Id have Raised planter boxes put in around the outside of our yard so my mother in-law doesn't have to spend hours on the ground with a bad back to do the gardening!..

Aren't Koi just fancy coloured Carp? Would eat anything, including native frogs who will find your pond a great habitat. How about a pond liner and run one of your down pipes to the pond with maybe supplementary hose water in dry season? Guess also depends where you live in Oz. Also, yes, evaporation can be huge factor, especially southern states. Cheers.

Hi Magic M new kitchens have more drawers than doors. They also have soft closers on doors and drawers, as well as full extension runners on the drawers. Your kitchen is therefore immediately showing its age because it clearly has more doors and is probably missing the other elements I mentioned that are considered standard in today's functional kitchen. So it really comes down to your budget. If you have the budget I would replace the whole kitchen with cabinets (more drawers than doors) with a shaker style profile. Custom cabinets to the ceiling. Manmade stone such as Caesarstone benchtops. You could think about the same stone on the splashback as subway tiles are on their way out. If your budget doesn't run to a new kitchen then the Annie Sloan chalk paint as suggested is a good option on both the existing cabinets and the new add on ones. Any of your suggested colours in muted tones would work.

Subway tiles are soooo overdone & really date a house now ( not to mention that they remind many people of, well, subways & public toilets strangely enough ). Glass maybe too contemporary but it's so low maintenance & never boring, the colour & pattern choices are endless. Stone is timeless & easy care. It's personal choice really. Trust your instincts, it looks like you've done a great job so far. Would love to see the end result posted here too. Good luck !