Samantha B I just completed my kitchen Reno in Perth. My pantry was also bricked up like yours. Literally doubled the space by getting rid of it but we found out after that the pantry was structural & we had to put an extra support beam in the roof instead ($800) so be careful of that! We completely moved the plumbing, gas & electrics & it only cost a few hundred! So don't be afraid to do that as long as u know decent priced tradies! We ended up doing nearly everything ourselves & went with a masters flat packed kitchen & sourced our own stone benchtops dirt cheap ($2500 installed for a 2m bench & a 1.5m island each with one waterfall edge.). Heres before & after pics.

There are heaps of lines, lines, lines already "featured" in this area! The overhead cabinets, shutter, drawers, front of breakfast bar cabinetry, sandstone wall ... By going black grout - you will be drawing attention to and emphasizing the overload of lines ... By going black grout, you may have to deal with the black and white giving you cross-eyes while cooking! So - obviously - I'm cheering for the "go white" team!

'The time has come,' the Chooky said, 'To talk of many things: Of shoes-and ships-and sealing wax- Of cabbages-and kings- And why the sea is boiling hot- And whether pigs have wings.' We covered all the subjects: We loved and cried, We discussed the scents appropriate For Christmas we tried. We bore the good and bad together Now the Chookster's account has died. Many apologies to Lewis Carroll.

anaewlo - did all this just over 12 months ago so know how valuable an extra pair or eyes and a clearer head can help. The "little" things are the ones so easily missed and the ones that make you ask "what was I thinking" or "how did I miss that". You could take the tiles up higher immediately behind the hotplates, the range hood would then tie it all together and you could even have some nice artwork each side of it. The only concern I have - are the 2 tiles in the second row centred over your hotplates? Fine if they are as you will have that high part nice and even. If not, I'd a have good think about it. Otherwise, assuming you will paint the walls in a semi gloss paint, the lower tiles will take the brunt of the oil and what goes on the walls will be pretty easy to wash off, it is just a matter of wiping it down after each cooking session. There are times to match things up and there are times to blend. With your downlights, keep to white (assuming you will paint your ceilings white). this way they tend to disappear into the ceiling