We have tiles that do not have a gloss finish. They are Encaustic, or at least I think that is what the style is called.

I suppose the question is "What are you going to do with the untiled wall?". Will it just be painted plasterboard? If you do decide to just go with the 200mm tiled splashback you will need to be very careful with your tile selection with the sizing and how the edge of tile looks. You should probably select a 200mm tile, as you don't want a cut, half tile in the space between the window sill and benchtop. Some glazed, ceramic tiles also have messy edges, so make sure that your tile selection looks as good from the edge, not just the front, as you will be looking down on the top edge of the tile. Or allow for a tiling edge strip to conceal the edge, but these always make the space look visually busier. With so much happening in your kitchen with the open shelves etc, I would suggest a plainish, neutral tile and tile up to the ceiling for a cleaner, more streamlined look, that doesn't need maintenance and repainting in ten years time. Open shelves often look better against tiles. By tiling to the ceiling there is no exposed tile edge to look messy, which gives you a wider choice of tiles. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Hi 1991_kid, though this image may be a render, the stone tops do represent an actual material. You may like to look at the Natural Stone type called Quartzite. Quartzite comes in smaller slab sized that Granite and Man Made Quartz Reconstituted stone slabs and it is very hard (unlike marble) and comes in a variety of different colours. Quartzite stone slabs do come in various types of Grey and does come in a type that has a formation which looks similar to your image. Perhaps something like the Atlantic Stone Quartzite or the Taj Mahal Quartzite or the Grey Cristallo Extra Quartzite. Hope this is of help, Malcolm

Hello, thank you for your response. For some reason the site defaulted to the Australian discussion forum when I posted but I just went with it anyways and didn't think much of it. I understand your point about different perspectives in different countries though, thanks. I know this is all based on personal preference but I like either option of so I am looking for some other opinions. The developer has been very helpful with the different options and we plan to speak to some other local professionals as well. We have seen the materials in person (except for cabinets) in very small sample sizes and all of the colours seem to compliment eachother but for the purpose of this post a digital photo was the only option of course.