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 ...

Natalie, I didn't even think of that with the microwave! I knew it didn't look right - there was an extra small piece of cabinet that I assumed was meant to go there to finish it off but I couldn't work out how it fitted lol. Unfortunately the doorway at the end of the fridge isn't even remotely a straight wall.so the end panel we had either looked silly or had to sit in far enough that the fridge wouldn't fit. So my dad & I built that box above the fridge to measure & I had to plaster the doorway wall a bit thicker & taper it to the box. Would a pelmet or something similar work for the window? The other side of the window is the end of our entertainment area & we are planning on putting a shelf under it as a pass through/bar so would rather not have a full blind. I also put the frosting up as a temporary measure whilst renovating, but have actually grown fond of it. I did consider lining the window with trim like a frame? Examples below:

Hi Donna. I’m asking myself that same question; trying to work out if it will really matter, and if I do decide to paint the outside, where do I stop? And will I be creating a maintenance nightmare in years to come. It’s not immediately obvious that the internal and external parts are different colours. I notice. Others don’t. You can see the diff when you’re at an angle, but you have to be looking for it. And who stares at your window frames? People are usually looking outside, beyond the frame. Excuse the mess and half finished paint job, but these pics may give you an idea of what to expect. It’s more obvious on the sliding door, but only when close up and from an acute angle. This will look dramatically better when I finish painting the door frame.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I’m still undecided - I have a few weeks to consider what to do. The bench top salesperson showed me some photos of the few people who have added a small amount of benchtop stone to add some height (and it’s always because of a busy 60 x 30 patterned tile that the owners want to keep perfect) and in her words it looks ‘dicky’. Not least because the tile sits flatter against the wall than a 2cm thick slab of benchtop. It leaves a pronounced lip of 1.5cm where tile meets benchtop addition Then there’s the safety concerns mentioned above about flames near stone which I had not considered. Big reader - I love your maths but I’m only 150cm tall. Even with a low bench and oven height of 94cm (my oven’s lowest height setting) plus 70cm of tile between the bench and overheads, the cupboards are already 14cm above my head. This barely makes them usable for me even now! Adding another 15cm instead of the 10cm, while looking lovely and keeping the pattern intact, means my short-arse self will have real difficulty reaching anything safely. Every cm counts when you’re short! But I do appreciate your input!