Hi Greg, amazing job! Everything looks fab. I was wondering, did you consider pros/cons of waterproof blinds in the shower area? Like you we are nearing completion of our renovation and one of our windows is in the shower. We have opaque glass but not sure if we should have blinds too. Thanks!

Ikea Kitchens are excellent, the attention to quality is superb. Lots of suppliers only offer doors in particular sizes, which is why when you go to an appointment at Wickes for example and you then take it to Howdens, they often have to swap the cabinets around as they don't all do all the sizes. Factoring in that you may want to change the doors in a few years at this point is in my opinion daft. You buy a kitchen and it should last 10-15 years. Magnet and Howdens offer great kitchens too. However, I have personal experience of fitting an Ikea Kitchen last year and was very impressed. I've used Howdens several times too. There are many companies however, that offer custom sizes when ordering replacements such as Kitchen door workshop and Kitchen Door Outlet to name but two. Saying that you can't replace the doors, just simply isn't accurate.

By the way we also originally had all the seating in a line like that, but I realised that a) the seats all faced away from the view (our big sliders will be behind that side of the island), and b) everyone sitting in a row like that is not at all convivial. It just looks good in photos. So we've changed the island layout so that the seats are at one of the short ends and along some of the long side, so when people are sitting there, they are in an L shape which is much nicer for conversation. And we've put some cupboards under the rest of that side of the island which has added a bit more storage. It won't be as photogenic and I struggled to give up the original design because I loved the symmetry of it, but I am glad I was flexible on it in the end, as I think it will be nicer kitchen to spend time in IRL as opposed to looking good in a photo!

Few things that i'd query [with Howdens?] extractor distance to hob, [there is an extractor there?], if its an induction hob then you can probably get away with a 500 minimum gap [depends on the extractor installation instructions] but you have the wall units right in your face though. then for the 2 drawer units you have on the hob side, i'd consider having a wider set under the hob then have a high line base at the end. for the peninsular you have 2 drawer units here, the salesperson has made you aware that you are losing the corner here [unless you plan on having a unit at the back of the peninsular], also as you have the dishwasher in this corner, be carefull the handles you choose don't clash [when you pull the top drawer out it doesn't hit the dishwasher door handle] agree with Kim about the oven tower, move the larder and i'd have the oven tower closest to the worktop so you have somewhere to put things down, but without measurements i'd want at least 1m between the oven tower and peninsular. the tower at the other end of the run also [unless the boiler is here] looks out of place and i don't think the shelves work, i'd have worktop all along, change the drawers from 3 units for 2 wider drawer units and have wall units above and the extra tower panel wouldn't be needed. drawers are expensive so i'd always try and have wider drawers as they're better value for money. i'd keep the handles the same, where you have horizontal handles [drawers and dishwasher] you can have a bar or cup type handle, then for the doors [base, wall and towers] you can have knobs. but its your kitchen and if the design is what you like then go for it.