Thanks for that - I've looked all those places and found an almost flush stainless steel one that sits over the benchtop - very flat profile - think I'll go with that but still considering black :) decided not to go with undermount due to risk of chipping edge and extra cost to cut stone ...

Hi M Tranter, we just finished our Blue Ivy house in Malvern, although more contemporary in style, we went bold with the blue in a very similar shade to yours! We actually fine-tuned the shade on site, as the blues will appear different depending on orientation and light. We never worry about 'trends' but choose material and colour palettes to suit each client, and the bold colours always balance out with the other elements in the space. Good Luck (and go for it!).

Laminex and Dulux got together and have colour matched their white palettes. For example Dulux snowy mountains quarter matches the Laminex. White Linen. The lexicon Dulux paint goes with polar white Laminex. Go onto the Laminex web site and check out the colours. We did a kitchen in Laminex Polar White silk finish, the Chalkstone tops and Lexicon quarter paint with a grey oak flooring and Kit Kat tiles which worked well.

Have you thought about the domino reaction of removing the up stand in your kitchen? Where would you locate the buffet to? At the moment the up-stand hides all the things on your bench. A flat peninsula will have everything on show. Since you are not changing the foot print at all, then I hope that you are keeping the lower kitchen cabinet carcasses. You could even just keep those cabinets and change handles. Just Install your new upper cabinets. From your photos I can’t seem to see why the lower cabinets need changing. I also find the glass splash back cold and plain, even though you have chosen a colour. If you are after a retro vibe, then maybe go with a beautiful textured colour tile in gloss. The tile would still have the reflective properties and be more interesting. Notice in the photo how the aqua tiles go so well with timber or white cabinetry.