No, I'm sorry, but it doesn't work for me at all. That unrelieved expanse of shiny white is quite disorienting. You don't quite know where the light is coming from. But the colour isn't the main problem here. Although it isn't pretty, the "before" kitchen actually has a lot going for it. The new kitchen has the benches all at the same height, which is a problem because different kitchen tasks are most comfortable at different heights. The surface that houses your sink needs to be relatively high so that when you're using the sink you don't have to bend your back. That's uncomfortable! Conversely, a cutting surface is better if it's relatively low, because that way you can control the knife better. It's a safety thing. The new kitchen has the cooktop and the sink under wall-mounted cupboards. You're absolutely sure the extractor fan whisks all the steam and particulates out of there? Most don't, you know. And with the cupboards at that height, if you're standing close enough to cook or wash up can you see to the back of the bench? No, it's not you, it's the design. Look at the old kitchen. It has surfaces at a variety of heights, and although the sink is under a cupboard you can stir the sauce on the stove without bumping your head, I think. I could be totally wrong about this. The featured kitchen might be a joy to work in. I do think, though, that this does not look like a kitchen designed by a cook.

I agree that it's hard to choose the style without seeing the rest of the house but that a charcoal colour (same as the island cupboards) would tie in best with the colour scheme you have. Depending on the look of the house you have a lot of options to choose from and a lot depends on personal taste or budget. Glass is easy to keep clean and is a modern look if you are not wanting to draw attention to the splashback. Mirror (plain - modern or distressed - character) is lovely if you have something nice reflected in it. If the kitchen is messy though, it doubles the mess. Subway tiles (regular or irregular, tiled in brick format or herringbone) are always a lovely classic choice - but be mindful of grout issues. Arabesque or patterned tiles add more character if you're after tiles with a wow factor. I personally love stone, marble or quartz for an elegant, timeless look and in a charcoal or grey with veins I think would look stunning with the lamps as well as tying in the white and grey cabinetry. You can also do marble tiles that are a little less exxy than a slab although in the end I was surprised that the marble didn't cost much more than the caesarstone. Choices, choices!! Good luck. Your kitchen looks lovely!

With a North facing house the sun makes the front of house quite hot but only on those few days a year when it is over 40 with no sea breeze and I love the heat so ceiling fans work for me. The back of the house is much cooler and the winds generally come from the ocean side but can be from all directions at times as we know. On the west side of the house it is only app 1m to the fence line and so the option of having the garage on that side isn't viable. Sorry I am not up on terminology so when I said the set back was 7 odd metres that is the current set back from the front of my house to the road. The council requires 3m for house and 4.5 for garages. I have been looking more at mid century modern design and I don't really like it so I am looking at ways of changing up the bland facade to disguise the fairly flat roof line. With those in the know could I add a front porch and somehow blend the roof line into my current one to look more like this style? I realise it means saving more to afford it so on top of my current budget. I am just not sure how the roof line of the porch would look at the back end (how it would attach to my roof and look from the side and back) I wouldn't want it to look like it was just stuck on at the front. Would I carry that through to back of house so end up with a witches hat roof or is there a better way you can see this working. Once again thank you for all of your input I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to help me :)

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts. @siriuskey the pantry door is just for illustration and we have not got to the interior design details yet (next stage). We saw a kitchen at Pure Interiors where the walk in pantry door was concealed in the joinery in the sense it all flowed well together. But I will keep your suggestion in mind when we get to that stage. @appalachianhiker thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and suggestions. The photos are definitely very helpful. I like the glazing at the end of the wardrobe. In the original design, we had the entire wall of the master bed adjacent to the void made of double glazed glass with a gap going all the way to the bathroom. Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i0OJjoS3db_iFkkhYy-D63F9ZTw_2E77/view?usp=sharing OR: The architect changed the entire floor plan because there some issues with the FSR etc. We thought to have so much glazing, it would be very costly... @Alex Gunawan Thank you for your comments, are you able to share any photos of the void area and how you design it or perhaps any floor plan etc :) @Kate Thank you for your comments :) @oklouise the floor to ceiling heights at Ground floor is 3 meters and the upper floor should be around 2.9 meters or so. I am yet to confirm the upper floor...