Hi Mike and Emma Hope you are slowly but surely getting there... may I make some comments/suggestions that you may or not take on board, but hopefully it may at least give you some ideas/options... Going through a new build ourselves at the moment, and for what it's worth, here's what I personally think: A. Work with what you've got: - additional plumbing work, gas work etc may not be necessary and (particularly gas) can be costly when you're trying to work around existing walls, floors, etc, and as much as possible utilise the existing connections... after whatever you can save here and there, you can spend on nicer cabinetery, gadgets, finishes, etc :) B. Avoid unnecessry structural work: - removing the kitchen/living wall is a must (more space, light, etc) but removing the laundry wall is an unncessary added cost (may even require costly additional strutural support) - putting up a plastered wall on the other hand is inexpensive, allows you to redefine different zones and relocate doors/openings where required (*note: avoid hinged doors in small spaces as you have to allow for wasted space to open door - suggest cavity sliding doors, easy to incorporate in a new wall) C. Don't sacrifice functionality and natural light for design - love full height floor to ceiling cabinets, very much on trend... but they also tend to bring the walls in, which you want to avoid in an already small space... they will also block out more natural ligtht from the only window to the living and breakfast bench (meals area)... not to mention seated guests would be staring at a cabinet tower and fridge - on the other hand a walk in pantry (not that much of a walk in a small space) is also very much on trend, provides more storage and... as entertaining guests in open plan livings tends to happen more in the kitchen... it provides a good hiding place for unsightly items, including frigges... (an underbench bar fridge in the kitchen can easily keep those beers cold... though do consider that means sacrificing some cabinet space) - constantly wiping off the floors from dripping wet dishes across the kictchen from the sink to the dishwaser on the other side bench would personally drive me mad after a while... the dishwasher can easily be connected to the existing sink water and waste points through the cabinerty... any half decent plumber should be able to do that... ON THAT NOTE... or should I say those notes... I know I got a bit carried away :) ... if it were me, here's an idea of what I would try to achieve ...

elzermank Thanks for your help :) Unfortunately we cant change the plumbing which runs through that pass through area (half wall) - so the door pretty much has to stay there .... otherwise we'd love that idea - the more storage the better I say! :) It's definitely a cramped room - funny for how much use it gets ..... Yes the dining room comes off the kitchen - it has the exact same window in it as well so does get some light through - the surrounding gardens do block a bit however. The floor is Stone I quite like it but Hubby wants it to be wooden to flow with the rest of the house - at this stage just the bedrooms will be carpet, the bathroom tiled and everything else Bamboo Floorboards. Thanks so much though :)

In my early twenties I designed kitchens for my mother and two aunts (Uncle built them and they worked), but when it came to designing my own - had to fit a constrained space and no possibility of extension - I chewed my lips for ages - like Nicole, I drew and measured ad infinitum, and used graph book walls, views etc. I did one extra thing - which I think worked - I listed all that I wanted to store, and tried to analyse how I liked working in the kitchen. Some things I had to settle for because of space (such as a smaller dishwasher) but most of it has worked. We have a corner pantry, which I (and the cat, husband a bit larger) can walk into, but have not put small appliances in there - they sit in a large drawer beneath the main working bench, which also works well. It all looks good to me Nicole and thinking carefully about needs and how things work in advance usually results in something you'll be happy with. Good luck!

Hi Michelle. The fixed mirror was in line with the doors of the cabinets so that it looked like one large mirror with 2 joins. Our vanity was sort of in an alcove so the vanity and mirror went the full width of the alcove, about 1500mm. The alcove was because one corner of the bathroom was cut out to make a cupboard in the adjoining room, and the other side of the alcove was a matching wall which hid most of the toilet. That's why it worked to have a bulkhead in the alcove. I'd sent a photo but we've moved to an already built house. I miss those cabinets. We had wanted the cabinets to be inset in the wall but that didn't get communicated clearly enough in the plans. We (actually the builder) partly packed out the splashback area above the basin so that the cabinets did look partly recessed. Whether that's an option would depend on how much width you have to play with. Our ensuite was not small. I might also add that we decided to only put in 1 basin because the idea of needing 2 seemed so wasteful. We never regretted it. We easily worked out our morning schedules to not need the basin at the same time.