Build a cmu block wall on two sides, face it with stone and do a concrete counter top acid stained and sealed and cantilevered 12" so you can pull bar stools up to it

We have a forbo vinyl in the kitchen which I love. It is in the pattern of flagstones and looks quite realistic, but is so much more forgiving on the feet. I can use my steam mop to clean it, and it is too easy. Any damage can be fixed by (a professional) cutting out and replacing the damaged square. There are floating spotted gum floorboards in the living room. Using the steam mop tends to cup the timber, so it's old fashioned grunt mopping for that area, although it looks fantastic, it does show high hear marks. We have direct stick bamboo floor in a bedroom to replace carpet. The diamond finish still scratches regardless or what salespeople say. Maybe we're just hard on floors? If I was building, I would install something easy to clean and low maintenance, that doesn't show the dog hairs. I saw an ad for a mob called sexy floors that is an epoxy finish. Probably not that environmentally friendly, so I would go with a polished concrete.

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.

Hi mluh You've obviously done your research on these products, so it's most likely going to come down to personal preference. As you've mentioned, a natural stone is going to come with an amount of maintenance but the beauty of Travertine is within its variation. Once sealed with a good quality sealer (I recommend Guard Industry), the maintenance is really quite low and most spills are lost within those natural variations. 99% of spills can be cleaned up without too much trouble. Porcelain, on the other hand, can be quite difficult to clean once it's been marked. That said, the external porcelains have a great non-slip texture and are very hardy when used as paving/tiles. I'm personally not a fan of using them as pool coping, but many people love it. Again, both have their advantages and disadvantages so I would recommend using the product that you're happy looking at for the next 10-20 years. - Jordan