiles and a white toilet, so this will join those components. Let the vanity back splash be the interest with out competing with another surface.