picture frame all around? Fashion is only dated if you can remember when it was new so, for me diagonal looks very 70's but, enough time passes and a look becomes vintage or classic so it's really a matter of personal taste. The difference will be that the new decking products look so much better, laste longer and are easier to maintain. From the little i can see of your house a more formal style would be my choice and decking laid at right angles to the house allows for the easier extending with more decking? if/when you replace the old bricks on this side of the pillar

If the island is Screw s from the inside of the cabinet. Angle brackets or L-shape channel under the timber. There are many different ways of doing it. depending on how elegant you want it to look and what material it's connected to.

I'am not sure why your builder suggests that a 900 oven needs to be built in under bench, 900/ 600 ovens can be mounted in a wall cabinet. After having a 900 oven I personally prefer 2 x 600 I have shown you as best I can a single 900 oven wall mounted plus a freestanding unit. The 900 wall oven can become 2 x 600 stacked ovens In my experience MW's a better sitting in a special Wall mounted cabinet above the bench, it puts it at a safe height for handling hot foods, easy lift out onto benchtop. I still prefer the Fridge set back into the wall beside the WIP, family having BBQ's and just easy to access with ease of loading and unloading it by using the Island. The WIP I have shown without return corners as I dislike them as they create base cabinets that are difficult to access, it also allows for a full height window for extra light and ventilation with the straight run You can have a double sink but I have shown 1 1/2 bowls, which I find easy to work with especially if you have the newer deeper square sinks, you could have a dishwasher but I prefer that next to the sink below the servery. Your WIP is perfect for all small appliances, coffee machines, Airfryers etc. A tall food pantry would be a good option between any wall oven and MW unit, the pantry would be best fitted with drawers. I have made the opening into the WIP squared and full height, if you use standard height and trim any ovens etc would need a filler between it and the wall to avoid hitting any doorway trim .

Not only a pretty strange design IMO , but the colours seem all over the place . The cupboards at the rear look a deep black , the bench looks more a grey and even a slight blue tinge on the end ( I assume it is the same all over , just looks different in different light ? ) . Then the splashback has brownish almost military khaki tones , and the blind is a sort of beigey brown , the floor is a sort of almond colour while that door is a different tone again . Then most of the appliances ( cooktop etc ) look black , except the curved glass and stainless range hood . At least the cupboard handles stick to the black theme , but again it could be a trick of the light , but the ones along the cooktop side look narrower than the 'island' side ones . To me , it looks like someone has looked at brochures and picked 1 category , someone else a 2nd , someone else yet another lot -- no continuity .