Thanks everyone so much for your suggestions. The general consensus seems to be that we should work on the garden, which we agree with and this is actually what we are in the process of doing. Love bcdc602 suggestion of adding silver leaf plants and grasses. We recently planted two lilly pillies either side of the front window which will grow quite tall and cover those solid brown sections of wall. We are also removing the blue awnings over the coming weeks. Interesting suggestion by telperien to paint the window frames white. Will give that some thought. Thanks again!

That's great advice re the colours Design Organisation, I've been trying to work out how to choose the right greys to create the same effect as the one in your photo (still looking for a door like it!) Unfortunately budget doesn't extend to replacing the gutters which are that very 80s primrose. I've spoken to builder re your suggestion about the width of the poles and we might now replace them with timber posts, you've been really helpful!

Just a few thoughts. I like the overall concept of the kitchen but it is rather disjointed. I agree with clearing everything off the surfaces and trying to keep them free miss a feature bowl for the island. You could add an eating area as this would make it more purposeful but I would not do it if it compromised the size and functionality of your living area. The piece of timber joining the two walls at the entrance seems superfluous and I if was removed it would instantly look more contemporary. You could extend those walls up to the height of the cabinets and repaint in a lighter colour. This could reduce your light but this can be dealt with in other ways. I love wood cabinets but the top ones up look heavy- perhaps they could be painted a light colour to reflect the light coming in from the entrance but I would revisit your lighting in general. There is a lot of timber with the floor, cabinets and ceiling and this makes the space quite dark? if you did extend your walls you might find the kitchen darker so paint cabinets. I like the idea of wallpaper but only if you have an even shaped wall and if the pattern works with your living scheme. Whatever you do with your walls will need to correspond with the adjacent entrance walls. You didn't mention your budget but I would start at the simple end and if it doesn't give you the result you want move to the more complex solutions. All the best

Nice @julie herbert i like how its formal without being overly formal. Here is a photo from yesterday as i was pulling out the yuccas. I just need to be able to get enough height so its visable above the hedge, or ill cut the hedge lower. It originally had a bird bath in this location but i had to remove it as it was too damaged. I think a water feature in this location and a square hedge in the other location with a chinese tallow in the center kind of like your water feature could work well. @Liz I haven't removed all of them i'll likely be keeping the ones closest to camera, just the very large weeping one was a nightmare to get around.