White is safe and a colour most people choose.....because it's safe and doesn't take much effort to choose......white (or cream) should be your last choice..... I like your initial intention of terracotta and reckon you should run with it! Have a look at 'Cove' if your after something not so strong as terracotta. It's almost a 'putty' colour and should work fine with yellow and green.

In my early twenties I designed kitchens for my mother and two aunts (Uncle built them and they worked), but when it came to designing my own - had to fit a constrained space and no possibility of extension - I chewed my lips for ages - like Nicole, I drew and measured ad infinitum, and used graph book walls, views etc. I did one extra thing - which I think worked - I listed all that I wanted to store, and tried to analyse how I liked working in the kitchen. Some things I had to settle for because of space (such as a smaller dishwasher) but most of it has worked. We have a corner pantry, which I (and the cat, husband a bit larger) can walk into, but have not put small appliances in there - they sit in a large drawer beneath the main working bench, which also works well. It all looks good to me Nicole and thinking carefully about needs and how things work in advance usually results in something you'll be happy with. Good luck!

Hi Luke, these photos are of vertical gardens using artificial plants, pretty amazing what is available now, I am a gardener and love the real thing but these are incredibly real looking and give instant impact, it all depends on the time and maintenance that you have available to put into caring for the wall, once let go they can deteriorate very quickly

I am coming in very late to this discussion. But is there enough room in your space to move the furniture like this? I have moved your wooden coffee table where the couch is, and moved the cabinet so it is not the first thing you see as you enter. Moving the grey side tables to form one “modular” table creates a uniform look that doesn’t sacrifice functionality. The marble side table would then be used next to the other couch (as the cabinet is where it used to be) I would also take up the whole space between the aircon and the floor to hang your ‘family’ picture frames. The gorgeous plant is then placed on top of the coffee table to become the hero in the space. I noticed you used a grey soft looking throw blanket on the couch to the right. Is it possible to get matching versions of this to cover the sofa against the wall for the dogs? The texture and colour of the sheets you are currently using is what disconnects your lovely couch from the rest of the space. Regardless of what artworks you choose to use for above the couch, having a darker frame will help to ground them in the space. The white frames are getting lost against the white brick wall at the moment. You have great taste in furniture, it seems to be editing the layout of the space that is not quite working in your zone. Hope this helps!