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!

If you think hitting the lamps could be an issue, just move them a bit and add some low accessories (opposite sides to pic below). It's better to have a bit larger lamps and with your ceiling height anything shorter would look skimpy and they don't overwhelm the bedside tables once you balance with something above the bed. Just a thought...if you accessorize your bedding with some soft colors, they will also help to compliment the glass and crystal. You could even change the hardware to a silver.

Sorry, don't think it fits, The prongs on the light give it a more circular shape but you have this over a beautiful oblong bench. Always rectangular or oblong over rectangular. And the dark ends of the bulbs will create shadows, not so good in a work space. Used to work in lighting for a few years and it always comes down to what makes you happy. I would have tried to steer you in a different direction, Hope this helps.

Thanks for your comments everyone. We've taken your advice (Luke and NH) and changed the island to a rectangle (1200 x 3000). We lose one breakfast bar seat but gain storage and dining room space plus it shortens the distances from the island to the cooktops. It also removes the need for a corner carousel. We're much happier with this result. Dairy_maid, we've done what you suggested and walked through some common tasks. Overall it works reasonably well although we may keep some coffee spoons and butter knives in the scullery drawers for morning toast and coffee. We've also invested in a "silent" rangehood which has the motor on the outside of the house behind the fridge and we've upgraded the scullery sink to one that is 600 x 400 (internal size). Fabrication starts tomorrow. Woohoo. Once again, thanks so much for taking the time to respond. The design has been significantly improved with your input.