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 ...

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.

Hi Rebecca, There are never any set "rules" about what is right & wrong it comes to design and detail, however "balance" is always a good thing. Generally the shaker style is referencing the traditional/bygone eras which is fine, but why you more likely see this style of cabinetry coupled with handles than coupled with the shadow line finger pull which is a contemporary detail. Unless the proportion of the cupboards is carefully managed and balanced you're probably correct with your instinct (that you must always trust!) that it will be a busier rather than sleeker look, which may in fact defeat the purpose of the no-handles thing that you're shooting for. Whatever you do I advise on being consistent and confident with your decisions, in that there should be good reason for doing something in a particular way. The risk you have doing what you're proposing is trying to be two different things.....it's kind of either go retro and embrace it, or go contemporary/sleek and be confident with that.. Hope that helps...Good luck! Cheers PD

Hmm... as much as I agree that a scullery in the original plans is wasted space the location of the laundry illogical (where is the clothesline, not down the side of the house with its 1m distance to the boundary that's for sure). I'm not sure the second version is really much better. Here's why.... 1. The scullery looks like it's there just to make use of what would otherwise be a useless space in the plans. Typical builders solution, make it into some fashionable do-dad so it looks logical. 2. The laundry behind kitchen makes sense from the plumbing point of view but otherwise it terribly placed. I wouldn't want to walk through my kitchen to do a load of washing. And where is the clothesline? Miles away down the back of the house with the only route between it and the laundry either through the living room or by circumnavigating the entire house via a tiny walkway down the side. Neither are really good solutions. 3. But removing the scullery doesn't actually make your kitchen any larger. All the builder has done is pushed the original floorplan to the back wall, creating a slightly wider walkway in front of the island. wasted space again. 4. Shoehorning the laundry between the bedrooms is also a terrible placement for it. Ideally the laundry should be at the rear entrance to the house close to the clothesline. When you have a large heavy basket of wet washing you don't want to be walking the whole 30m length of your block to hang it out. I'll be honest the floor plan isnt fantastic. That dog leg hallway between the bedrooms created solely because of the pokey family bathroom with no toilet in it. A master ensuite that dwarfs the family bathroom by miles....just why? Shouldn't the most heavily used bathroom in the home actually be as large as an ensuite at least. A laundry accessible only through the kitchen and miles from the clothesline. But of the two plans the original is the least awful just because it places the laundry as far back as possible and it doesn't cost you any extra. These are the problems of using stock plans but you can always accept the layout as is and change it later if it becomes unlivable. If I didn't specifically need a scullery I would forgoe the planned sink in it and instead have it fitted out with cupboards for extra storage space. That way it can be used for any purpose. Who needs a scullery when we have dishwashers?