Very interesting space and the exterior looks fabulous. My only critic is that I don't really love the kitchen layout. I feel like the peninsula cuts off the flow, but I understand the reason for wanting to have the cooking area on the peninsula facing the dining area. I feel if you were to get rid of the peninsula and add cabinetry on the blank long wall with the cooking area, you would be able to get more counter space for prep and additional storage. Perhaps you would also be able to incorporate a table island. You may need to relocated the sink onto the back wall to comfortably add an island/table. I'd play around with it a bit.

You can use large rugs to create 'islands': Open dividers: Use console tables or low buffet/sideboard type cabinets that you can place against the back of a sofa. A couple of large vases or lamps on it....

I'm not against colorful homes. There's bright, and then there's too bright. I wouldn't go with persimmon for the whole house. The photo you provided has lots of white trim which offsets the orange, but your house doesn't have that much trim (unless you were planning on adding some, which I think would look good no matter what color you ultimately choose, but even so, I wouldn't go with persimmon for the whole house, as it's still too bright). To repeat what @nwduck said, the other homes in the neighborhood don't appear to all be done in the bright colors, and so yours would stand out too too much. I like @deco's idea of the bright door, if you really love a bright color. For the rest of the house, any more subdued color would be fine, along with additional trim around the windows, and assuming that your siding color coordinates with your roofing color.

I would go with the second plan, more or less. Having a fridge right next to the wall seems like a bad idea to me, and I personally can't stand ranges/cooktops on islands--I like the hood venting straight outside. But I would want more countertop to the left of the fridge--when I take food out of the fridge I would want to plop it right onto the counter, and it looks like there's not enough room as it is.