Know thy self... you sound like you're bobbing around in an ocean of ideas and safety nets and don't know whose life rope to grab. Take time out to look at addressing a few aspects of yourself : * the dynamics of yourself as an individual and the needs upon you and of you in light of your desires for better feeling and functionality of the space * then let's select pieces, items and collections you feel compelled to hold onto for one reason or another * group things and find the unique story that is you ... your family ... whether letting go of or even moving toward * then start incorporating the reno decisions to compliment and contrast, moving outward with the eye and feel into other areas of your home * if working from a blank canvass then pull pics from magazines and start a collage or a number of boards to express interpretations * another idea is to simply sit in meditation... close your eyes, relax, in your minds eye walk into your dream kitchen. Picture this by yourself, as a family, entertaining and any other occasion you experience. Have fun! Let me know how you get on. I'd love to see pics and know your thoughts and feelings around the choices, not decisions, choices.... you made :)

We didn't downsize the house so much as the work needed to live in and look after it. Previous house was about 180 sq m, 2 1/2 storeys, on a large, sloping block (1300 sq m plus 1000 sq m verge) backing onto bush. New house is about 190 sq m, single storey, on a flat block, 380 sq m, in town. No stairs, a straight run with the vacuum cleaner, laundry next to kitchen instead of downstairs, deck next to kitchen instead of on other side of house, a much better laid out and more convenient kitchen, storage near to where items are wanted instead of under stairwells, a lawn that can be cut with a push mower, and no spotted gum trees dropping leaves everywhere (also no echidnas and wallabies, but you can't win them all!). Our old house was magic, don't get me wrong, but the new one is just soooooo much easier to live in, plus all the shops and medical facilities we could ask for are walking distance instead of 30 to 60 km away. Although we're still settling in, we know we made the right decision, at the right time. And our aging dog much prefers not having to climb stairs to get us up for his morning walk.

Hi there, I would be thinking to go for white cabinets and walls,with white appliances that you plan on Keeping or can change to stainless, your choice of benchtop. as this picture shows the timber door frames etc will then fit, White cream and timber should blend in with the floor tiles, maybe even the blinds will look ok, photos help

Hi, we are looking at replacing our cabinets. The black benchtop will stay as it's in good condition. As shown in the photo our floor is light to medium terracotta colour. We can repaint the surrounding walls another colour. It's a galley kitchen and around 12-1pm it starts looking a bit gloomy in there, especially in winter. The polytec colours we are looking at so far for the cabinets are Polytec Porcelain, Classic White & maybe Alabaster? I would appreciate opinions as it's getting a bit difficult to choose. Or perhaps there are other suggestions for colour out there? Please ignore the colour swatches.