@jtennr, I am some way off with a kitchen as we're still building but I decided to put my sink into my bench because it worked there for me. I can see into my lounge, even watch tv and also look outside my lounge window into my back yard. If I'm working on my island, I can look out my dining window into my front yard. My kitchen is in the centre of my open plan, so I don't actually have a window right at my bench. You need to draw up your proposed kitchen just basically on paper, make sure everything that is going to cross over into this new area has a spot or home, like an appliance cupboard for example, for the chip maker, or toaster, coffee machine if you like such a thing. Remember storage for all things great and small including the plastic stuff with lids and the bulky casserole dishes, right down to that draw every kitchen has for a screwdriver, or masking tape, a few biro's or extra notepads etc...etc... Work out what you might be looking at when you wash up for example, will it be a nice view??? I expect you will have a dishwasher so the wash up tends to be more, washing hands, or rinsing the lettuce etc... whilst preparing and where do you feel you want to be doing that as compared to the rest of your open plan??? Your prep area should be close to the sink and fridge, as most things come from the fridge and you don't want to be walking a long way with a hanfull of food. I drew up a plan and placed every single item into a location and made sure I had room for everything and almost forgot the microwave, such a big item too!!! Best advice is to search for a kitchen in the style and colours you think you want on Houzz, there are literally thousands, but you can narrow it down by selecting style, colour, shape, even floors and you might get down to a few hundred. You can save the favourites on your own profile page or even print pictures off to perhaps compare them and decide that you like this bench with that colour etc...etc... It's fantastic to see something you like and incorporate some inovative designs into your new build at the same time, so don't forget to search for the newest kitchen gadgets like a slide out knife block or a place for garbage bins or draw organizers, all these things can be viewed on Houzz. Best of luck. Cheers, Barbara

where are the existing kitchen cabinets and exact position of the sink (and dw?) stove and fridge? ..please include the length of all walls for better understanding of the total space available......but, assuming that the whole end wall is about 3.6m and the existing kitchen cabinets run along the bedroom wall about 3.6m? (with stove sink and fridge?) having matching kitchen cabinets installed under the window with a matching tall 1m wide pantry cabinet in the corner (no more than 60cms deep to allow doors to open without projecting past the corner) would give the best results ...anything else is just a free standing cabinet and with the new cabinets (and new counter and doors for the old kitchen?) you'll have a streamlined new kitchen with three times the storage and counter space with patience and enthusiasm the new cupboards could be made out of flatpac cabinets available in most Hardware stores

Very true! The five key points stated really can make the difference between going through hell or having an enjoyable experience, which should be had when renovating!

What is this distance from oven to island. 1300mm is a good distance. Usually it would be good to have the oven in the kitchen, proper, it appears that it is in a thoroughfare. Is it a wall oven or underbench oven? Are the cabinets that your cook top is on, against a wall or open to another room. If it is a wall, put your oven next to cooktop on that wall. However if your oven is a wall oven, this will loose counter space, either side of cook top. And is there a reason why you have the angle on the bench top (with sink). Measurements will help to give better ideas.