I think your benchtop material choice really depends on how both you and your husband live and what level of natural wear you are comfortable with showing. Natural wood benchtops to me are very similar to natural stone or stainless steel. The surfaces will naturally age and show use, scratches and imperfections much more than say a caesarstone if it's a high use area but some people love that look and it goes well with an industrial or natural style. My wife and I thought long and hard about it but realised we want the benchtop to look as new and clean each time as possible so opted back for caeserstone (Ocean Foam) which hid small stains and dust :)

Hi All, It sounds like tumeric and grease are the worst culprits for staining. We are looking to put the Cloudburst in our kitchen as our island and backsplash, but I'm very nervous. I love to cook and host. I also LOVE the look of this stone and would like to make it work if we can. Are there any bakers on this thread that have experience with these countertops? If you are rolling out dough or baking with greasy dough, how has that experience been? What if you get butter/oil on it? Any tips? Do you cover the counter before doing your baking etc.? I imagine beet juice would also be a nightmare?

Hi, since your kitchen is small and there's a lot going on I would go with a very light coloured back splash. A very light warm grey as suggested could work nicely here. It would also brighten up the area a little. I certainly wouldn't introduce yet another colour. Introducing something like a bright red will draw attention to the backsplash area, but the design of the kitchen doesn't lend itself for such a high impact visual focus. Keeping it calm and neutral will make the kitchen look more like a unit rather that bottom and top cabinets with a big red/black/maroon stripe through it. The company supplying the back painted glass should either have a range of available colours to choose from, but usually any standard RAL colour should be available at a minimum. They will most likely have the RAL standard colours fan available for reference as well. I'd go with the one of lightest warm grey shades that is in the standard range. Your worktop has warm tones in it, your wall is beige, going in with a cool grey will make each colour look "off". The last thing I'd recommend is black. I know it has been mentioned, but it is just too strong of a contrast and non of the other materials and colours would support such a stark, contemporary choice. If you are worried that the existing dark red paint will alter the colour of your new glass back splash, and that's a very valid argument btw, just paint it over with two coats of white prior to installing the new back splash. I'd do that a few days prior to installing the glass to make sure the paint is nice and dry. In terms of maintenance a glass back splash is probably the easiest to look after since its so easy to clean and there's no grout that can attract dirt over the years. Good luck with the renovation :)

I would not go with any of your options. I would continue bench and overhead cupboards with appliances and sink in a U shape taking up the whole wall space. Then purchase a skinny appropriate proportioned dining table. This could also utilised as a preparation surface as well.