My house, built in 2003, has purple feature walls in the dining room and 2 bedrooms and green feature walls in 1 bedroom and 2 living areas. That was the fashion then. Recently I decided it's time for an update as the feature walls seem to be absorbing all the light and making the house very dark. So far I've undercoated 2 of the feature walls and what a difference it makes! The rooms are much lighter and now I have to decide on whether to add a lighter colour as feature walls or paint them the same colour as the rest of the room.

Hi iggs85 as it is an older kitchen I would not spend a huge amount of money on a revamp. It is definitely possible to paint laminate but good preparation is vital to ensure the paint 'sticks'. However a quality painter is going to charge you about the same as your resurfacing quote. Using either a painter or a resurfacing company does let you choose any colour though. The biggest disadvantage of the current benchtop is the bullnose which is very dated. From your photo, the colour and pattern look OK but you could get a stone 'overlay' put on it. They square off the bullnose so it looks more contemporary. An acrylic feature panel on the return is another alternative to vinyl planks. It looks like glass, comes in a good range of colours and is relatively inexpensive compared to glass. See http://zenolite.com/range as an example. You can buy acrylic sheets from Bunnings. You could also use pressed metal panels as a feature eg. http://www.wunderlite.com.au/catalogue/details/1/79/pressed-metal-crystal?start=25 Add some new handles on doors and drawers too.

Hello Of course it depends on the 'mood' you wish to create in your living spaces Colour is returning to home decorating now to add interest to neutral spaces I wonder if you would be brave enough to try a beautiful pastel turquoise to your spaces??? Like this I especially like the last one as it has grey in it

i have not looked into the splashback pricing yet, as i am still stuck onto the colour fr the cabinets. we have to decide it tonight. I have been looking at warm whites, as suggested earlier in the thread. Antique white USA in 1/4 strength i think will go with the grey colored stone. I have read tht in full strength it throws cream tones. NOt sure if this colour scheme will work. i still have to decide the wall colours for the kitchen. We have finalised hog bristle1/4 for the living area with natural white for ceiling n trim.