Natalie, I didn't even think of that with the microwave! I knew it didn't look right - there was an extra small piece of cabinet that I assumed was meant to go there to finish it off but I couldn't work out how it fitted lol. Unfortunately the doorway at the end of the fridge isn't even remotely a straight wall.so the end panel we had either looked silly or had to sit in far enough that the fridge wouldn't fit. So my dad & I built that box above the fridge to measure & I had to plaster the doorway wall a bit thicker & taper it to the box. Would a pelmet or something similar work for the window? The other side of the window is the end of our entertainment area & we are planning on putting a shelf under it as a pass through/bar so would rather not have a full blind. I also put the frosting up as a temporary measure whilst renovating, but have actually grown fond of it. I did consider lining the window with trim like a frame? Examples below:

The above counter cabinet doors are MDF 2 pack poly with metal mesh inserts and the floor to ceiling cupboard are MDF 2 pack poly with v grooves. Does that make sense?!

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.

i'm sorry to say that i don't believe that there is a stress free renovation but with careful planning there could be a successful renovation and if there's no asbestos to remove demolition can be exhausting, dirty, good fun but, even when everything works perfectly, you can potentially be without a kitchen and laundry for several weeks or longer ... it's not especially difficult to sub contract a kitchen renovation there's just so much to organise and with the current health crisis i'm told that there're a big demand for home renovations and we can expect super long delays for any cabinetry or trades work ...eg you will need an electrician and plumber to disconnect and reconnect services several times and if one of them doesn't arrive when needed everything else has to wait.. but, anything you can do to save time and labour could make big savings and even if a kitchen company does all the work you will still have to choose all the appliances, taps, sink, tiles, counters, doors, styles, paint, lightfittings, floorcovering etc and make sure that everything is ready on site when needed and you could be living in a mess, cooking on a barbq and washing clothes elsewhere regardless of who does the demolition so why not ask the kitchen companies for an itemised lists of charges including costs for any appliances, taps and sink so you know the potential savings and their timetable