I agree with going to the bottom of the window. Subway tiles are too boring for this house!

I think a handmade Spanish subway tile would be "plain" enough to allow your other features -rafters and fire place - to shine. They're gorgeous and don't want to detract from those.

I have been admiring laminam splashbacks on the Internet. It's a large format thin porcelain tile I think comes in 300 by 100 so hardly any grout. I think a lovely earthen colour would give you that warmth while still being modern and clean.

I'd go to the bulkhead. With a tile that suits your personality.

AWESOME ROOM!

I'd go either:

1) 150-200mm or so up wall (or just a couple courses of tile)

2) go to under bulkhead. Could be overkill for me.

My preference is 1)....without knowing cooktop position/rangehood/etc...

I'd use a white grout. I wouldn't use black/etc.

Don't decide on the hand-cut looking tiles until you see how a completed wall actually looks. Individual tiles might look great but on a large area they're too busy and distracting. A small feature might be fine but not sure that they're practical for a cooktop splashback. If you're in or near Sydney Kalafrana Ceramics has the best range of tiles.

you have a lot of horizontal lines here, squint and look at the overall...horizontal line for bench tops horizontal lines for shelves, horizontal lines for window, if you create another horizontal line by breaking the splash back up rather than tiling the entire wall I think you will lose the wonderful impact of the rafters. Good luck, it is looking great!

Well this is ours near finished, shelves are now white, we went all the way Up with a honed white persian marble 300x 150 straight herringbone design !

I love the natural stones as they can incorporate all the tones used in the kitchen and pull them together.

or as per Kerrylaws34 comment, Kalafrana have some Gorgeous stuff !

BTW Lots of ways to lay a subway to make it more interesting ;)

When you see it, & you love it , do it !

Love your space !

Hi Kel B, I agree that Kalafrana's Spanish subways would look great in your kitchen. You already have so many lovely textures and features going on with your stonework and rafters, you don't want the splash back to compete. I've just done my bathroom and laundry in the off-white Spanish Sette Blanco industrial look subway from Kalafrana. It's lovely. Quite a matte finish, and a bit of variation in its profile, so it's not totally flat, giving it a subtle texture when it catches the light. It's quite a long subway tile, so doesn't have the cluttered/boxy look that some have. You're welcome to come and see mine in situ! I over-ordered and have 6 boxes (which I think is 6squ m) going cheap if you're in the Sydney inner west area.

Tiles are too much work! Try a low maintenance alternative - an aluminium splashback with any design you want, including an image of tiles to give you the look without all the scrubbing of grout lines.

Browse the range and read FAQs here: http://www.decorativeimaging.com.au/building-products/decosplash/

I'm in agreement that tiles are too much trouble.

One of the problems is that the joint at the base between the wall & the bench, is a water & gunk trap. You already have a bit of a job keeping the shelves clean, so if you don't have a maid, my approach would be to get the bench top to curve up onto the wall so that the joint is on the wall, not at the benchtop. Much easier to keep clean. Can be done with polished concrete, solid acrylic or ?? Not so easy, but worth the extra effort I found.

The handmade subway tile looks great with a medium grey grout to celebrate the unevenous of handmade tiles.

You could select any type of wall paper and protect the splash back area with clear glass...

I work in tiles and the normal splashback height is 600 mm. This is because overhead cupboards are usually this height above the bench top. In your case you don't have this so can do anything you like. If you tile to low 200mm etc the wall gets damaged - paint doesn't wear like tiles. There are many materials you can use as a splash back but most aren't durable eg Perspex. Glass and tiles have the edge. Textured splashes are in hence the hand made tiles. If grout annoys you use large tiles you can get them up to 1200mm long these days with rectified edges you only have 1.5mm gap. Use sealer on the grout, they are now easy clean. If you have the money tile to the bulkhead a much more luxurious look. Maybe in a charcoal. I don't know how these gaps are getting so dirty. I use spray and wipe with a toothbrush occasionally and it takes little time and always clean.