Good shout - BUT if I was going to spend any money on that complete waste of space I would brick-up some of the windows, put some sort of hipped-roof on it, insulate it, and turn it into an actual usable space. It will now stay as it is for the foreseeable future and the doors will remain permanently shut with it not being used again for 7 months (April/May'ish) time for a couple of days before its gets too hot. This is the single thing I hate most about our house, it's frustrating as it's such a dead space. I even hate it more than the bidet in one of the bathrooms which wastes space and is pointless (apart from my 4 year old using it once to wash her hands as she thought that it was a childs sink)

It's difficult to tell colours from the photos but changing to a white work top looks like it would brighten things up and go with your dining area scheme.

We started repainting a quite old (10yrs+) pergola and attached bits and pieces with this paint/stain a couple of days ago - we used Sargasso Sea, a natural-looking sage-y colour that's a lot lighter than it looks on the chart (but maybe a bit dark for you). Enormously impressed with the finish, which seems really tough, and will hopefully last. We now have to decide on a coordinating colour for the shed and raised beds......

Maybe post some pictures? Also, you seem to be in the 'before and after' section, rather than 'design dilemma'. I suggest reposting!