Sorry but the water line blue and white flowery tiles look old fashioned and if you're going for that kind of sandstone on the top it won't go with the terracotta tiles you have already Do like the pool and tiles that Hayda Natural Stone have posted Very nice!

What a beautiful piece of stone on your island benchtop! We could recommend a subtle and plain splashback for your kitchen. This will allow your stunning island benchtop to be the show stopping piece in the space. If you prefer tiles to glass consider a simple white subway tile laid in a classic horizontal pattern as opposed to herringbone. Good luck and don't forget to share some completed photos with us with its all finished.

Comes down to taste/preference of effect and of course budget! Agree that if you select the wrong fitting it can be almost too blinding and overpowering.....strip is great, but individual spots I find are particularly effective and a softer option for highlighting external aspects, of course though it depends upon what you're endeavouring to achieve. My advice is to ensure you invest in quality for external. There is also LED and LED if you know what I mean ;) The quality LED external fitting won't require separate led globes, but is all integrated. You can also get uplights that throw light sideways to avoid the blinding effect like examples belowOther comment is that if you're not 100% sure about how/where to position/what to buy, you may be better to consider a more flexible option of say a spike spot that you can play around with the positioning and direction, and of course move around to elsewhere to highlight other external aspects Black's always a great colour option externally. I think an edge/strip (either pebbles or even soft/garden/mondo grass) particularly to a wall is a good element to include to soften/break-up the extent of hard surfaces. You could always just leave the main pour 15cm short and then fill in the edge strip later either with pebbles or garden depending upon what you think is better....just a long as you rough power cables somewhere there before you do the main section you can sort it out/finalise decisions in due course

If you can't find a more cost effective benchtop than Quantum Quartz look at the detailing of the edges of your benchtop, as the cost of the labour content can add up pretty quickly. For instance a benchtop that looks thicker than the standard slab may have a mitred edge piece, or a second layer around the perimeter. An undermount sink is more expensive than a drop-in sink, as the undermount needs the edge of the cut-out hole finished and polished. These nice architectural details add cost, so ask your Quantum Quartz fabricator/supplier if there is a cheaper way to get the Ultra White benchtop you want by simplifying the details and reducing the labour. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls