thank you bigreader but I haven't posted a photo of them yet. They are not my ideal choice. I only went with these at the time because they were cheap from fantastic furniture. I originally wanted blue stools but the price was out of my budget considering I could get four grey/silver ones for the price of 1 blue one. I can post a photo of them in the morning

Subway tiles are soooo overdone & really date a house now ( not to mention that they remind many people of, well, subways & public toilets strangely enough ). Glass maybe too contemporary but it's so low maintenance & never boring, the colour & pattern choices are endless. Stone is timeless & easy care. It's personal choice really. Trust your instincts, it looks like you've done a great job so far. Would love to see the end result posted here too. Good luck !

Hi Sian If it wasnt for the foot rail, I'd thought the stool was a side table and looks uncomfortable to sit on, but try Gumtree - you may find pre loved Vincents for a song. I'll save you some legwork, or fingerwork :) check these out. http://www.mattblatt.com.au/Barstools.aspx?s73#p=2&ipp=28&f=v73-pv71-nBarstools-t71-c0&o=Default https://www.justbarstools.com.au/ https://interiorsonline.com.au/collections/all/category-bar-stools I love the choices in the last one.

Black bar stools would look great, one or two pendants over table would look beautiful downlighting above island , this would then make a feature of your pendants above table.