Any advice if I try to figure out some of this myself? I found this website http://www.ikeasaudi.com/ikea.com.sa/images/stories/new2010/Web%20BG%202011/Kitchen/FAKTUM/FAKTUM_bg_GB.pdf Its overwelming for me. Did you use the online ikea design tool. I love your color scheme. How did you decide on that granite? I found this website too . Perhaps those cabinets are not available here but just where you are. either way I can find something similiar. Did you have any issues with ordering..getting parts.. assemely? Do you have any helpful tips for designing ? Did you actually hang them yourself? Is there anything about the cabinets that you find defective or insufficient or think could be better? Thank you so much for all your help.

My current kitchen has black subway tiles with white grout and everyone loves them. I bought my house with the existing kitchen and have changed the accent colour of the light shades and accessories from red to green in the last year (photo is pre green!) as I love retro mid bright green. Herb plants and glass containing cut herbs from my garden plus cheap black metal indust chic shelves that house lovely green china items also help soften the tiles. I would ideally change the benchtops from white laminate to med rimu type wood and steel, go for a darker grout for practical reasons and change the cupboards from this grey/dark brown laminate to lighter wood (not scandi white type though - I think is now getting dated and is to me a very cold style and not practical). I have my own style, love colour pops and I would best describe it as eco retro boho industrial chic - eclectic. Go for your style and if its not your forever house - think budget and what will be easy to update. I think subway tiles work well for updating and are classic but perhaps think colour instead of white or black as well and also grouting colour - it makes a difference.

DB.....A LOT of ideas and advice flying around here.......skimming through I see you are endeavouring to establish a basic concept for a designer/architect to consolidate for you, which is great.......whilst you may think this is a logical approach to achieve the best outcome, you are arguably just throwing around random ideas rather than properly resolving/focusing on the critical aspects ........my advice is do this: firstly clearly ascertain two things on paper, not in plan or building format but in writing...that is 1. List all your requirements/needs/goals and 2. Nominate a budget. Next, identify/research a logical local designer/architect option and approach them with this information....A designer's job is to come up with an appropriate concept/solution that best balances your requirements, aligned with a budget and of course make it viable within context/site. Sure, you want a cost effective/modest result, that's fine, and that will influence the solution, but as a general comment it feels like there is massive potential being missed considering the site..it dens;t necessarily have to be that big or fancy, but you have to put the EXPERIENCE of the home front and centre of the process, and not just think of it as a kitchen or whatever laid out this way or that ....This is about an amazing site and the living experience of that and the design should be based on this and bring together your specific requirements elegantly balanced in context......The issue I have scrolling through all this is that you have all these almost disconnected ideas of building form, but you have this incredible site....... the process of resolving the spaces ideally needs to develop from cues of the immediate environment/site in order to make the most of it since you are pursuing a customised solution.....agree with MB, every project has a budget and ultimately from experience this is in general the ultimate/overriding constraint. This project could be anything upwards from $500K and it will come down to the working out how far you want to take it, and what your priorities are over various levels.......this one has seriously significant potential -make sure you make the most of it as you're truly fortunately to have this opportunity to build a home for you and your family to enjoy there.......best of luck :) PD

Hi Jasmine, I just want to ask you a couple of things re details in the plan an will post showing my concerns. Along the back wall, change the wall/panel on both sides of the fridge to 20, the wall would be approx 90?, this will give you an extra 70 space to play with, this would also balance the built in fridge between both sections of cabinets. As it is your designer has used the wall on the left of the fridge to line up with the wall of the proposed pantry, but I feel this isn't needed the panels will do a better job..without taking up more space and not looking so bulky. So now you will have extra to play with and could consider 900 x 2 drawers plus 900 cooker. What is the corner cabinet, it looks like having one door opening along the window wall? I have an 800 sink cabinet which has 2 x 400 doors which are perfect as they don't open out so wide into the room. would it be better to move the DW to the other side of the sink so as not to block access. 900 space at the end of the island is too tight and should be at least 1m The wall cabinets above the cooktop, are they all single cabinets?, it is more cost effective to use double, I ask this because the plan shows that two single or two double cabinets will be involved in installing the intergrated range hood.