@Sonia Yeah it's definitely not that bad, not compared to some of the rental kitchens I've seen in our searches! It's on the shaded side of the house and is a separate room, but other than the photos we got from the realtor, the kitchen going in is a bit of a mystery. If it is dark cupboards, I thought I could brighten the room up with some white tile stickers or something. I don't think it will look quite as bright as in the projection photos. :P

I've also just been curious about how these sticker tiles work, especially in regards to working over existing tiles. I didn't know if (like when you place vinyl over tile floor) if the shape of the original tile beneath starts to show through after a while.

Yes I know what you mean. The stick ons will mould to the shape of the tile, and I wonder if the edges start to curl off over time.......I’ve seen online where people have updated their kitchen for £50, supposedly, but there’s a lot of sticky back plastic being used on worktops of all places, can you imagine?! I wonder if a good clean of the tiles will do and fingers crossed the units are pale! Exciting venture though 😊

I'm pretty sure the cabinets are going to be black, or at least dark... the realtor said he's fairly certain they will be, but he doesn't know if they plan to remove the original sink block and do a built in or leave it. It's weird moving in not knowing what the kitchen will be but anything the owner puts in is less we have to buy, so we'll work with it!

I also saw the makeovers with all the sticky stuff, and I've been a little dubious of the countertops, but I thought covering the tiles may work. The oven we bought has a glass stop that lifts up as a backsplash so that would protect what's behind it. Maybe I'll order some and just stick it on as a test on a corner and see!

Good idea Tammy!

As far as I can judge from the photos, I actually quite like the tiles! And I don’t mind the pheasants either. They’re a bit of fun.

Think they will look good with some wooden accessories and herbs/plants to ‘warm it up’.

‘Messing about’ with the tiles, stickers etc, might result in an unfinished look, I fear.

@E D True, you may be right! Once the kitchen units are in and our appliances are delivered and installed, they may look better to me than they do here in the empty kitchen.

Yes, quite possibly.

Now fingers crossed they will provide you with a sink... 😄

It is so strange to us in the UK, but when you buy a new build house in France they will often come with just tiling and a really basic sink unit, so different.

@Victoria This is a rental. Usually they'll also just have that sink unit that's in the pic so having the kitchen units put in is pretty rare, I think. From what I gather, here in France you are often on your own with the kitchen. So, I'm happy it's less I have to buy!

Yes, I realised it was a rental in your situation, I was really just commenting on the difference between the two systems ☺️

For a French kitchen that’s not bad! Try Lithofin (lithofin.com) for cleaning the tiles. We are in the south of France and there are plenty of suppliers. I’ve found their tile cleaning products work really well. You may get to love the tiles.

@Tracey Metcalfe I don't think they are dirty, not that I noticed anyway. I'll be taking my Karcher steamer to all the tiles / bathroom / kitchen once we are in and before the furniture goes in, regardless. Where are you in the south of France? The house we're moving into is about 25 mins north of Montpellier. :)

I think they look ok, save your money. We’re near Hyeres. Good luck with your move and change of lifestyle.

@Tracey Metcalfe Thanks! :) We've been living in France for a while (first in the Limousin and now in Montpellier) so we're generally used to it but most of our previous rentals were long term holiday rentals. So this is our first time having to do a place up down here (we moved here from The Netherlands) :)