Okay, so as expected the matt suede surface is more expensive, not sure how much yet but when the builder says price on application, I can imagine it will be a fair bit more. Anyway, we'll see but something to take into consideration I guess... In the meantime, I was going through my idea books and found the photo below, which I kind of forgot about but is one of my absolute favourite kitchens... the point is just like the photo, we too will have a wall cabinet in matt black, the back of the island in matt black and oak floor boards in a natural/textured matt finish... so now I'm thinking maybe too many matt surfaces, interestingly they have gone with a polished stone top which I think is reflecting the light nicely... Our floors...

My vote is for matte as well. Especially in the bathroom. If the tiles are near the shower, the glossy ones seem to lose their shine to the soap scum and need constant cleaning like glass screens, whereas it doesn't seem to happen on the matte tiles which are quite easy to clean. The stove and the sink are really the only places needing a spashback in the kitchen and my vote would be for matte finish there, even if you use the same tiles in gloss every where else.

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.

There looks to be a lot less underbench storage , and even though it implies a 'two-part' pantry in the description , the width has been halved , so my guess is at least 50% reduction in pantry space ? The left hand window also seems to have been replaced with a door , so a lot less natural light , or view . Now it is possible that the door goes to a butlers pantry ( although I thought that would be mentioned ) , so its easy to make a kitchen more spacious by adding another room haha , but thats just guessing . And if it was 20 years old and dated , why do a very similar style in the same colours and tones -- a yellowy beige with light brown highlights ? The cupboard unit in white reminds me of the $89 Bunnings units , and as Ks says , not going to the roof just looks budget kitset to me .