Thanks :) All very good points. We thought about having the cabinet doors put in for the fridge but we personally haven't found them to be too practical in the past. Ones we've used haven't seemed to seal so well. We are also planning to upgrade the fridge in the next couple if years. Good thinking about placement of the microwave too. We have a power pack range built into the wall cabinets so unfortunately we can't put the microwave above the cooktop. I like the idea of the appliance cupboard being turned into a corner cupboard, although I'm unsure if that would mean that you then couldn't easily access it from the other side of the bench..? I'm hoping our kids will sit at the breakfast bar and make their own toast etc while keeping out of the kitchen itself.... I also wonder if we should have the wall cabinets all in the same line or if we could drop the usable ones, on either side of the power pack, down further to give us more storage....? And (I promise this is my last dilemma!) does anyone have any ideas on whether to place the 1/4 sink to the left or the right of the main sink? Again it's one of those things that I'm going around in circles about....next to the prep area vs next to the dishwasher.....? ...... Ahhhh decisions, decisions ;-) Thanks again

Should have added, this is the existing layout:

Hi Lucy, So worth doing this research at the planning stage, well done. Check out our Ideas for practical kitchens including the 5 task zones here : https://www.blum.com/nz/en/ideas/overview/ If you would like a free copy of our Kitchen Inspirations Magazine please private message your address/phone to Blum New Zealand. All the best for your project, Blum NZ Team

If you have lived in England...with washing machine in the kitchen as a normal everyday thing, then I don't think people mind, they probably LOVE having a laundry ! Our front door is basically the laundry sliding door, so I'm putting our laundry into a cupboard so it's hidden, I think it put people off buying the house...entering via laundry. (10 weeks on market, we were the only offer) A pantry ' in a laundry' or vice versa doesn't worry me. My last laundry was in the garage. And big sep pantry in kitchen, I would rather a pantry with machine..than no pantry. A pantry to me is big kudos