I would consider how you plan to use the island bench, what tasks will be completed at the island bench, what you want to be able to see from the island bench (e.g. the TV in the family room) and what impact the pendant lights will have on the view of your kitchen from the family room. I personally found the height and style of pendant lights in display homes to be annoying. I'm not especially tall, but I had to deliberately avoid them and they often obstructed the view from the island bench. Some, but not all, also seemed to give off extra "heat" which isn't something I want in a kitchen which would already be warm when the oven is on. I did see some with the pendant lights raised higher, but then it looked a little odd to have a pendant light so high. In the end, I ended up not worrying about a pendant light.

I spent ages figuring out the lay out of our kitchen and am really happy with the result (four months in). We put the sink on the back wall, under a window and love looking out. Make sure there is a bin drawer next to the sink. Ours goes bin, sink, dishwasher, drawers, stove, drawers, oven stack. I think the passages in your kitchen area are a bit narrow. We have 1300mm between the benchtop edges. People can then pass each other easily and it doesn't matter if the drawers or dishwasher is open. The island then has drawers holding the plates and cutlery. You can unload the dishwasher straight into the opposite drawers which the kids love. You have two lots of corner cupboards in the pantry and might be better off with one straight line as I don't believe you gain much more and it will feel more spacious. Consider leaving a space on the kitchen side of the island so you can sit too. I hate standing while entertaining and everyone else is sitting at the island! Hope that helps.

it should be quite easy to change the size of the base cabinets to create knee space..usually about 30cms deep...i would expect a deeper counter would be the easiest (but a bigger piece of stone may be challenging and you might have to consider an alternative counter material) so consult a kitchen cabinet maker for specific advice and quotes and they should be able to reuse the existing sink, taps, doors and some or all of the cabinets for two options : a new smaller base cabinet or a deeper counter so ask for quotes on both options but first line up some chairs to decide if the bigger counter is comfortable in your room

You have 5 people in your home already. With a 6 seater dining suite that means you can only comfortably invite one friend! It depends on your own household lifestyle, but a large 10-12 dining suite space would be my choice. Don’t worry about any future owners. I will look out for your plans.