I probably would steer away from black if you want to keep the country theme

Hi Petapea, With the colours you already have in the kitchen, a white ‘marble look’ caesarstone that has texture, streaking or specking in it would suit very well. You wouldn’t want to go with one that is predominately white; it might make the room look too clinical. Regarding marble instead of caesarstone, definitely be careful, marble WILL stain from coffee, red wine, acidic foods (tomatoes, lemons) etc. despite sealing, which is fine if you’re happy for a seasoned look, but if you want a clean unmarked surface, stick with the caesarstone. If you wanted to make the kitchen stand out even more and it was in your budget, you could also consider matte black cupboard handles – this would look good with either type of bench top, or painting the door to the kitchen black. Hope this helps!

Hi Lesley. I work for a kitchen/cabinetry manufacturer and getting all my joinery done through them. They have offered to give me upgrades at cost price (no margin) so non-direct is not an issue for me :) Thankyou for the suggestion though - I'll look into it.

It depends what look you want. If you haven't got a lot of black "veining" in the marble, then black appliances will be a definite contrast to the rest of the kitchen, whereas the white will blend in more. Personally, I tend to favour stainless steel, but not everyone likes it. What cooktop are you going for? We have had induction in a couple of places now (last one and current one), and really like the cooking method, but it does tend to pull you towards black.