Wow! Overwhelmed with all the responses and some great ideas put forward :) I should have probably stated in my first post that I am trying to keep it to a pretty small budget (was thinking of even going down the Ikea route for the cabinetry etc and installing myself). This is because I have spent my life savings on a $810,000AUD house (so don't want to spend more that 15k on renovating I am only 30 years old :)) I do realise I am going to have to spend thousands to get the flooring sorted. Good to hear that you guys think it will be possible to get the wood to match. I am very particular about these things so was thinking not to do it. Responses below in the order they were posted :) Chanop thanks for your help - I think changing the shape of the kitchen to an L or C might have been a good idea when originally designing it but with the middle island already plumbed and with electrics with 2 dishwashers (I will most likely remove one) I think ill just have to stick with it considering my low budget. Is there something wrong with have rangehoods recirculate? Just thought it would be easier as I could do it myself if it wasn't vented outside. I definitely want to get more drawers than cupboards for the lower cabinets - good idea. Was thinking of moving the microwave into the pantry as it has power and we don't use the microwave often anyway. Mrjudsonjames I agree with you on not changing the shape - I really like your idea on moving the sink to the island and i think I will definitely have space if i remove one of the dishwashers that I don't need. Yeah fridge size is definitely an issue with the current space - hadn't thought of storing more food that doesn't need to be refrigerated in a refrigerator - interesting. Fridge wont fit under stairs unfortunately would have been handy - however i plan on having more storage under the stairs (not sure how to execute this yet). Bec - Yep definitely good idea with the sink - am definitely going to try to do get that done :) I'm not really sure what you mean with the half height windows - have you seen an example somewhere you could post? Yep white all the way in this instance - it all feels way too dark at the moment. sstop - not sure whether the wall behind the fridge is load bearing or not might need to get that checked out. However, removing might be a project for the future as I don't have a huge amount of money to spend. Good idea - maybe i will look to see what I would fetch for the freestanding cooker on eBay (it RRPs for around 7K) not sure. I hadn't thought about staggering the joints and this will definitely help - thanks. LouieT - Yeah the layout is a bit of a disappointment - but the terrace house was originally built in the year 1886 originally so definitely going to be some quirks. Yeah I agree on not moving the plumbing going to cost too much. I'm not sure about adding a return as it will enclose the kitchen even more with the bench still there. I want it to have more flow than it currently does. I love the idea of a pendant light! I will definitely have to get one of those over the island - great idea!! dohraime - Yeah as I said to LouiT don't like the idea of removing the island seems like a waste of plumbing and electricity i want to try to make it work even if it's not perfect. Yeah unfortunately the cabinets are of an odd height. Definitely getting new cabinetry to replace them. I am already concerned about not having enough storage so losing those top cabinets to open shelving scares me a little. bissym - WOWWEEE! Your plan really excited me - not sure why when the place was renovated 10 years ago they didn't do it that way would have been WAY better. I am definitely keeping this in mind for phase 2 of my renovations. Not sure how much it would cost to knock down walls etc will get a quote at some point. Now my main focus and problem area - is the kitchen and your plan doesn't effect that area really. Will definitely be ripping of the big curved granite benchtop on the kitchen island as soon as i move in. OK so I hope I didn't forget anyone - and I definitely have got some fantastic ideas from you guys. So my main take home points appear to be currently just trying to sort out the island and fit a sink in it, changing the cabinetry to accommodate a larger fridge, getting floorboards to match and putting up some dangly lights.

I have spent the last 12 months looking at patterned floor tiles! Finally found what I wanted from Beaumont tiles. Not sure where you live but look at Beaumont's web site, also this web site www.ecotilefactory.com.au Good Luck :)

Tile selection can have a big impact on the cost of your bathroom reno. The cost of the tiles per sqm is one thing, but did you know that most tilers charge different rates for the "Type" of tile laid large format and or vitrified tiles will cost more to install These are a few hard and fast rules we give our clients when they are selecting tiles for a bathroom renovation 1 - opt for darker tiles and darker grout for the floor - as a wet area light coloured tiles on the ground are harder to keep clean 2 - If you are opting for a feature tile - let it be the hero. That means make the rest of the tiles plain - large format subway tiles give you enough texture without detracting from the feature 3 - always opt for square tiles on the ground - trying to get the correct falls using rectangular tiles will mean you will have extra cuts and the floor will look a mess. The second reason we opt for square format for the floor is because of subway tiles You see, back when everyone was opting for square tiles on walls, it was easy to install square on the floor and get all the grout lines to match. Now most people are opting for subway tiles, you can never get all the grout lines to match, therefore installing square means you dont have to match grout lines as they are different format. If you are installing your subway tiles vertically, then there is a chance you will still be able to get all grout lines to match if you have selected the same sized square format tile hope this makes sense I have added a link to a blog that explains more about tile selection

Gorgeous brick pavers, I love that look for the floor! It has a rustic appearance yet you're right- sophisticated, even an elegance. I think this would suit the feeling I'm wanting for the room, the pine boards have a rustic appearance, this would go well with them. We have a 1m square oak table with cross back chairs for the dining section and a La Spezia 3 light pendant (Beacon), farmhouse sink, timber hood cover to give you an idea of the look we're going for. Thanks very much for your thoughts on this. I like the idea you're going with, but yes, we have the window and door in already. Door could be trimmed if necessary. It wasn't until the window was already made and the wall sheets and cladding was removed that we realised the original kitchen layout had the back door next to the window, and the door into the laundry section was a modification. I most likely would have put it back where it was originally or had double doors. It made no logical sense for the back door to be a thoroughfare through the laundry, eliminating valuable storage space. I may have just left the kitchen in the original layout and made an entry into the laundry from the kitchen side for a laundry/butler's pantry with fridge in there. Removed the side window for more wall space for storage and changed the existing door to a window. But it's too late now, the outside of the house has all been newly clad so doors and windows are as is. There's no other possible place in the house for a laundry. It is a very tight space. Plan to build an external laundry studio in the future. The one in the house would be temporary, yet need it to accommodate a washer dryer combo for now, and be suitable for prospective buyers/renters in future if the external laundry doesn't eventuate. This is the original 1960's floor plan. A previous owner made internal access into the laundry and made bench space where the original back door was, the next owners opened up the living to dining room and blocked up the hallway doorway which became the fridge space. The cornice didn't match up in the hallway though where the old doorway was. They had made a shelf from the cut out on the hallway side, and the protruding section in the kitchen side became a kind of bulkhead for the fridge. Old hallway We've rebuilt this so that it could have an upper cabinet on the kitchen side/ hallway later if needed. But the lack of space in the hallway didn't allow us to build a linen cupboard, so that will also be needed to be included somewhere in the house. At this stage, thinking we will have to configure the laundry space to have a linen cupboard/ broom cupboard between the dining room and laundry section. Open to ideas too for storage in that limited laundry area space. I'll add more measurements to the floor plan for reference.