Putting the final touches on our new kitchen and I find your post. I had the same dilemma about a week ago. What to do with off white cupboards? Bold or classic? Glass or tiles? Matt or gloss? In the end this is what I went with. Different but neutral. And it gave it a lift which I was happy with. In our old house we had a black glass splash back and the glass was the worst thing possible to clean! First clean and then buff and u could see every smear. It was exhausting but I hear lighter colours are easier to maintain. Whatever you choose go with your gut instinct. It's your house and only you have to really like it. Tiles were from national tiles about $110m2. Can't wait to see what you choose.

I used to have tiled floors at the old place ..the whole downstairs was tiled ( lounge, study, living room , kitchen, laundry) terracotta ones..not cold at all contrary to what people think .. the kids loved riding their trikes around the house as it was massive open living space 36 squares in all. we had a wool rug where the living area was so kids can lounge around.. I find tiles are easier to maintain than floor boards.A quick vacuum and mop is all it needed and it hid the dirt well..whereas floor boards collects dust and hair etc.. Timber floorboards are nice to look at..the floating /laminate looks cheap and nasty I'd rather tiles instead.

wow I love all these suggestions. I was going to suggest a grasscloth wallpaper, because it has wonderful texture. But I'm quite taken with the shelves idea now.

The size of floor tile: 300 x 300 mm and the size of wall tile: 300 x 600mm The floor tile and wall tile do not align at all. It looks unprofessional. Should the tiler redo the job? Thanks for your advice.