I love the color you have on the wall by the patio doors. I'd go with that all over if you want the space to feel warm. Or, if you want the rooms to feel cooler, you may want to go with sky blue or a calm green. The right shade of green brings in your outdoor plants, which looks very nice when you are looking out through the windows. Your flooring would look fine with any of these choices. Grey is another color to consider. I personally do not like it, yet is is quite popular now, especially with contemporary interiors.

Your layout for you kitchen looks really good and would fit well with the mixture of black and white cabinetry. With the lament bench top, we would suggest melamine (entry level cabinetry) or acrylic bench top, which can come in high gloss feature or matt. The matt surface would go lovely with your choice of bench top, and acrylic is also a affordable cabinetry material. Below are some examples of how Reno4u has incorporated both black and white cabinetry together, without making it to dominantly dark. We feel as if these examples would be perfect for your layout, and depending on if you want more black cabinetry or white you can go either way. This design above is an example with more black than white, can be made matt or gloss with different handles/splash back and wallpaper. With a u shaped kitchen similar to yours, however from the pictures you provided your style may include different design below the island bench. Another kitchen designed by us which shows more white than black, with a bar built in which may suit your design better. We hope this helps you, please feel free to call us on 03 423 9067 and we can provide a free quote for materials and kitchen design, and help you finalise your design further. :)

It's not showing in the Ozzie forum. You need to change your country to oz, then start a new thread, with the photos and post it. If you go to the Ozzie forum, you won't be able to find it. So what I think you have done, is just change your setting...but you need to post fresh I am afraid! So you will have two posts, one in NZ forum and one in oz...but the Ozzie peeps will only see your oz one, so don't mention posting previously Keep that between us. :)

What about colour , character and personality ? A splashback with a pond and a tree may be great , or look naff , as the Poms would say . Potentially , its on the right track , but look at pic 3 . Gone to sleep yet ? Probably $30k spent on nothingness . Now look at pic 3 , and imagine your splashback . Even if it is ( cringe ) black and white too , it will actually add to it . A bit . I don't like the particular light used in pic 1 , but its got character , you notice it , it is not totally bland . Pic 3 is .