I think the white trim gives it a much more contemporary look. It's more work to have it done in a different color, but the overall look is cleaner.

You don't see this much in photos. Usually the mouldings are painted the same colour as the ceilings which of course lowers the ceiling height even more! Vertical stripes would be fun!

Excuse my duh-ness but i'm having difficulty trying to follow whats going on here. Are these two photos an exact replica of your house and pool ? If not a hasty sketch with dimensions could help a lot. By kitchen wall do you mean the wall behind the bar ? And where is the pool wall ? Are you considering the covered area as being "inside" ? Sorry for all those questions lol Sometimes when you have a design problem you need to turn it inside out or on it's head. If you can't beat it maybe embrace it by making a feature of it : i.e. contrast by having the lightest colored pool surround and a great blue or tile inside and under the overhang, something that will echo the water color ? If you have a great covered area as in photo you'll most likely be spending a lot of time there and it could be soothing to be able to sometimes retire into a darker inside. In my book, 10M isn't small and also contrasting two floor colors doesn't necessarily make a space seem smaller and confined and may in fact even open it up. Could it be that you've thought yourself into a box here ? Sometimes one needs to give it all a good shake up and see how it resettles.

We’re renovating our bathroom & toilet rooms. In the bathroom we have taken the tiles all the way to the ceiling. I’m wondering if that will work in the toilet or if it’ll feel too cold and cave like. I definitely want tiles around the toilet area as I don’t want painted/papered walls in an area that could get urine splashes on it. Has anyone got photos of a tiled toilet room, or other ideas that may work better?