It is in fact in the front window of our showroom! there will be much more lighting on the kitchen during the day and possible a few spotlights plus these at night. They are more of a feature than a practical light. The glass is smoked black rather than completely clear which would possibly help in a "real" situation. Thank you for your expert opinion! its always great to hear other ideas on Houzz!

The lack of bench space, and I'm not sure which category of the poll that fits into. Layout maybe, since we'll need to move things around to make it work. Our kitchen is enormous, but it's all storage - one whole wall is floor to ceiling pantry-style cabinets. On the other all the stovetop and the sink take up a full half of the bench top, so there is just enough room for one chopping board and bowl on what's left when you are cooking. The crazy thing is, it's not even a tiny galley kitchen, but the space in between the two walls is only just big enough to squeeze an island in, so we are trying to decide between being cramped, or knocking down walls and completely remodelling. Can't quite bring ourselves to pull the trigger on the latter, though, as all the cabinets and cupboard are in great shape.

Hi, Sash windows are also one of my favourites, however they will not suit the property you have. Unfortunately it will be quite out of place as the period of your house will not suit them. You have to always consider the house style and what would look best - you could end up spending a lot of money and it just not doing your home any justice. Think of a mid-century sort of styling, look at Crittall windows if you want something with a period feel. If you were wanting to give the house a boost you could look at a slim line dark frame to the windows, which would emphasis the render work and also the colour of the bricks.

Having just helped my daughter plan her kitchen and knowing the costs and how important it is to get it right, I thought you might value another opinion! I too cannot see any practical or design value in your ovens being positioned as they are. It’s going to be a lovely space with opportunity elsewhere to create a great layout/ design, and if it were mine I’d stick with placing the ovens inside normal oven housing units, which will not detract from the overall design, but neither will it draw the eye in a negative way to them as their current placing does.