Hi Carmel, I'm not a architect and I do value everyone's professional opinion, but can't help thinking that perhaps you and your husband are both right. The breakfast table would look great in a natural stone, it is the where you eat, have tea or wine on, maybe a small project, entertain or have a fork fight on. Choose a granite or marble that's going to tie in with the splash back and your lovely timber floors and go with a wow factor like a stand out vein or run of colour in it. Makes it interesting. As for the rest a dark or even black solid surface or laminate is ideal. I find them soft and touchable, easy to maintain, a pleasure to work on and it adds the extra modern elements that's missing from this lovely galley style kitchen. Corian is another brand of solid surface but a textured dark laminate from A reputable laminate supplier should do it too. Make this room an energy that you want to be in not just look great. Kind regards Marina.

I have only seen one wooden bench top that has managed, over time, to keep the wet out and avoid that black mouldy creepage where the water splashes behind the taps and around tap inserts. It was built by a carpenter and then the owner applied oil to gain the colour desired before applying several coats of marine epoxy (several = at least 5), sanded back before every new layer. It was burn proof and the colour locked in by epoxy coat with no maintenance required (until a visitor put a burning pot on it and left it there while attending to fire on stove, still... only left a black ring. That said, the owner promptly got out the sander and ground back until black ring was no longer charcoal texture, then reapplied oil and layered epoxy until black ring looked like it belonged (can't do that with any other surface I can think of?). After 15 years there is no sight of the insidious black mould from water penetration so I suppose it is the same recipe as with most thing successful projects in life, research, research, preparation, preparation, preparation and don't falter at the finish line.

Personally I love angles & splays, BUT they have to have purpose and be functional. Without seeing more surrounding context hard to comment but i can't help wondering why this all being so squeezed in one area, but then almost wasted/under-utilised space in-between the island and the table - it's like the pantry's boxing/internalising the kitchen which is not ideal.....either way I'd make sure that it flows and is functional and not awkward anywhere

Things are ticking along . We have a whole lot of long skinny flush-mounted LED taillights -- they won't be fitted until we take Frankie off the road to re-paint , as the existing lights come off , and these ones will need holes cut , the exterior repainted , then these lights bonded ( glued ) in . The Mercedes seats have had new certified mounts made ( being a safety item , we spent about $150 getting them certified -- keeps it legal , although there are literally thousands of vehicles out there that have had seats changed , and no certs ) and we made little 'boxes' that have walnut tops , and all the controls for the electric seats are in these ( on Merc cars , they are on the doors , but our auto sparky has made new mini wiring looms ) . We dropped the seats to the upholsterer last week , so in the next month or so they will be recovered -- a sort of bone/cream leather for the surrounds , and red leather with diamond stitching up the middles . This is almost what my cab looks like , mine has 1980's Falcon or similar bucket seats in a grey vinyl . I assume that was done so that there is only the 2 seats , and you can get through to the back , whereas in the pic with 3 seats , you can't . My interior is the same colours -- 3 different charcoal/grey tones on the dash , then a black on the doors ( why , I have no idea -- I would have thought charcoal would have been better ? ) . Once the seats are back and fitted , I am tempted to get the door cards redone -- do a padded charcoal vinyl that matches one of the dash colours , but do a 'scallop' from the rear of each door in the lighter leather , then a red maybe 150mm wide scallop in the middle . I feel that will tie in the doors , the dash and the seats better . The booth seating ( table and chairs basically ) in the rear will get done the same cream/bone and red leather , to tie it in a bit more . Which then brings up 1 problem . You may have noticed I have used a downloaded pic , and I was going to post a few 'before' pics of the cab and the rear , so you can see it in its 90's wooden and tacky lino glory , but that turns out to be a problem . All the 'before' pics I have are ones that the last owner e-mailed to me . I downloaded them all , they are still on my computer , I can look at them no problem . BUT for some reason , they aren't JPG's -- they show as 'Google Chrome Files' , and I can't work out if I can post them here -- I've tried but nothing happens . Are there any experts that know how to post these 'files' ( pictures ) ?