Hi Laura, thanks for posting. Wow, it looks amazing! Amazing how much difference the floor, splashback and mirror make, it's transformed. Well done. I'm struggling to like a splashback in my new kitchen (even though I chose it) so was looking for inspiration - my partner just doesn't get it and will probably leave me if I even dare to mention changing it :-)

Hi Liane - I'm going to issue my usual warning about black/dark counters in a north facing room. It's great that everything else in your kitchen will be very light, but I had a black granite counter in a north facing kitchen with big windows and a conservatory to the west with obviously loads of light and it was always really depressing and we had to have the lights on all the time. Those counters are devious light suckers! The marble backsplash looks beautiful, by the way.

That photo does look good, the two don't clash at all. I can't afford real wood flooring. I will either be having new laminate or engineered wood flooring, neither of which are something I would want in a kitchen. I also don't feel comfortable having something I feel would be more difficult to clean than tiles. It's a kitchen diner which opens onto our unusually wet and muddy garden. I have two children who create lots of mess. Just yesterday my eldest spilled some sort of hideous red goo all over the cream carpet upstairs! My other option is some sort of blue geometric patterned tiled floor. I haven't been able to find many affordable options so would probably only be able to do half of the room, depending on the way it is designed. Do any more affordable options exist? I found the optiks tiles at topps tiles which are just under £70 a square metre, so still too expensive for me. They are also quite a light blue and I'd prefer something darker. Are there any other options around?

I agree with previous comments. You have a really lovely kitchen with a pretty outlook, which many would die for - and I think it wouldn't take much to deal with the niggles you're feeling with it. What paint colour are the walls at the moment? In the first pic they look quite white - useful to know what paint it is. You do have a creaminess in the floors so you might need to look to something which has a taupe undertone to tie the units and floors together, or go for something bolder and completely different to either of them. I personally wouldn't bother adding anything over the cooker as I think it will make the space look busier and less serene. There's also a danger that it will fill up with knick knacks and dust, and therefore become something else that niggles you. Is there a particular reason why you want one? I understand your point about the upstands as I have the same problem in a couple of areas - if they aren't fitted well to wonky walls, you can end up with gappy bits, but you can generally keep them dust free with a quick nozzle vacuum and a wipe with a damp cloth. I also agree with the PP that upstands are nicer and more luxurious feeling than replacing them with tiles. I'd suggest that you look at whether the caulk was done properly - it may be a good idea to remove it and recaulk. You could add tiles above the upstand rather than removing the upstand altogether - that might help to give you a neater join and reduce any gappiness. I'm another one who has nothing on worktops other than a kettle - I even put the toaster away when it's finished with! My oven gloves and kitchen roll live in a drawer - they are only used for a matter of seconds each day, and take seconds to get out and put away again, so I don't feel the need to have everything out. You said "excuse the clutter" so we know that you don't always have all of that stuff out, but I'm guessing quite a few things arealways there, so a bit of ruthless decluttering may be just the thing to make the whole space feel fresher and more unified with the dining end of the room. I would take everything off the shelves, worktops and windowsills and only put back what you love and enhances the space. Eg your teapot and cups look pretty on the lower shelf, but the upper shelf looks cluttered. Maybe try just putting a plant on the top shelf, and resist the urge to fill up any open space. Find a home for everything else - rubber gloves in the cupboard under the sink, etc etc. I know lots of people love to have lots of things out in the kitchen and maybe you're one of them in which case ignore this whole point - but I do think it's worth trying as you may find that you fall in love with the kitchen when you can see all the lovely finishes properly. I have roman blinds in the kitchen and TBH I wouldn't again - they are a bit of a dust and grease magnet so unless you have very good grease extraction, I'd avoid them. Because roller blinds are rolled up, they capture less dirt. You could always replace the cheap ones with more expensive rollers, with a nice chrome chain etc? Re the knife block, does it really matter that the wood doesn't match? Having everything match isn't always a good goal - and you could just keep the knives in a drawer or cupboard as again that would help to declutter the worktops. But if it really bothers you then yes stain it, shouldn't take long.