Know thy self... you sound like you're bobbing around in an ocean of ideas and safety nets and don't know whose life rope to grab. Take time out to look at addressing a few aspects of yourself : * the dynamics of yourself as an individual and the needs upon you and of you in light of your desires for better feeling and functionality of the space * then let's select pieces, items and collections you feel compelled to hold onto for one reason or another * group things and find the unique story that is you ... your family ... whether letting go of or even moving toward * then start incorporating the reno decisions to compliment and contrast, moving outward with the eye and feel into other areas of your home * if working from a blank canvass then pull pics from magazines and start a collage or a number of boards to express interpretations * another idea is to simply sit in meditation... close your eyes, relax, in your minds eye walk into your dream kitchen. Picture this by yourself, as a family, entertaining and any other occasion you experience. Have fun! Let me know how you get on. I'd love to see pics and know your thoughts and feelings around the choices, not decisions, choices.... you made :)

Colour is a personal choice, but you may find it helpful to visit COLORBOND.COM, click on the Colours menu, then Monument and Dune. You will see some suggested complementary colours that might assist you. There is also the colour selector tool that may help you to visualise the options. This is found at http://colorbond.autech.com.au/onlinevisualiser/index.php?frame=residential

A light grey large format tile (600 x 600) would be great. You wouldn’t get the glare that you get with white, will look almost as light as white in the sun. It’s modern and would go with the Monument colour.

What do you plan to do with the roof? It’s a dominant part of the facade so it needs to feature in your colour selection. Sorry, I was asking the condition of the verandah/pergola roof? Does it need repair? And if it does, it would be a good opportunity to replace the iron with wooden posts.