I think we are going to use the white subway tile to keep the budget down as I priced new tiles and it would blow out the budget. Really like the contrast grout idea to add a bit of texture and pattern. My partner is a builder and he loves the reclaimed wood shelf idea as we have a lot of spear old wood left over from the renovation. We have made a dinning table and fire place mantel from it already so it would tie in really well.

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?).

The blue is awesome (grey is too trendy)! The reason it stands out to you is perhaps because it's the only real colour there. Bring in the blue in a window treatment, a small appliance that sits on the counter, a pretty tray or area rug. Also, it is more appealing often if there are more than 2 colours - so right now you have a white and blue colour scheme - bring in red or orange or fushia - something from the other side of the spectrum (like you did with the yellow flowers but in a more permanent way)!

congrats! first, sand prime and paint out those cabinets....i'd go with a grayish shade of white or pale gray that will work with the flooring. i'd also carefuly chip off the yellow tiles. since on a budget, consider applying some beadboard as your backsplash, painted in a glossy, oil based or marine paint in a crisp white to keep it scrubbable, then, dress up the edges with some small mouldings, painted in the same white paint. this is going to be SO MUCH less costly than tile! and it will look great with the butcher block countertop. you can probably refresh the butcher block with a light sand and oiling. you could even get an additional piece of butcher block (ikea) and create a step-up 'bar' for some stools on the peninsula for some casual seating. then get a pair of pendant lights to hang from the pot lights above (they make lights that insert directly into the pot light...no hardwire necessary).