Hello Deb - sounds nice :) If you are going with High Gloss cabinetry this needs to be done 'perfectly' by your kitchen installer as gloss shows EVERYTHING. Just something to be careful of. www.cambridgecolour.co.nz elizabeth@cambridgecolour.co.nz

For a pass through window to be very useful, it needs a surface to place items that are being passed through, that can be easily reached from both sides, or you would need to coordinate people inside and out to pass things, which isn't feasible. I would consider whether it will be used as a pass through, given the door is immediately beside it. A small breakfast bar that uses the window for a view can also be useful for a pass-through set-down surface. Make sure the window is large enough to give a line of sight from person to person so that it is easy to communicate between the spaces - along the lines of 'Could you grab another beer?' or, 'I forgot the sauce.' I would also make the pass-through window a little wider if you do have a seating area, so it looks big enough to be welcoming, or it will be less likely to be used. At 2.500 deep, the deck is not large enough for a comfortable outdoor dining area of more than a couple of people. You need 600mm for comfortable seating on each side of a table, plus the table width which will be 900-1200, and with this layout, you also need another 900 mm to allow access past this, to the pass through, the seating and to the steps down, and with the deck being above ground level, space for access beyond the seating on both sides of the table is a good idea. If there is a barrier, you can get away without it because chairs won't fall off the edge, but it does make things tight. That adds up to at least 3000-3500 and preferably more. You can make things work with a tighter space, with a compromise to fixed seating along the edge, and a narrow table.

David and Tammy bought their 1970s home a year ago and have two sons. They are a young Air Force family and their dream is to become as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible. Since moving into their home, they have added a lick of paint here and there but have a whiteboard with over 70 items on the 'to-do' list! With an oven that didn't cook, a sink that didn't drain and a pantry with no door, this family was in desperate need of a new kitchen! The existing kitchen had good bones, but just needed some attention to design, layout and functionality - and that's where we came in! Fresh off the plane from the worlds largest kitchen trade fair in Italy, our talented designer Mark worked with interior designer Melissa to come up with a kitchen design and colour scheme that would "Bring Milan to Massey!" This gorgeous kitchen has matte black cabinetry, two gold accent doors, a marble look laminate bench top and black sink, tap and handles. The Before and After images speak for themselves! Before Before After After

meager light in the kitchen, trying to find paint colors that would brighten it up, I was told whites would not work, I changed the old dark brown flooring to light flooring and now it looks bad big mistake, the kitchen doesn't look anchored, with the light floor, I need some ideas to make it feel anchored again, would dark cupboards work, sorry for lack of photos. Some suggestions would be great