i'm glad you're planning to reroute access to the garage: clumsy traffic pattern change a generous room into a big hallway and can't stop thinking about your kitchen..1. where you have narrow cabinets/shelves in the pantry...it's possible to have built in shelves inside the dividing wall (think about the size of what you want to store: cans, bottles, skinny packets? and put 60cm base cabinets on the other side, next to the freezer 2. i can't see the yellow highlights for stools 3. width of pantry is subject to you wanting to keep the door to the formal living room...if so, measure 150mm past the door opening and that's the minimum width of the pantry but 1500mm allows space to comfortably walk past your freezer and have full size base cabinets with pantry drawers (cleaner than open shelves) 4. space between the b'fast bar and 'fridge should be at least 90cm but if you choose a wide b'fast bar and a big 'fridge a bigger space is preferable (stand a couple of chairs 90cm in front of your current fridge for a few days and see how it feels) direction of fridge door opening is also critical, first for the cooks and then everyone else: if the size of the b'fast bar can be enlarged or reduced with overhanging counter then a change of walkway is not so difficult 5. as suggested by girlguide, the cooktop and rangehood might be better on the outside wall for ventilation 6. there seems to be a lot of small cabinets and drawers in your plan and there could be some better (and cheaper) combinations but when i tried to access IKEA kitchen planner to confirm available sizes it's not responding today 7. i've attached my suggested approximate base cabinet sizes: starting with corners and work outwards, aiming for the biggest standard carcases and then add drawers to suit purpose ..

I'd start saving some inspo pics here on Houzz so you can see the common threads of what you like. Then I'd pay a few hundred dollars to have a design consultation. In your area you will have a range of choices.

it should be quite easy to change the size of the base cabinets to create knee space..usually about 30cms deep...i would expect a deeper counter would be the easiest (but a bigger piece of stone may be challenging and you might have to consider an alternative counter material) so consult a kitchen cabinet maker for specific advice and quotes and they should be able to reuse the existing sink, taps, doors and some or all of the cabinets for two options : a new smaller base cabinet or a deeper counter so ask for quotes on both options but first line up some chairs to decide if the bigger counter is comfortable in your room

You have a lovely long island. So...where are you going to chop your veges, prepare the meals? If you have the sink under the window, will you stand there and prepare food?. would that be okay? if you think you will stand at the island preparing food, then a sink would be good, for washing hands/ food, without having to cross the kitchen every time. You could install a small sink at island. I always keep my island bench clear of clutter, and I do have the sink in the island. sinks are deep and a few dishes is not an issue. But I never have people sitting at my island. We all prefer to sit at the adjacent dining table. Because that's what there made for. Often I will prepare the dinner, and people sit at the dining table. That is why I have my sink in the island. My island is 3500mm x 950mm. so there is plenty of room for my double sink and prep area. So, do not worry about what other people do. Design your kitchen space with how you live.