I would suggest your plumber links the hot and cold fill pipes to the supply UNDER the sink - this gets rid of unsightly pipes and while he's there get him to move the taps to the L side of sink. I would then create a broad drop down counter top to create a place to sort your laundry ready for hanging out to dry or to fold ready for ironing This drop down counter top to be hinged to R side of washing machine and ensuring the taps are not impeded. If you can't do the drop down version then create a free standing top made out of a piece of MDF/laminated board to put over the sink and washing machine for clothes sorting & folding. This free standing top can 'live' at the side of the washing machine when not needed. I would then put shelves above the folded back counter top to store washing powder and sundries. I would store the washing powder etc in colourful or white boxes to keep the place looking tidy and uniform. Handles on the boxes for ease of access. Oh I do love organising - can I pop round and do this for you? Hope all goes well with the changes.

I like the concrete bloc walls. They are becoming quite fashionable today. I'd keep them in the natural concrete color or if they have been painted, a color paint that resembles concrete. The concrete walls give a hard and cold impression so I'd choose wood flooring for the floors. The combination of a warm wood on the floor and hard, cold concrete on the walls is a nice one. Brighten the space with colorful modern art.

Excuse my duh-ness but i'm having difficulty trying to follow whats going on here. Are these two photos an exact replica of your house and pool ? If not a hasty sketch with dimensions could help a lot. By kitchen wall do you mean the wall behind the bar ? And where is the pool wall ? Are you considering the covered area as being "inside" ? Sorry for all those questions lol Sometimes when you have a design problem you need to turn it inside out or on it's head. If you can't beat it maybe embrace it by making a feature of it : i.e. contrast by having the lightest colored pool surround and a great blue or tile inside and under the overhang, something that will echo the water color ? If you have a great covered area as in photo you'll most likely be spending a lot of time there and it could be soothing to be able to sometimes retire into a darker inside. In my book, 10M isn't small and also contrasting two floor colors doesn't necessarily make a space seem smaller and confined and may in fact even open it up. Could it be that you've thought yourself into a box here ? Sometimes one needs to give it all a good shake up and see how it resettles.

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!