We got the IKEA shelves that are pictured in the butlers pantry photo I posted when we were on holiday in Melbourne, Australia. We don't have IKEA here in New Zealand! Hubby is going back over in May/June so will get him to get more of that sort of thing when there. We would pay about 4x the price for that sort of thing here in NZ. I need to work out what I will do now where the fridge was and there is the angle change (does that make sense?).

I do not have any tiles in my current house but if you think about grout discolouring and looking bad.... then I think that might answer your question. My thought - the less grout the better.

One piece of coloured glass will give almost the same visual appearance but without the hassle - I do however not have a splash back but I do love to watch many programs relating to renovation. You can also have a piece of art work installed behind plain glass - it depends on your taste.

Removing the kitchen servery and making it a walkthrough to the kitchen, totally changes the flow and functionality of the two spaces. Keeping the exposed beam ceiling was a great decision and looks great!