There are kitchen companies that can replace the doors, plinths and end panels etc thus completely changing the colour of your kitchen but using existing units. One I know if is Dream doors which my neighbour used to go from dark wood to cream and I cannot tell they are the old units. I like your kitchen, the layout seems good. I feel whats making it feel a bit dated is the amount of orangey pine or similar wood. Even changing the door knobs would help. If you wanted a greater change, a handleless slab kitchen in either a matching cream as the aga, or a grey might work? As an aside, changing the colour of the floor might help too.

Ok firstly, we can work out the size of the room. (6.3m x 3m. Then multiply the answer by 25. So 18.9x25=472.5w) this will give you the amount of watts required as a rough guide for the room. Obviously layers of light are best so, the down lights over the worktops are a great place to start. Pendants, which can be switched separately to the down lights, over a table are good too. Under cabinet lighting and even lighting the plinths of the kitchen units at ground level or above the wall units add another dimension to the 'normal' look. Floors and ceilings are great for diffusing and reflecting light. Kitchens are always places where we struggle with shadows so again the spotlights over the worktops are best to help avoid this, but at the same time don't forget the rest of the room. You can always take light away, but to add it at a later stage is much much harder. Dimmable LED's will allow you to play more again with the lighting in the kitchen area if you choose to go for the option with more down lights. Consider the separate switching idea. There will be times when you want to make that last cuppa in the evening and the last thing you want is to walk in switch on the light and everything comes on at once! Romantic dinners, hectic family dinner times or a party are all different times when different levels of light are needed. Sorry that's a lot of info in a small space of time! But your right there is lots to be considered and you want to get it right. There are some more helpful hints on our website The Lighting Company and if your still struggling we are always available on the phone to help. PS we have a sale on until the end of the month!

Hi. I agree with jacksplash and Man About the House - hopefully OnePlan will find you, because I'm worried about your layout. Some of the figures are difficult for me to read on your floor plan but I'm thinking about all the doors and where they lead and the traffic flow of people. Is there room to get around things, especially, say if the fridge door is open? Can someone get by or do they walk in front of the oven? If someone's cooking, is there room? If someone is at the sink, can another person walk by? If people are sitting at the new rectangular dining table, can you get passed to that side door, the double doors, or the door to the stairs? With the big fridge in that spot I'd do a practice and erect cardboard boxes that equal the depth of the fridge and more that represent the island and see if there really is room for it all. Heres a helpful blurb in case OnePlan doesn't pop in: http://www.metric.org.uk/kitchen-planning (Maybe my username should be "killjoy"?!)

Thanks for the compliment. I am not a professional but have modernised and rearranged many homes and been very successful at adding value. Everything is possible in building terms but lots of things are uneconomic. I suspect that the walls between the front bedroom and shower room and the other wall between bed 2 and the kitchen are holding up walls in the flat above. You can knock doorways in them but removing them altogether is more expensive. You should also bear in mind that as a resident you are likely not the freeholder (which means you are responsible for the whole building) but a part owner of the freehold meaning that you still need permission to make internal alterations. Do you have much budget beyond the purchase to build and renovate?