My comment may be a little too late but I have designed many kitchens where it improvement in isolation would solve nothing so I would alwYs recommend thinking about and addressing the entire open space you are in when wanting to improve it. Your comments lead me to think perhaps you want to spend as little as possible while getting he biggest impact possible. I agree with many comments and think Ain't it the first answer. The kitchen cabinetry call all be painted easily as they are timber, the oven drew my attention, and would need to be a priority upgrade if ever to sell, it looks very old. So if nothing else, take. It out and the under cabinet and replace it with a freestanding, source online auctions, eBay or clearance warehouses you will find many to choose from, and a 900mm oven will make life easier, it will also give you an in line bench top height and expose some more backsplash, which is my next point of consideration. The brick here dominates your eyeliner, so using adhesive, apply fibre cement sheeting to the splash back and tile it in a light tile, if you use led lighting, under the top cupboards would be great as they would illuminate the bench top and splash back instantly making your kitchen feel brighter and ambient. Secondly, this new brightness your kitchen will have will contrast with the darker adjoining room, which will only make the dark seem darker, so you need to gradually address the adjoining room with something from the kitchen, and horizontal surfaces are a great place to start as the cover the entire area like a blanket, so the floor is tile, and difficult to change without major time or money, so on the ceiling, your beams are a beautiful feature and every room has a part of the architecture that will work to your advantage, here are yours, although th ceiling in between agreed is not great. You can buy timber battens from hardware stores very cheaply per mtr, the pine 45mm x 18mm will do, fix them to the inside of the beams along the longest sides, and then either nail to those lining boards, which I would paint white or the same as the kitchen cabinets. Or you can buy lining board sheets, it may be the single biggest cost, but will be the single biggest improvement thT you Nd future buyers will appreciate. Leave the beams timber to work with what you have. Lastly, the brick wall that comes from th kitchen onto the lounge area, I would paint them also, not in a white again the contrast will be too strong, perhaps in a warmer shade, like a coffee tone. This cladding I mention would also look great along the back of the kitchen breakfast bar, and you will double the size with these improvements. I know it involves cost, but with structural elements and big spaces, it always will cost you, just choose where improving will have the biggest impact and go for it. These are things you can do yourself, or use a handy person, so no real trades are needed to complete- save that for later! Good luck. ML Design

I would suggest hanging a large moroccan woven fabric or mat, just use a length of dowel along the top edge, and hang it up. It would add great texture and also a casual feel to the room. Dress up the couch with a bunch of patterned cushions and a bolster moroccan style. A silky fabric sun filter curtain would finish off the look. https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/299911656409300053/ https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/405675878916401870/ https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/431219733049382426/

White-matte cabinets (flat panel, not shaker) and white bench (or maybe epoxy sealed marine ply??...siriuskey can tell you about that), mirror splash. Love the ceilings. I personally would go for a modern, stream-line, no handles, integrated appliances look. This space has real potential to be very cool, even with the slate. It doesn't need any more more texture or darkness. This is a nice kitchen, you should be able to sell it on ebay.

There are never right and wrong answers to this Cath....it can also become actually more confusing when you're not 100% and you get various/conflicting additional advice/opinions and then have to filter/distill the choices/options/opinions down to a final decision........when all else fails, trust your instinct/heart...you should "know" when it feels right....people sometimes ask why/how have I made a particular decision or move one way or the other, and sometimes my answer is simply "because it feels better that way than the other" - when it comes to design sometimes your "technical head" is your enemy ;)....sure the bench top material could look awesome as a splashback, but for you specifically the blue tile may be the better option, where it started and what you are drawn to......have you considered options such as a grey/earthy bench top? I've seen that done recently on a job (not mine btw) that combined with blue splashback tiles that you wouldn't expect to work on their own, but for what they were going for it was a perfect complimentary match.......when you get stuck with the decisions/palette resolution, sometimes freeing up and considering a lateral option is the answer to moving forward getting the balance and breathing space required