I have always been attracted to the Carmel-by-the-Sea houses designed by Comstock...the interiors are often decorated casually, with comfy sofas, chairs, maple & cherry furniture and nature-inspired art and accessories. Big fantasy. In real life, we are retired on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and live in a 1200 sq.ft. condo one block off a large town's Main St. and two miles from any beach. Except for the building and location, we have the rest...not sure if our decor is English casual, English coastal or ???, but I wouldn't change it, except to buy better quality sofa and chairs.

Huh? Looks like I'm the first here to post that I can sleep on a clothes line!! As long as I am horizontal- I can sleep if I'm tired. I have worked night-duty for over 25yrs + sleep half my week during the daytime. I can sleep by day or night. Light or dark doesn't bother me. I can sleep with curtains open or closed, bedroom door open or closed ( I always leave lamp on in hallway at night), sleep with TV on. A reasonable level of noise doesn't wake me, radio doesn't wake me, music doesn't disturb me, regular conversation doesn't wake me, regular traffic noise doesn't wake me. Crying babies, whining children + loud squabbles will wake me. I don't like being woken ...!!! My biggest sleep problem is getting off to sleep, always was a night-owl. It is usually after 2am before I'd consider going to bed. Once I do go to sleep, I stay asleep. Strangely it takes me longer to settle if the house is quiet!! Always sleep sitting upright in bed, with curtains open + beside light on if I need to be up early in the morning. It works for me. So I reckon I have saved a fortune on window dressings, eye-masks + ear plugs. All I need is a radio + 5ft 3inches of floor space and zzzzzzzz

I would suggest keep the floor and worktop as they look in good condition and not really out dated. what is the cabinet door made of? if they are melamine, it may be difficult to change to a designer color other than the off the shelf cabinet paint colour. if you do have the choice, consider some classic designer color. Farrow and Ball, Benjamin Moore will be a good starting point. you may consider color in white, grey or sage tone. As you have a shaker kitchen, it is much easy to work with and won't be out dated for a long time. I attached a couple of photos of shaker kitchen in Farrow and Ball with wood worktop. the first one is in Blue Gray, second one in cornforth white. as for the wall tiles, you may consider clad them with IKEA backsplash, paint them with tile paint or even stencil them. if you are willing to do some more complex work, replace them with some subway tiles off eBay. but I would always be cautious of removing old stuff as you never know what you will find or damage and the cost can easily escalate.

Personally I would avoid UPVC windows if you can and go for the powder coated aluminium type instead. The old adage that you get what you pay for should be borne in mind as the overall appearance of bifold doors may look the same, but the quality of the hardware can vary considerably. There should be no issue with bifold doors in your case if a good quality hardware and track is installed.