We have dulux whisper white cabinetry and it is lovely soft/warm but I made mistake of using non-tinted ceiling paint and even with bulkhead divide it looks too stark white (or makes cabinetry look too creamy). Since I can't change the cabinetry, I think I will eventually go over ceiling with 1/4 tint whisper white.

Appreciate all the feedback, thanks everyone! Yes caesarstone is what our builder includes. Its the statuario nuvo (marble look) caesarstone that I would have loved but after finding out it would be about $4k-$5k more than the 'snow' caesarstone pictured above we realised that wasn't an option for us unfortunately. We are building so I guess we're a bit limited by the companies our builder uses. The cabinetry is polytec melamine range (riga salt pictured above). They do have shaker style cabinets in their thermo laminated range but were told it would cost quite a lot more. Will have to ask for a more specific quote and see just how much extra it will be. Ultimately if budget weren't a factor I would do timber look flooring, marble bench tops, marble or white subway splashback, and white shaker style cabinets. So I guess I'll just have to try and get as close as I can to that look with our budget.

Hello again, thank you for the input. I've taken it all on board. Regarding the island, we will be sticking with Knights Grey but if we choose a very dark floorboard, we will then switch to Timeless Grey (which happened to be one of the swatches I'd picked up anyway!) to avoid that sinking effect. Thanks for the tip. I won't be able to get back out this week to check the Dulux Raku colour, did I mention that I'm getting around with a 1 month old and 2 year old? They are totally dictating my schedule! Ann I'm not sure exactly how they get half strength. I just have the understanding that paint looks darker on a wall than it does on the sample card so to always opt for a lighter shade to counter that effect. So to avoid the Snowy Mountains colour looking too dark, I will go for a half strength. Worst case, I figure, is that it will just be a touch lighter than what I'd expected. There wasn't consistency between the three separate Snowy Mountains cards that I ended up with so I guess it's to be expected anyway. Thanks for sharing your experience Antonia, it's good to know it works. Today I went out to Beaumont Tiles to try and find a tile like the one I attached to my original post. This was surprisingly difficult to match and I've borrowed a sample of the closest match from the store to mull it over. The colour seems to work quite well against all my samples but I'm worried about the wavy edge and how it will appear on the wall when grouted. On the one hand I'm worried it will look too busy or untidy, on the other hand I think it could be a winner because it could add some depth or interest to an otherwise boring subway tile splash back. I've attached the tile against my samples and also Tranquil Retreat (half strength) wall with Vivid White trim. Please tell me what you think :)

The wood is looking dated , but I wonder if that is because of the 'surroundings' -- the benchtops , the tiles and the slight buttery tone to the walls ? By the way , some of the doors are mahogony veneer , but even ignoring that , imagine your place with charcoal floor tiles or even carpetted hallways , white or charcoal benchtops , a whiter tone to the wall paint ( or even some wallpapered walls ) , a red or orange or green splashback or subway tiles in your choice of colour ( or white or black even ) in the kitchen , and possibly just maybe remove the 1970's 'outback' print haha -- you'll have a totally different look . Some of the cabinets are varnished , but some of the doors look to been several different tones , and possibly unvarnished -- redoing the doors in a cedar or jarrah stain , even Japanese black if you want to be trendy . and they will make the look more uniform , and modernise your place ( in conjunction with the lighter walls ) .