I had a similar situation in a house I moved into years ago. I did a quick fix of painting all of the walls, woodword and the cupboards the same shade of cream. Sounds a bit OTT but it really knocked back the cupboards, which in all honesty are not something you want to make a feature out of, and created a calmness to the whole space. In your case, I would go for an off white so that the gang plug wires, radiator pipes and covers hiding the wires for the extractor fan etc., are disguised as much as possible -- that will tie in with the palest of the tiles in the splash back, and then you will have a pretty basic colour scheme of a very place colour and the dark worktop, fireplace and floor, which will stand out more. I think you need more storage with doors -- that bookshelf isn't doing anything for the kitchen. If you could get something in there that could hide lots of clutter -- even if just something cheap from IKEA, that would help greatly. Or work something around the filing cabinet that you have? A huge cheap mirror over the fireplace would bounce some light around too. If you don't want to go for undercupboard lighting, and if you have enough plug points, how about some lamps on the worktop, especially at the FF end with a floor standing lamp at the end with the chair. For the table, I would go for a table cloth and reupholster the chairs if they are not to your taste. A new blind in a much fresher colour would be great. Depending on the colour of your filing cabinet (if you use it), I think a petrol blue could add a nice vintage vibe to the chimney breast, and make more of a feature of it. I would try and go down a vintage/slightly industrial route rather than country. You may have some stuff lurking around that you could use, once you have got the base colours right -- currently it just feels a little cluttered and a bit of a mish mash. Best of luck. Looking forward to seeing some after shots :)

I have a ceramic sink (not butler shaped) and I’ve never dropped anything in it, but the trick is to use a washing up bowl. Hate the damned things so it’s chucked in the pantry when not in use! Really easy to clean too.

I have a butler sink and my grooves definately drain, or at least make sure that the water goes into the sink rather than the floor. You still have to wipe the worktop but despite having a dishwasher I still have things that have to sit on the side of the sink for a while, crystal glasses etc. I don't think it spoils the aesthetic, but then my worktop is really dark, almost black. I put mine on the right side in line with me being right handed and the dishwasher is directly below the draining side. Also one other thing that I really love (kitchen installed just over a year ago) is the soap pump just beside my taps. It was about £10 from Amazon and holds 500ml of Fairy Liquid that I fill up every other month. Just means I don't have to keep bending down for the washing up liquid and it fills from the top. Hope it helps you decide.

I have now decided to go with the white sink and was wondering if anyone has any experience/owns a white silgranit sink and is it really stain resistant as i cook with a lot of tumeric and spices and carotina oil and red wine. would these stain over time