I'd be combining the kitchen and laundry by knocking out the wall between them and concealing the laundry appliances in the new kitchen. Ikea kitchen, nearly new appliances (someone is always selling a new appliance that doesn't fit) and flooring (the new linos look really good or perhaps a laminate floor?) If you had the budget, I'd also turn the bedroom next to the laundry into the dining room so your living area connects to the back deck with a lovely sliding door. Maybe also remove wall between laundry and bedroom to create open plan living? Not sure if this is possible if walls are load bearing, but steel beams can fix that maybe? Dining room then becomes bedroom. I like connecting living rooms to outdoor areas, but that's the Aussie in me. Good luck! P.s. Find a good carpenter who charges by the hour maybe? (I married mine!)

to access the power point through a backboard cut a matching hole in the backboard to access the power point and add a small extension cord to have the power in a more convenient location but storage depends on what you need to store but try the PAX wardrobe (1500 wide x 2100 high) with extra shelves plus a freestanding chest of drawers eg Malm 80 wide to leave a small gap at the window wall for the blinds and use wall hung open shelves and don't forget to secure the wardrobe and drawers to the wall...if you prefer the chest of drawers to be the same depth as the wardrobe you could add an extra counter on top of the drawers (Ikea and Bunnings sell custom cut counters in various colours but consider having the chest of drawers and/or the wall shelves in different colour for constrast and matching knobs or handles to doors and drawers

Hi Bonnie, What a beautiful kitchen. The overhead black glass doors look great. My thoughts are: Option 1, modern look: Black glass splashback to match the beautiful glass doors. I have used on my projects before, link below for your reference, and they work beautifully for a modern look and very easy to clean and maintain. https://www.houzz.com.au/hznb/photos/kitchen-design-monia-basso-architects-modern-kitchen-melbourne-phvw-vp~144827524 Option 2, industrial chic look: Stainless steel splashback to match benchtop. I have used on my projects before, link below for your reference, and they work very well for a industrial chic/or industrial modern look and, also, very easy to clean or maintain. https://www.houzz.com.au/hznb/photos/industrial-kitchen-monia-basso-architects-industrial-kitchen-melbourne-phvw-vp~144828526 My other thought is to keep the splashback height the same across the kitchen to align with the underside of the overhead cupboards, although you must check Australian Standards for minimum height for the area behind cooktop, this is a must for safety. All the best. I hope this helps. Monia Basso

I'd go the bright white of the kitchen on the risers , and possibly the wooden panels behind the lower steps -- the wall colour might suit the walls , but just me , I'd like to make the steps look associated but slightly different , referenced back to the kitchen .