My first thought was do an upstand in the countertop color, as there is so much going on already. But since a statement tile would be lovely as well and your floor is grey, why not a patterned tile? I'm dutch so over here we'd do Delft Blue combined with white and cream squares. What kind of tiles were used in old houses where you live?

Sidenote: I love the look of slate and pine together, no need to paint the cabinets.

And could you post some photos of the other walls? Any windows in there? Upper units?

Thanks for your comments. I will get more photos later today. Yes, two decent sized white windows facing south-east and south-west. No upper units although there is more shelving on other walls. I do love the Delft blue tiles but I have a few of the cabinet curtains so plenty of colour (you can see in the photo) so not sure if they would work together? I can change the curtains of course!

And good to know slate/pine looks OK! I don't dislike it but almost felt a bit of pressure to hide the pine!

I think an upstand and/or coloured glass panel backsplash will work well as the brick is quite busy already already.

Personally I’d paint the wall a flat white and have light grey. Are the kickstands a different material from the cabinet doors?

The cabinet curtains can be improved by increase the gathering (length), making them slightly longer and installing them on a slim rail. Looks very smart.

Maybe switch out the dark shelves for pine shelves and get some nice black cup handles to match your brackets and door hardware.

Didn't say you'd have to pick delft blue, but definately don't base the tile choice on those curtains. Replacing them is way easier then tiling.

rinked - very true and I can make curtains but can't do tiling so you are right with focusing on the tiles!

wumi - the kickstands are also pine but maybe just look different because of the light angle. Yes I see what you mean about the curtains, they do look better in your pictures.

Thanks both for the good ideas.

I feel there is perhaps too much colour and pattern. I think going for a french country look with white walls, including the brick, blue additions in accessories and for the fabric. I think Zelig tiles in an off white or blue or even pink would suit your kitchen. I would go for a small gingham print for the skirts in a blue, green or pale grey. A thin country stripe would also go well. Just keep the palate simple. Zelig tiles have a lovely pearlised hand made look (first pic). There is a beautiful magazine called Country Homes & Gardens which showcases lovely cottages and other country houses and a great place to get ideas. Pinterest is also good for ideas and is free. Here’s some ideas I found:

*light grey worktop.

Working just from the photo you have shown, the colours in the tiles above the oven/hob work very well with the pine and the black shelves.
I would repaint the walls the stone colour and pick a fabric that has a couple of the other colours within it. If at all possible I would swap the oven to a black or stainless steel version.