I would speak to Tim Lorian of Milano Stone in Claremont, he knows everything about stone. www.milanostone.com.au

Hi there, we just do a wipe down every day for cleanliness ( can still see some marks with this) and a wipe and buff once a week to look as new. We have red wine, turmeric, beetroot, coffee drips, grey ‘pencil’ scrapes from plates. Oils are pretty much a daily addition on our benches too, and as it is also our backsplash it gets tomato sauce, spatters etc from cooking. All disappear with the wipe and buff method except for the pencil type marks which I use another Enjo product called marble paste on then follow up with the usual routine. I think you may have to make the hard decision between the fresh concrete look or a stone that shows less marks in certain lights- choose whichever feature will make you the happiest in the long term. Either way you will love your new space.

An outstanding job with one of my preferred material.

So you just want a bench ht table or bar table. I like a back on a chair, but kids don’t mind simple stools, which can be tucked under front of table out of way. Look for a design allowing this and stools with a foot rest bar to help kids climb down. One my kids got out of a high chair they quickly learnt how to climb safely off my kitchen stools, need help for a while getting up and down, but they helped keep them I’m place once up. :)