As the appearance of the garden has a modernist style with the straight lines and concrete furniture how about a Mondrian influence and add a bold strip of blue? It is a pond and with the right shade it could look really relaxed and contemporary. My daughter's suggestion is a chalky lilac!

My walls are painted Trendy Pink (Resene) and wallpaper Purple textured kinda like water bubble affects. want ideas on shelving for towels etc whether I display them or hide them away in cupboards or the like. I am a sports therapist and wish to change the look alittle with adding new things ... and what colour towels should I go for as white is nice but look aweful after a while... how would I dress my table etc to look professional... Please help me ... I have been massaging for 8 years and need a vamp up..Nichola

If it is happening on two different surfaces, in two different rooms, with two different paint choices and two different sheen levels...I would say it isn't the paint. There is nothing in common to point to "paint problem". A wall paint is a different formula than a cupboard paint. If it all came from the same can...we might be able to point dirty fingers at the paint...but that isn't the case. You mentioned your husband has a tendency to drag his dirty fingers all over the place...I would start there. These two colours you have chosen may also have a tendency to show oil (body oil, cooking oil, etc...they are all oil) a bit more...simply because of their colour and depth of colour. If different colours had been chosen in the same paint...and no finger marks were appearing then we would know FOR SURE it isn't the paint. It may come down to two things...colour and dirty fingers.

Hi Davina, either way would look good, so don't stress about it too much. This is a similar set up to our kitchen and I went with A & B both tiled and haven't regretted it. It looks generous and is more practical. Tiles are best around food prep areas as they are easier to clean than a painted wall ... you think that the splash back is what gets the most dirty but the walls around it get their share of splashes as well. In terms of suggestions for tiles - we went with a white textured subway - boring I know, but classic. Using a darker grey grout to match your bench would look good. All the best with your renovation!