Hi! WOw! It's going to be quite a make over! I think you have a great opportunity to have an amazing light here to rock the kitchen! And if you're nervous about introducing coppper (or any metallic in case it dates), you can stay with the black (which will show up nicely against the white gloss background). Such as this http://lucretiashop.com.au/pendant-light/replica-lindsey-adelman-bubble-chandelier-8.html this http://lucretiashop.com.au/pendant-light/replica-mimosa-pendant-light.html or a series of these (depending how long the bench will be) http://lucretiashop.com.au/pendant-light/replica-moooi-random-pendant-lamp-black-50cm.html or these http://lucretiashop.com.au/pendant-light/replica-himmeli-small-pendant-lights.html Personally I don't think it matters if you mix up brands of appliances as long as they all 'work' visually together. Good luck - I'm sure it will look fab! Monique

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.

my suggestions include the new pantry but to avoid changing the kitchen window there's no wall or door between the kitchen and pantry and the dividing "walls" between pantry, kitchen and storage cabinets facing the dining area are built using kitchen cabinets back to back with shallow shelves in the pantry behind the stove and the walls are the same height as a standard doorway ...one thing to realise is that this enlarged kitchen/pantry will take up more of the family room and to understand how much you should create a temporary barrier (dining table?) about 1500 out from the present breakfast bar and from the outside wall across the room level with the back of the existing fridge wall leaving less space in the family room so you need to plan how the new family room will be furnished but despite being smaller the whole spec will feel more open and you will have much more counter space space and a generous island ... this photo shows how the partition cabinets create my separate pantry with cabinets on both sides of the dividing "wall" but no wall to the ceiling or door across to the outside wall...the position of your sink would be about the same place as my ovens with your kitchen window making your pantry bright and easy to work in

Thanks siriuskey. I was worried that I would get something too off the rest of the style. I have an interior designer helping me but I have blown my budget already so used her advice for all the other furnishing and artwork. This website is amazing! For someone like me, who has no clue, is a life saver!!!