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 :)

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We come in at the end of the project with exciting stylish chairs which can be supplied in 56 colours so you can link in the chair colours with other components in the room - Blinds, curtains, painted walls or a splash back (It is possible to get Glass splashbacks in virtually any colour. We can lend a sample card to be given to the splash back makers so that they colour the splashback to match exactly with the chairs.) I attach a photo showing some Doris P Chairs in Red Leather, complete with a dining table. The Next photo shows the bar stools with matching splashback in red, which was part of the same project. I know that you do not have barstools, but I am just demonstrating the idea. The dining table was made up using heavy weighted bases in a brushed stainless steel finish and a table top which matches the kitchen work tops. This is a picture of the 30 colours available in the Eco Leather range. We have another 26 colours in the Real Leather range so you have a huge selection to choose from. We have an App which allows you to make up different chairs, change the bases (chair legs) and change the upholstery colours. Then you can see the finished effect. Please copy and paste this link into your browser to see our App. http://www.seatingmyway.com/app/chairs. I would be happy to discuss your project in more detail if you are interested.

i do love the chair and its very sturdy with spring base. trying not to spend loads but its difficult. will get back and seat reupholstered. thanks for ur help and advice Alan.i was torn between those 2 fabrics.wish u were closer by so i could hand over to you to start. will add a finished pic when it gets sorted