Hi I just thought I would leave a comment about the visibility of joins in reconstituted stone such as Caesarstone tops on islands longer than 3 metres. From a patern point of view; by selecting a style that has a fine grain certainly helps with reducing the visibility of a join. As for the join itself, the technology and tooling used to make such joints has come a long way in the last 10 years; therefore if you use a Kitchen Manufacturer who uses up-to-date stone fabrication methods, then such joins can be next to near invisible. Below is a kitchen we made with an Island that is over 4.3 metres long and has a join through the centre; where the join actually has to be pointed out to be seen. We have seen Kitchen Manufactures use the two height method but you really don't have to do this to achieve a long island. If you would like a long island, then you should not be put off by having to have a join; careful selection of your material, manufacturer and planning can achieve great results. Hope this helps anyone reading this article and the comments above.

I'd suggest that the first thing on the agenda would be to come up with an actual design. If there are going to be big changes, you might want to think about a kitchen design specialist. Once you have your design, decide on a budget. That will tell you roughly whether you're looking at granite countertops, caeserstone, corian or laminate. Same with cabinetry: everything is a function of price. By all means, have a good look around kitchen places to see what sorts of surfaces are available, and what appeals to you. And don't forget appliances. Ultimately, though, most of us are constrained by budget.

We have just finished renovating two bathrooms and I was adamant I didn’t want shiny chrome. I insisted on Astra Walker’s brushed platinum tapware and fittings. Whilst it does look a bit gorgeous, I’m afraid it’s not worth the extra 25-30% we paid for it (shhhh, thank god my husband isn’t on Houzz!!). With all special finishes I find you need to be quite particular about wiping down the fittings otherwise they look grubby with water stains. Hindsight you marvelous thing, you’re always 20/20 aren’t you??!! I’ll be sticking to good quality chrome if we ever renovate again. Especially since you can get such a wide variety of styles that suit anything from a Victorian style bathroom to pure minimalism. Good luck.

Hi 1991_kid, though this image may be a render, the stone tops do represent an actual material. You may like to look at the Natural Stone type called Quartzite. Quartzite comes in smaller slab sized that Granite and Man Made Quartz Reconstituted stone slabs and it is very hard (unlike marble) and comes in a variety of different colours. Quartzite stone slabs do come in various types of Grey and does come in a type that has a formation which looks similar to your image. Perhaps something like the Atlantic Stone Quartzite or the Taj Mahal Quartzite or the Grey Cristallo Extra Quartzite. Hope this is of help, Malcolm