36 AUTHENTIC MEXICAN TILES - starting at £29

How do you liven up a kitchen where white, black and brown set the tone and it feels more like a lab than the heart of the home? I suppose a Smeg or Aga would add a bit of personality but would also stretch the finances to the limit.
As always I'm on a budget and was thinking of placing some retro pieces of kitchenalia in strategic places in my kitchen or perhaps a funky blind in the window.  As I was trawling the internet for inspiration, I stumbled across something even better and fell instantly in love with these amazing Mexicanwall tiles.

They are not retro, vintage or period, instead they are contemporary, practical and functional. They are also colourful and unique and give a distinctive and lively finish to the walls. 

These particular tiles are Azucena authentic tiles that have been handmade in Mexico. Fortunately no overseas travel is required to get your hands of these fantastic little pieces of art as they are available on line. They are sold in batches of 36 and are competitively priced at £29.00 plus £6.00 P&P.

They measure 10.5x10.5cm though as they are hand made no two tiles are identical. This is something worth bearing in mind before fixing them onto the wall, preparation and planning will save time and lessen the frustration on this occasion.  The tiles are also waterproof and could be used in the bathroom or even outside, but personally I think they would make any kitchen feel warm and welcoming and as soon as I can decide on my colourscheme I'll be placing my order.

Get a complete 1970s kitchen

You could spend a lot of time and effort sourcing all the furniture for a complete retro kitchen. Alternatively, you could buy this complete 1970s kitchen, which is currently going for £150.

That's right - the entire 1970s, 'possibly Hygena' kitchen is for sale, giving you the complete retro set-up in one swift purchase. That includes:

• Sink Worktop - 2670mm x 630mm deep
• Dishwasher Worktop - 2140mm x 530mm
• Hob Worktop - 1370mm x 530mm
• Cooker unit - 600mm x 1980mm tall
• Cupboards under hob - 450mm wide
• All other cupboards - 525mm wide
• 4-Drawer unit - 525mm wide
• Kitchen sink - 1050mm x 460mm
• Working extractor unit - 685mm wide
• Utility Worktop - 1740mm x 670mm
• Utility sink - 1000mm x 500mm

Two things to note - firstly the oven, dishwasher, fridge and bin aren't included. Secondly, you'll also need to uninstall it all with help from the seller, so be prepared to get your screwdriver out. But the good thing is that taking it apart yourself will make it a lot easier to put it all back together in your own home. Top tip is to not only label everything to know which parts go where, but also take plenty of photos at each stage - it'll save you swearing as you try to reconstruct various seemingly random bits of the cupboards!

Retro kitchen scales and cocktail stools going cheap

Proving that you can still find some seriously interesting items online which are bargain buys for your chic vintage kitchen, we've found these rather nice vintage Tower kitchen scales which currently have no bids with a day left, and a starting price of £14.99. Worth watching, because if noone bids it's always worth making a cheeky offer.

And we were also pleasantly surprised to find these two retro-style bar stools for just 99p with 24 hours left. Having watched countless items like this end up becoming rather expensive, or being resold by professional sellers for a lot more, it seems like a lot of bargain hunters might still be recovering from Christmas and not be up to their normal eagle-eyed eBay watching.

OK, so the stools are collection-only, but even including a quick trip in a van or car with a large enough boot, you'll still get a sizeable saving. You might have missed out on stylish New Year's cocktails for this year, but you'll be prepared for the end of 2012 in style!

And although you could spend a bit of time polishing up either the scales or stools, they're cool enough to fit into a vintage or retro kitchen with a quick wipe of a cloth, which is always handy. It's always nice when you don't have to refurbish absolutely everything!