Hi! Are you talking about the panel underneath the breakfast bar? I'd need a little more info on the style of the house and your planned staging to be sure, but I'd suggest something like painted pressed metal or a wallpaper (something robust that can withstand being kicked occasionally!). You could repeat this theme in your splash back (in the case of the pressed metal, not the wallpaper!) or back wall, or even on the door (if that's actually a door and not just an archway), depending on which you went with. Here are some pressed metal pics for inspiration: http://www.pinterest.com/roomtomoveint/pressed-metal/ ...and here are some fun wall paper suggestions that might work... http://revivalwallpaper.com.au/WallpaperPebbleLeaf http://revivalwallpaper.com.au/Wallpaper/WallpaperDenver http://revivalwallpaper.com.au/Wallpaper/WallpaperClassicStem Is the wood ridged paneling or just flat? If it's ridged (as in boards), once painted that will be quite a nice effect in and of itself, especially once you add some stools in front of it. As an aside you've also got a nice opportunity to improve the ambience of that room quite cheaply by swapping out the overhead light fitting. Something like this could work nicely: http://www.beaconlighting.com.au/lighting/pendant-lights/modern-pendant-lights/florida-580mm-wicker-pendant-in-natural.html ...especially if you splashed out a little (perhaps next year when you move in) and added some complimentary, low-hung pendants over the breakfast bar and some sconce-style task-lighting over your benches. Let me know if I can offer any more help, and have fun with your reno this weekend. I'd love to see what you end up with :)

We recently renovated my son's kitchen/ family room in a weekend. His oven needed replacing so it was a good opportunity to 'fix' it all. We rang around and got quotes on having the cupboard doors professionally painted but it was way too expensive so we took the pine laminate cupboard doors off and painted with a white laminate paint and replaced all the timber handles with chrome ones. We retiled with 600x 300 white marble look tiles (leftovers from our bathroom) (cut the old tiles out and re-sheeted the walls so we had a good surface to tile on) and repainted ceilings and walls. Replaced a dark timber venetian blind with a see through 'sun-out' blind and painted all the architraves white (previously mission brown). A new mixer tap replaced very ancient 'double' taps. We were totally shattered at the end of the weekend, but the kitchen looks a million dollars and the room looks twice the size now the pine and mission brown have gone. We are pretty chuffed with the result achieved by us unprofessionals!

Try to relax, Carol, it will all be alright. Once you get your things the way you like them, and layer the rooms with decor and the detritus of family life, the things that are glaring at you now won't be noticeable at all. We tend to be picky on this site because that's part of what we do, but in real life, you and your visitors will only notice that you have a warm and loving home, with laughter, and good food and drink. Just don't overcapitalise, so you have some money left over to afford food and drink! Relax, it's difficult now, but it will pay off.

I went through that last year. And, whatever you end up using, the Ikea kitchen planner is a great help in working through choices, layout etc. I can recommend IKEA cupboards, which I got in two colours (antique white and a light ash) - and their installation is even cheaper if you put the cupboards together yourself (even doing the frames for a carpenter is well worth it). The drawers and drawers inside drawers are excellent. I also had to use Kaboodle from Bunnings, as I wanted a corner pantry - it's a system that's also worth considering - my pantry is well made and goes well with the other cupboards. I didn't use IKea for benchtops and splashbacks, as my carpenter had a supplier from whom he could stuff wholesale, which cut costs as well. Twelve months on, I'm still very happy with the kitchen, the quality of cupboards etc.