Katrina, I'm unfamiliar with the 'kinship' style. I'm guessing it is very similar to Scandinavia, but can you explain it for me? Thanks!

The 2 downlights are gimballs so will have a larger cutout , and require a large canopy plate to cover the holes unless you plaster, any pendants will close off the open feeling unless you do a see through clear glass, which will then give you a glare to consider when they are on.The downlight near the wall is a real problem its to close to the wall , really useless . Consider a long linear style of pendant , wire suspended and high enough to keep the open feeling , either LED or a T5 fluro style , or a track light system in a T shape extended into the kitchen make it your main source of light giving you an increased amount of options for the whole space.

Thanks, I realised its actually called ‘kinfolk’ style!!!

Thanks for that information, Dr Retro. I had no idea. Love the colours.

Google 'kinfolk style' !

Thanks, Katrina. I get it now. Didn't know about kinfolk style, but it's very appealing. I am in agreement with Warren and Dr Retro on their points. One of the features you have going for your kinfolk style is the timber unit! That could serve as a starting place for your colour palette. It's important for you to figure out what aspects of your kitchen you want to change now, which can wait, which can you fit into your budget now and which later on. Maybe you have already done this.

I like your idea of replacing the downlights with pendants; however I feel the spacing is not quite right so I'd suggest looking at pendants with long drop cords that can be looped over a hook (also installed in ceiling) so you can position the light wherever you want them. I'd also look at replacing the multi-directional ceiling light with something complementary to the pendants.

Do you want to replace the floor tiles, and do they extend beyond your kitchen? A floating timber floor lends itself to your chosen style. Otherwise, until such time as you can replace them (that is if you want to), a large enough rug to hide the black feature tiles would help.

Are you happy with your cabinet and wall colour or do you have plans to change? Otherwise, you could change out the handles to some more to your style.

Are the backsplash tiles black? Do you like them or do you want to change? I think black is fine and you can certainly work with them, especially if you add other small elements of black in your soft furnishings/art, but keeping to a minimum.

Your kitchen stools are same style as mine except my two are in brown leather. They are 12 years old and so comfortable.

Also, which colour palette best reflects your style?

Thanks annb1997. I'm looking into the swag/rope style pendant lights! The splashback tiles are acually a shade of brown, the wall paint brown, the floors and cabinets cream and grey ( I hate this combo) which extend unfortunately into the living area as well (but not into the rest of the house).

I have thoughts to re-laminate the cabinets in white, leave the bench top black, change the splashback to something (they are actually cheapo bathroom tiles and not actual splashback) and figure out placement - the tiles currently don't blend in well and extend past the cabinet and like a step down to the cabinet bench.

I'd love to replace the grey and cream floor tiles with wood floorboards or wood-look tiles. Not sure how expensive this would be or if this should be done first or at a later date.

I should also note the door you see in the first photo is a big walk-in-pantry.

Nice to have a walk-in pantry. White cabinets will be bright and fresh and tie in with your style. Glad you're keeping benchtop-it's beautiful. What are you thinking for splashback? Tiles? A simple patterned tile might be nice.

best to change flooring when you can also change the living area so it's a continuous flow.

What do you think of these tiles for splash back? (Replacing the brown)

I like them very much!

I'm just throwing this out there because you initially asked if your kitchen would be a 'complete redo.' Going by your 2nd photo, it appears to me your kitchen is visually segregated from your lounge room/living area. The back of the L-shaped leather lounge also serves to segregate the two areas. This is no criticism, I'm just suggesting that a 'redo' could open up these two areas to each other IF that's something you wish. What do you think? Is it something you had considered?

Another thought was that if you work with what you have ATM, your walk-in pantry door could be swapped out for one with a timber frame/trim in similar stain colour to your entertainment unit, and tempered glass (opaque) insert. Does that make sense? Then it would appear more like an extension of your kitchen.

To open up the areas do you suggest getting rid of the L lounge and finding a different option like maybe tei 2-seaters? Love the idea of a timber door though hoping to do wooden floorboards or fake wood tiles in the future - would that then be wood overkill? Too many ideas :) :)

Well, that's a good point, so in that case, the door frame/trim could be painted to match your new wall colour, so it blends in, yet has the opaque glass feature. When i was trying to visualise how my new kitchen might look, I sketched it out and then used crayons or coloured pencils to colour in the different materials and colours. Very rustic, but it helped me.

I wasn't suggesting you change your furniture, just trying to determine if you were leaning toward a new kitchen renovation or to make some cosmetic and style changes. If you were to decide to renovate, I was suggesting the kitchen and living/family room could be redesigned - to bring more light into the kitchen and be a more open plan living area.