Hey Anita - what did you decide?

I had black stone bench tops at our old house. My kids would sit up at the bench whenever I was in the kitchen, so I was constantly cleaning off the little hand prints they left behind which seemed to be more obvious when light would hit the bench top, but it was easy to clean overall. Just moved into a house with a white corian bench top around the kitchen sink and stove area and it shows everything, every splash, bit of dust, tiny speck of whatever, everything. Makes me miss the black stone!

The choice of oven will affect the layout of your kitchen. You want an efficient layout, which is what I'd describe as the working triangle (fridge, sink and oven/cooktop). The advantage of 2 wall ovens is that you can be cooking 2 things simultaneously (like a roast and desert at the same time - 2 completely different dishes) which makes your time in the kitchen more efficient. There is a trend towards multiple wall ovens for kitchens, so this will add value to the property as kitchens are a major selling point. If you go ahead with an underbench oven I'd recommend it to be 900mm wide and with a matching cooktop and rangehood, because it a family home and anything smaller will not cater to your family or add value to your home. The picture below is an example of a kitchen with multiple wall ovens. For this particular project, there is a butlers pantry where you'll find all the electrical kitchen appliance including the microwave. I would also say butlers pantry's are very desirable at the moment and even necessary like an ensuite. From the floor plan you've provided it looks like your pantry is open, you could consider installing a sliding door to achieve a butlers pantry. The other option for your microwave is to include an open shelf in your island bench. Just make sure you have a power point installed which shouldn't be an issue since you have the dishwasher located there also. Good luck with your project. Looks like you have most of the major design questions resolved.

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 :)