Know thy self... you sound like you're bobbing around in an ocean of ideas and safety nets and don't know whose life rope to grab. Take time out to look at addressing a few aspects of yourself : * the dynamics of yourself as an individual and the needs upon you and of you in light of your desires for better feeling and functionality of the space * then let's select pieces, items and collections you feel compelled to hold onto for one reason or another * group things and find the unique story that is you ... your family ... whether letting go of or even moving toward * then start incorporating the reno decisions to compliment and contrast, moving outward with the eye and feel into other areas of your home * if working from a blank canvass then pull pics from magazines and start a collage or a number of boards to express interpretations * another idea is to simply sit in meditation... close your eyes, relax, in your minds eye walk into your dream kitchen. Picture this by yourself, as a family, entertaining and any other occasion you experience. Have fun! Let me know how you get on. I'd love to see pics and know your thoughts and feelings around the choices, not decisions, choices.... you made :)

Wish i found this Q &A before. So many beautiful people advising and sharing here! I am Repainting Tropical Queenslander with dark red and orangy timber floors and this thread is so helpful. I painted Whisper white and it is throwing so much Green it makes me so sad I am going to repaint. I get loads of tropical sun in the north facing - with eastern morning sunlight. Was just about to go and buy Natural White just to cover it. Do you think it will be too dull/warm a colour. I do like a fresh feel and contrasting with vivid white decorative trims. The whisper white looks nice For a while in the morning while the morning sunlight throws read up onto it but then it returns to a green

Natural White & Whisper White will both work well with Polytec Classic White. I would steer clear of Lexicon - it's a little too cool to work well with Classic White. You might find it easier if you get some sample pots & paint up some large boards as both Whisper White & Natural White will look lighter and 'more white' once they are on the wall. Lexicon half or quarter would be incredibly light as a wall colour and too stark for most applications.

One thing you might want to consider too is the finish of the bench top. Even though dark colours absorb light if you have a shiny coating on your bench top it might give you that glare effect. We have a dark green laminated bench top. And we get a lot on sun in the morning and the bench top is quite resonates a lot of glare. Opt for a matt finish in a material that won't throw a lot of light back. I have attached a photo of our bench top to give you an idea of what I mean