How difficult do you want it to be? I just returned a library book by Plaid and in it was a really cute dresser. They overlaid the entire piece with a one-piece stencil (so the result looked like a damask material over the entire piece)then stenciled a small repeat design laid out in a rectangle on the sides and on the top. This was a small petal border with a group of roses in a cluster at each corner. The one piece overall stencil was done in a muted cream so it sort of blended into the background. Hope you can get the mental picture. It was lovely and different.

Before you spend even a little bit of $$ on a small can of paint for the front door, figure out whether the house exterior (roof, siding, brickwork, shutters, gutters) need any work; and even if it doesn't, are you happy with the existing colors? Planters might work for now while you think about what you want to do long-term. Congratulations on your new house!

Yes but its not just the desired look. If cost is not a factor, anything is possible. But if you have not done a lot of remodeling, you may not be aware of all the associated costs with changing all this. The ceiling, the lighting, framing out the window and wall, matching and replacing the existing exterior. While maintaining the exterior design balance. Moving plumbing, gas and electrical. Your house was built for this kitchen so everything you are considering has major expense to change. You might be better off as far as function and design to bump out the back and redo the whole thing.

Because that is the only place to eat, I don't like the idea of the bar table. A family is supposed to look at each other and have a proper conversation. You don't have space for additional pieces of furniture. I would suggest that you think vertically. I would purchase a kitchen cabinet or two for additional storage and put them on the wall over the dishwasher and to the right of it and when and if you move, just take them down and plaster the nail holes in the wall and paint over it. In addition, you can put up some shelves to the right of it. Also, but the planks and cut several small shelves and put them up on each side of the window. You can get a lot of extra storage that way. On those small shelves on either side of the window you can put small things that are somewhat attractive, and clear all the things off of your counters that honestly just look like clutter. You don't need to apologize for your small kitchen. A lot of apartments in the U.S. have kitchens even smaller than yours. You can put up a shelf under one of the storage cabinets you buy, and on that shelf is where you can put your coffee maker and your kettle. Buy an electric power strip with a power surge protector and affix it to the underside of the shelf, and figure out how to run the power with an extension cord safely from the shelf to the power strip. Also, if you need more storage space, get a pot rack that you can hang from the ceiling. if you don't know how to do that safely, get a handy man. Those small holes will also get patched up when you move. It's not any different than covering over a nail hole from hanging a picture. There are many different types of hanging pot racks, large and small. Here is a photo of one. Also, you can think of ways to store things so they are not visible, like this: You might want to get a hook so you can hang up your dish rack on your cabinet. That will stimulate you to put your dishes away right away, so you will have more clean counter space on which to work. I have a drying rack that folds up so I can fold it and really get it out of the way. IKEA makes a great metal wall rack system with all sorts of pieces that you yourself select that is infinitely modifiable to suit your needs that will let you put in all the things you have on your counter, so they will be at your fingertips when you need them, yet not cluttering up your space. Really, you will feel like you have lost 20 pounds, without the work of going on a diet! You can also mount a pegboard on the wall next to the refrigerator and hang things on that. Really, these things don't have to be expensive, for the containers in the above photo, you can use an empty can that you have washed clean and poke two holes in the back( and smooth them flat first) and tie it on to the pegboard with something like a zipties, or a strong thick cord. It is fun to see how ingenious you can be in discovering ways to store things in limited space.