Hi Melanie, The timber look floor tiles being produced at the moment are absolutely amazing. Our range of technical porcelain timber tiles are called PAR-KER and are produced by Porcelanosa in Spain. These floor tiles are incredibly durable, and once installed, require no maintenance whatsoever. They are scratch and stain resistant, require no sealing, have a high acid and chemical resistance - and look beautiful! I will attach some images of our PAR-KER tile ranges of darker shades, please let us know if you require more information.

Have you already sourced your tiles? I would expect most tile stores could help you find the edging tiles which I think are typically termed 'pencil' tiles for the style you have shown. We used bevelled subway tiles in our DIY ensuite. In hindsight we would have aimed to finish the brick pattern with 1/3 and 2/3 sized tiles (like in your pic 1) rather than full and 1/2 (pic2 and 3) to give a more even edge thickness/profile... Might not suit and we didn't use capping tile (I lost that arguement!) so it is probably more obvious in our bathroom, but just something you might like to consider.

Well now after reading all these posts, I have a dilemma. We would like to maximize the practicality of the deep and soft closing drawers. Corner drawers, the under sink u-shaped drawers etc. Thirty five years ago (yep that's right 35 yrs) when our budget did not allow us to buy new, we bought a dismantled u-shaped show-room demonstration timber kitchen. For years it was blonde pine. Solid pine benchtops, re-sanded and stained a couple of times. Then my husband painted all the solid timber doors with antique white USA marine paint which has worn well. New satin knobs (that have not worn as well) Now it's becoming a little 'shabby chic'. We thought of a complete reno. But we have no space to enlarge on the 3x3 metres. and new 'plastic' kitchens somehow seem less durable than our existing old one. Sink, stove and fridge in the recommended triangle floorplan. So what to do? Our pantry is in the corner with shelves that items at the back of are inaccessible. The microwave is the perfect shoulder level. The cabinets allow me to display favourite tins, crockery and vintage scales. Being a split level house I need the broom cupboard and ironing board stored close at hand.

Probably the cheapest fix is to paint the cabinets. Especially if it is a DIY job. But it is a lot of painting. If the budget stretches further then I’d update the hardware/handles/pulls and remove that overhead cabinet near the stovetop. That would open things up but it probably also means repairs to the ceiling and wall it is attached to. Do a google image search of painted oak cabinets for inspiration. Some of them come up really well. Not much can be done about the colour of the appliances except for replacing them which is expensive. There is appliance paint but I’m not sure how successful it is, and you can’t use it on the cooktop or oven glass. Best of luck with this project.