Well after a very (very very very) long time my Living Room is all but complete. There is some work to do behind the new steps and some trim to be put on the bookshelves. A light is to be put between the couches (that the electrical cable hanging down) and the wall lights are going to be removed. So just a quick rundown on what has been achieved; Two sky windows - Velux - roofing guy Sheeted under the beams - plasterer New carpet – Bunnings – carpet layer Closed off the old bar and put in a door – builder and plasterer Installed ceiling fans – Hunter, remote control, reversible – electrician Installed downlights - electrician Painted the endwalls – Solver Paint but Dulux Chine White colour - me Painted the ceiling – 2 x coats Solver Ceiling White over 2 x coats plaster board sealer - me New blinds (venetians) and curtains - from Spotlight - me Installed a gas bayonet heater (until I can afford a gas ‘wood’ fire for the fireplace – cripes they are expensive) – secondhand from Garage Sale - me Installed bookshelves – 2 x 202mm high + 2 x 106mm high Billy Bookshelf and 2 x Brimnes Cabinet - me Built and installed new steps and bench top on bookshelf – laminated Beech bench top, cut to size and routed, stained and oiled - me Sofas – Ikea Ektorp - me So some things I would have done differently. The downlights would be warm white not welding mask white. In fact I would re-think the whole light thing and possibly use lights with reflectors that were dark so that light was only reflected down. They would ‘lower’ the ceiling and make the room cosier I think. I kinda like the ceiling fans but had seen some which were awesome but really expensive. Then I saw ones very similar to the awesome ones but much cheaper but by then it was too late. I should have put bi-fold doors where the old bar was instead of a swinging door. I suspect that it will be unlikely now that I can use the room for its intended purpose. In fact with hindsight I coulda shoulda done the job myself rather than getting a builder in. It’s not as good as it should be and that has disappointed me. The bookshelves have come a up a treat – need to finish them off though with some trim. All from ‘Ikea’ except for the timber bench top. The bench top was a light bulb moment and breaks up the all-white appearance of the shelves. Also the white of the shelves and the white of the cabinet were slightly different and the bench has helped disguise that. The bench top and the steps were laminated beech panels from ‘Bunnings’ that I had cut to size. I stained them, put a router over the edge to round it off and then coated with Tung Oil. The bookshelves look bigger in real life than they do in the photos too. So now to sit and enjoy my handy work.

I like your kitchen:) If it were mine I would change the countertop to light colored quartz with farmhouse sink - just me - I like light countertops and farmhouse sinks. There is nothing wrong with the dark counters. The microwave is too high for short me so I would put it on the counter below and turn microwave shelf into plate rail shelf - did that to my own microwave shelf. If the wood is in need of refinishing you may do so - hard work but worth it. However, the "orange" wood thing is really over done by people - wood is various shades of brown and has different undertones in different light. I never heard about the "orange" wood concern except on HGTV - where the intention is to get you to buy new products - and here. Try changing light bulbs to different kind or understand that the whole "orange" wood thing is a mare's nest and probably part marketing tool to get people to change out their cabinets. I would paint the walls. I would not paint the cabinets. You have a pretty and unique kitchen. I would hate to see it look like everyone else's. (Grey and white - see it over and over.) I like the cabinets, but if your are open to the dusting, a small area of open shelving would make a nice area to display items - give it your personality. You can also do that with the glass. Neither wood or granite is dated in my area of the country - see many new houses with both. Wood is probably also popular in Oregon. Also I was surfing Carmel Ca. on Zillow and most of the kitchens were wood - some Spanish or French country - very pretty and million plus dollar homes. I like the brushed bronze hardware like in this picture: Carmel kitchen:

I love your tiles. I love your benchtop. I also love the slate on the floor. Perhaps not altogether though. I can see that painting the timber panels white will reduce the overall 'busy'....but I think something else has to give. The splashback is your cheapest victim!!. To reduce the 'busy' that even grout lines from tiles can bring- glass splashback (painted same as your walls) would calm it all down and let the bench and floor (and even the texture of the painted panels) be the heroes. Another option- change the benchtop for a warm-toned, less busy stone, keep the splash back as is, brown grout included. Something like Caesarstone: Creme Brulee or Buttermilk. My eye is stuck on the busy-ness and the colour-tone clash.

Hi siriuskey, In answer to your previous question, no we are not having as big of an oven/cooktop shown in the design. Ours will be a 60cm induction cook top, with a 60cm built in oven underneath. I'm guessing this is just the picture they have in their design software. It seems a bit distorted anyway. At this stage we are not sure if we will be repainting the kitchen & dining space. I guess it depends on what colours we go for, as it was only recently repainted. It is really only the one wall in the lounge room that is still natural wood, the remainder of the house has been painted in the light grey. The previous owners had already started to organise the reno, just before we bought the house. So we have a 'custom' flat pack that they order, to replicate the current kitchen layout. They choose StyleLite for the doors in either Frost or Arctic (http://stylelite.net/product_info.html) and it is a high gloss. One of the kitchen companies is happy to take away our flat pack and modify it to suit our new design. This would save us money on cabinet costs and get it out of our way. So, for these reasons we are keen to stay with the white cabinetry. Originally we were thinking of a black stone top with a little metallic flick in it (http://www.caesarstone.com.au/colour/6100-night-sky) but we are now considering a less stark colour like a grey (https://www.silestoneusa.com/color/marengo/) which would be perhaps more of an industrial style look? All of the poles in the lounge room, dining and kitchen are the blue colour, which we are keen to keep if possible so that the entire space has some continuity. Plus with cream coloured carpet, we don't want to repaint the lounge room ones! They are different colours in the other rooms. Having said all this, we are open to ideas and plan to take our time getting the design and colour scheme right, so we don't make it too modern and detract from the feel of the house.