Hi Pineapplerose, I think there may be a few layers to your dilemma. The first is about fashion and taste (as it should be!!) Mid brown or lighter colours will provide a more contemporary look but you'd be best to surround it with fittings and finishes that with a modern shout out. That is, you can stylise the bench top further with your selections. The second is to look at composite stone products which will give you far more choice - usually with a lower price. Note: 'Granite-look' composite stone benchtops are a premium product but well worth the spend. An important question to ask about composite stone benchtops is the % of resign used as this will indicate how stain resistant it will be. (Note: the only products that are 100% stain resistant are glass or stainless steel) If you'd like some kitchen design inspiration, see: 101 Kitchen and Bathroom Design Ideas Good luck: Richard@themakeovergroup (Melbourne)

not recommend this brand at all !! we had bencthop in Cimento just for 2 month and already stain everywhere and hard to clean. call their rep come out and they try to clean for an hour and does not help. request a discount or refund and they been very rude to us and told us just go to VCAT they don't care!!!! Very disappoint why my stonemason are recommended this brand to us. we should just choose caesarstone even pay a bit more money but you can have service & quality.

I wouldn't go those dark laminate kitchen cupboards. I have the exact same and I absolutely loathe them now. I use to love the darker colours but now I wish I had just done them white, light gray or even the dark blue (although dark blue worries me a little too!). That dark laminate brown is such an absolute pain to keep clean. They show up every mark. I like your stone bench tops though but would look at other options to create the look you're hoping for with the joins and waterfall benches etc. Goodluck with it all!

Thanks dreamer...yes I have made a mistake in my title!  Meant to be engineered stone vs natural stone. And thanks for all comments. Was hoping someone who actually had experience with natural stone in these areas and had a negative experience would comment.