You've got a neutral base there so tons of colours would work. You could paint the walls - either go for a feature wall with something bold like a teal or olive green, or paint all the walls something paler like duck egg or apple green for example. Or you could add pattern and colour with wallpaper. Pull a palette together of 3 colours to add visual interest. Work on a 60%, 30% and 10% rule for the different colours. For example: 60% neutral, 30% would be accent colour 1 (so paint a wall or bring in wallpaper or add a big rug, some cushions and art), 10% is accent colour 2 which could be a few cushions and decorative bits.

A MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who has comment and given suggestions- I am very grateful ...... Sometimes when it is your own home you just cannot see what is needed!! Have decided on introducing an accent colour of a very rich dark plum colour with a splash of cerise pink here and there - am thinking cerise will be an absolute minimum - in the form of silicone spatula heads, tongs, etc.... Am now designing a painting for the wall to the left of the ovens - I paint so can have a piece of my own work there. And am talking my husband round to the idea of changing the two big lights over the island to something a little more contemporary!! Love the idea of fresh plants - at the moment only have the token gesture of a basil plant on a window ledge that gets a drastic haircut every time I do Italian!! I have learnt - and I should have been more adventurous in the beginning - instead of worrying about " what if I get it wrong" with regard to the look!! I am also going to have Roman blinds made for the Windows with a funky Pom Pom trim - now looking for some plum fabric with a shot of cerise in it.... Not quite sure about pelmets yet..... Whether to have them removed or recovered to match new blinds. Thank you again for all your suggestions - handles will stay at the moment - as too costly to replace ( over 50 of them!) and the granite..... Well, that has to stay!! Or my husband will combust!!! But thank you all again for all your ideas and your time- have already ordered some plum coloured Perspex stools for the island and feel inspired again!!

we don't mind carrying out a lot of work over time as this will be our forever hows (at least the next 10 years i expect) we had similar thoughts as i have read on here there are downsides to opening the kitchen area (noise and cooking smells mostly). i really like this idea of having the log burner with the flue exposed as the lounge may look too small if we built a chimney around it. Another dilemma is whether to have the flue continue up through the house or to have it travel upwards outside of the house (from ceiling height upwards). thanks for the advice :)

Hmm yes, a few too many different types of wood! The two small pieces in the alcoves look temporary- I assume they can be put to use elsewhere in the house? Taking them out of it, it would be nice if the table&chairs, beam, and dresser were all closer to each other in colour. I know absolutely nothing about painting/refinishing furniture though! In terms of paint colours, one idea would be a rose pink or pale green: Which might work well with distressed cream furniture: Or you could go for a dark blue...very dramatic: Just a few ideas....I think once you decide what to do with the furniture, it will be easier to choose paint. Then you can decide about curtains, rug etc.