Do you see what I mean about my imagination my skills. My drawing look oh so like yours (not). I really love your idea of the island bench. Connie I've had Others warn me off a sink on the island, but to be honest I don't mind if there is a dish in the sink (not dumped everywhere - I'm a stickler) the house is to be lived in I guess. With the suggestion of the border that mldesign gave I think the problem is solved. Still leaves me with two metres give or take for plating up etc. I did consider the sink on the other wall but just didn't feel the flow. As my pantry door and the window wall are are right angles - ie not stepped behind I was still thinking I would have a tall cupboard as per my sophisticated drawing above for small appliances and keep coffee cups etc in there. In saying that I was thinking I might swap the fridge from left to the right so the tal cupboards, pantry door and second tall cupboard are all grouped. Love your idea re the mirrored kickers. A big thank you for taking the time to draw these up. I will most definitely be using most of your ideas!

Sorry to dampen your ideas about changing your home but I think it is a beautiful home, in no need of any changes at all, in my opinion! It is a picture perfect home with a lovely low maintenence garden and beautifully presented. I would not have bought the home personally, if I wanted to make the amount of external changes as you are thinking of, perhaps instead, use this home as a stepping stone and buy something already more like what you are dreaming of owning or accept the beautiful home you already have, again in my opinion of course!!

Hi Karina. Haha very funny re your art piece, KitchenAid! Baking is so much fun; I'm a baker from way way back, and you learn by just jumping in and doing it. About the height of your combined dining/bench table, it's pretty important to have a height that's comfortable for you whilst you work. I'm tall and my family is too, so we had the benchtop height built higher so we are not getting backaches from constantly having to bend over to work. It's really more important for the one who does all or most of the cooking & baking to be comfortable as you can spend long periods of time reading and working out recipes, then putting it all together. Likewise, if you are shorter, choose a table that suits you. Best wishes and keep us posted.

Hi Kruti. Those new pieces are lovely. There’s a houzz article in Stories about how to decorate a console table. If you select Stories, then Interior Design, then Decorating, and then type ‘how to decorate a console table,’ in the window, the article should pop up. I think you will find it very helpful.