The floor tile is basically a flat colour there's no vein or pattern at all. It's the bench that has the pattern. We already have a skylight and the only other area we can put a window has an a/c unit unfortunately. The other walls have rooms on either side. It's tough. I found another tile yesterday I love. But from about 11 until 3pm, the entire island bench has this yellow hue to it. I think because no direct sunlight is hitting it?? But mornings and evenings it looks lovely! I might just have to bite the bullet and go with how nice it looks for the majority of the time (mornings and evenings). That's when we are most there anyway.

I'm with Trek, dark flooring just shows up too much mess - over a large area it will even show dust, especially if it gets sun. I really can't understand the need to put tiles on kitchen floors, they are so hard and unforgiving, especially on your body and can lead to tired and aching legs if you are standing for long periods and even backache. Have you considered a lino floor? These days it is not cheap, but there are some good patterns in it that look like tiles or you can just get something reasonably plain but it is so much kinder to your body. Cork tiles are also another option as they come in many colours now. Otherwise, maybe look for a laminated or vinyl flooring that matches your existing flooring and rethink the colour for the existing flooring to match the kitchen.

It's the floor colour that's the main problem, neither one thing nor the other, and certainly wrong with the benchtop. Leave the wall tiles if you like that sort of thing and find a way of covering the floor probably with laminate planks on an underlay. We have a European Birch golden coloured timber floor but softer grey splashback and it looks fine. It's not an award winner but the floor and cabinet carcases had been there twenty years and it was affordable. Don't even think about painting the floor or putting down mats but a clear plastic runner in front of the sink works well for us.

I’d go with timber or cork. Cork is great in a kitchen. Easy on your feet and joints and things are much less likely to break if you drop them. Especially as you age, tiles cause fatigue if you are standing in the kitchen for too long. Cork is now available in lots of different colours and styles including charcoals and greys that might compliment your slate. It’s not all 80s orange. Of course timber can look great too. Just make sure it’s ok for kitchen use.