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

Thank you so much for responding! Where do you think I should put table/lamps? And what color? This is the front space of the couch I was thinking of putting a flatscreen tv on the wall? If I was to paint this room to suit the furnishings what color? Thank you :) also I have mini bookshelves right across the painting I was thinking of putting 2 led sized bean bags there instead?

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. :)

Hi Chrissie, Not sure if you are still interested in some feedback for your kitchen/laundry/toilet redesign after 2 months but as you seem to have no comments, I thought I'd offer some for your consideration. Before looking at an actual solution, I'd avoid having the toilet accessed through the kitchen and try not to combine the laundry and pantry. The moisture in the laundry is not helpful in the pantry if you have a dryer. It appears that you are happy to close off the back door so I will assume that is ok. Below is a plan that might work well for you. All the external windows are kept in the same place to save some money, if the fridge can fit where I have placed it. It's good to have access to the fridge without interferring with what's going on in the kitchen, but you could put it somewhere else if you prefer. I've put the door into the bathroom as you had adjusted it but put the toilet behind that door ensuring enough leg room. This can be as little as 1m or 1100mm given the space actually goes to the shower when the door is closed. The existing walls could work for this but might need adjusting a bit. The linen cupbd can stay where it is but move the HW cylinder back and make the cupbd deeper. Then the powder room next to this pushing into the space currently occupied by your pantry. The deeper from the door wall you make the powder room, the shorter the space can be but pace it out to get it working well. Tight powder rooms are unpleasant. 1100 x 1400 should work but it depends on how big the door, toilet and basin are. Put the toilet to one side centred no more than 400mm off the wall making more space on the door side. The laundry occupies the space where your toilet is currently but widen it right out to the window so it is at least 1200mm deep if you can. If you need more space than the window allows, you can make the window smaller. Having double cavity sliders will make the space more usable. The kitchen becomes a galley arrangement with the butlers pantry just being a section of the space that is screened off from the dining and living rooms. This whole space will be really efficient. There are no corners for the kitchen in this arrangement, which I love as there are no complicated storage issues. You can move around the sinks and cooker if you like and make the peninsular an island if you don't mind losing 1000mm of it and the storage below. Also if you are a follower of Fung Shui, having fire and water (cooker and sink) on the same bench is not ideal. You could locate one of these on the peninsular and if you have young children, probably keep the cooker on the outside wall. The peninsular bench/pantry wall can be adjusted either way to suit joinery modules for better pricing. I.e, use 450 & 600mm modules or wider for big drawers. You can have an additional sink in the pantry if you want it but to save money, instead, move the sinks down in front of the other window and shunt the cooker to the left a bit. That way, all the mess is screened from the dining space. If you need some structural support on the living room end, you can have a post or short wall on the end of the peninsular. If you want the kitchen accessed from the dining room side rather than the living room, just shorten the peninsular bench so the fridge is still easily accessed. Good luck with the renovations. Christine.