Congratulations on your new home! For colors and other ideas, you can follow me on mydecoratingtips.com. Also, I have free color inspirations e books that you can download. Pictures of your space would be helpful for the start. Best of luck!!!

I teach my dogs that the kitchen is out of bounds. That way they don't get under your feet and you can move around confidently knowing you won't stand on them. Also, be consistent with the rules of the house and ensure you walk Pancake every day! It's a good balancer and they need to 'sniff' to see what is going on in the dog world. I also feed them after a walk, then they know when dinner time is, even if it is an hour earlier, it doesn't matter. It is also a good idea to insist they sit before getting into their food, they too can have manners. Just don't leave them sitting too long when training them. If they start to move, before they look at you to give the ok command, try and say ok as quickly as they are moving into to eat. Practice makes perfect. Enjoy Pancake, she looks adorable.

Looks like the palm tree look is working so I would blend that with some succulents maybe agave which can grow large and make great statement plants. Also stick with the stones.

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. :)