Lighting - pendants over the servery bench should be another feature that complements your chosen kitchen surfaces. So whilst I love the copper pendants in picture 1.. They could work depending on the rest of your decor and would be a highlight in a neutral white/timber kitchen = Good! If you choose copper you would complement it with a couple of copper bench top items. These are beautiful! (I collect copper because I love it, my kitchen pendants are silver, I renovated to sell in the next 3-5 years) You will see a picture starting to form in your mind and there is nothing wrong with making a statement with your lighting. I found that when I wasn't sure I would get a very strong sense of what was right and what was wrong for a space, then common sense or passion would determine the outcome! Here are another couple that might work, look her on Houzz under lighting, search pendants, then have fun looking!Timber tones with black or white to complement your cabinets... or Statement white pendants for a bit of quirky fun! Your personality can be reflected in your lighting and accessories creating that point of difference from the predictable white on timber look. Plus don't forget the power of greenery to punctuate the theme!

Thanks for the replies! My wife suggested we talk to a local real estate agent, so i think that is a good idea... just that Im not sure how helpful they are likely to be if we arent selling yet :) As for saving for our dream house, I dont disagree, however if doing this up nicely over the next ~5 years or so while we live here nets us some extra in the eventual sale, then that of course will help us as well. Interesting thing happened today actually. I got a knock on the door and one of the older neighbours asked if he could take some lemons from the tree. I of course said yes. Anyway he was telling me he had lived in the street for 40 years. I asked him if the house had always looked like this, and he said no that ~30 years ago the old old owner did a massive renovation and pulled off the timber and put up the bricks and gutted the inside of the house. Interesting stuff!

I have not heard anything bad about having doors that open from any direction of the house and as you have not confirmed which country you live in I can not even predict where the worst of the winds would come from. I live in NZ and my front door faces North West. Where I live that is the worst / strongest winds that we have so the only negative for me is on a story day I might be blown down the steps or the rain might soak me as I try to unlock the door. I have simply eliminated what I can by adding a glass roof above my front deck. My back door faces south east and again the weather was and is the only problem so I enclosed this area with a porch which allows me to have the door open most days, almost all year round. NZ's bad weather comes from the south and the sun is in the North. If you are also in a similar location / southern hemisphere then your plan shows me your house is perfectly positioned for the best of the sun. I think you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Don't listen to negative comments make the most of what you have and if you need to make small adjustments for wind, rain or too much sun. ENJOY YOURSELF AND YOUR NEW HOME.

A very simple layout keeping the floor space within the kitchen, the WIP takes up a lot of space with not much gain, The broom cupboard could be moved to the Laundry/entrance, narrow. If the wall has been bumped out to the eaves on the deck side giving an extra 300 depth to the kitchen you could make the island 2700 x 1200 and all drawers. The wall of narrow pantry will hold all pantry needs and more, no deep cupboards to dig into. cheers