Hi Rach163 So the splashback is along the wall behind the stove? And is full height to the ceiling? No overhead cabinets there? Certainly for an all-white kitchen, and a very small wood-element on the table, I'd suggest a feature colour splashback. There's a few ways you could make it pop - a colour such as a rich red, or a striking (but not bright) green, or even a blue would work well. We used colour-backed glass for our splashback in our all-white (but dark benchtop) kitchen, which is low maintenance and looks very "rich". It's a red (burgundy?) feature "wall" below overhead cabinets on two sides of our mostly L-shaped kitchen, and we also put it under the island bench/table, to tie the two together. The other idea that struck me is that you have a view to the outside (albeit a covered courtyard dining area now?). That made me think of a mirror to reflect the view, or at least the light - so something like a polished stainless steel. Perhaps in sections or strips with brushed steel, to reduce maintenance :-) For the lighting, we used an led strip under our overhead cabinets, either side of the range-hood, and around the corner to where our sink is. You could do something similar with a narrow aluminium channel either at the ceiling (probably too high) or at range-hood level with an led strip (a waterproof one!) inside it. It's nearly invisible when not on, just a crisp brushed/polished metal line, but gives a really bright uniform light across the whole bench area, and no shading issues with the main room lights behind you. If you wanted real wow, get a multi-colour led strip that can be colour changed (and be dimmed) to suit your needs and moods. And if you wanted to freak people out, you can get a multi-colour programmable led strip that can also do things like active lightwaves, pulsing and respond to music and a bunch of other things :-) All of the strips are dirt cheap, unless you buy them through most Australian lighting stores :-/ We also put a dimmer led strip underneath our island benchtop, to pick up the splashback/underbench colour, and as a nice 'night-light' of an evening. Works really nicely. I've seen some people do it at the kickboard level (i.e. 140mm above the floor), to make it look like everything is floating, but I've found that only works for some kitchens. One of the benefits of controllable coloured led lighting can be that the splashback can also be white or silver, and it's the lighting that determines the perceived colour. Leds are quite directional though, great for benches but less for wider room lighting, unless you have them in a diffuser. We use led lightbulbs in four high ceiling fixtures, and one long-drop over-dining-bench light, since they are lovely and bright and warm (if chosen that way), and as the ambient light source. You can also get colour/controllable led lightbulbs but $$$. You want to think about where you want feature lighting (up or down), work lighting and ambient lighting. Think about where you will stand to work, and which lights you will be shading, which will be shining in your face, and which will actually help. We pushed around our lighting points on the design, and even over-catered on the number of fixtures, just in case we missed something. You can always disconnect a light and cover it trivially, but putting one in later or shifting one is a bit messy. Anyway, my two bits. :-) Cheers, Markus

Hi Nathan, I worry by introducing another colour, it might wreck the overall aesthetics to your kitchen. My initial thought was a white subway tile with dark grey grout so it’s drawing the grey/darker tones from your floor tiles & wall colour - while still lightening things up with the white tiles. You can always use colour with accessories to bring some spunk into your space :)

Hi johnstoneanne , using Copper as a splashback gives you a couple of things to consider where what material you choose may also depend on the actual look you are after and considerations such as its maintenance, it being fit for your purpose plus that of your budget and to meet the regulations for this if you have a gas cooktop. There are a few ways you can go to achieve a copper splashback; starting with use of actual sheet copper laid onto a support substrate. This is a soft material that can scratch easily and will also oxidize and so you may like to consider applying a clear two-pack coating over this metal during fabrication. Another option would be to use a Laminate material that has an actual thin Copper face layer which also comes with a clear protective coating. You have already mentioned using a Copper tile as an option; where this will also have grout lines. Another option you may consider could be to use an easy to clean glass splashback and use a metallic copper finish backing or if you want an aged copper look, then you could alternatively use a copper photographic image that is printed onto the back of the glass splashback. A glass splashback would be easy to clean, scratch, heat and water resistant. There is also the possible option of using large sheet Porcelain splashback in a rusty copper colour if you are after a more matte finish; using something like perhaps Neolith’s Iron Copper or perhaps their Coreten, where these are heat & flame proof, water and scratch resistant and easy to clean & again eliminates Grout lines being a large format sheet. I hope this is of some help, regards Malcolm.

Sadly as tiles are considered a fashion item by the manufacturers you would be very lucky to source the same tile so long after it was made, and been in fashion. Having the luck to source that tile as new-old stock would be the same sort of luck you need to win Tattslotto. Most mainstream tile suppliers will not carry stock like that as it is not currently fashionable. I can point you in the direction of a niche Melbourne supplier who I regularly use for clients who are renovating their 1960s and 1970s home and who want to use tiles that are appropriate for their original homes. While these tiles are very similar handmade tiles to yours, they are not exactly the same. https://www.urbanedgeceramics.com.au/component/igallery/brands/fifth-element-handmade-tiles/fe-clay-brick?Itemid=108 Best of luck, they are great quality tiles, and will last forever. Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls