Marble is the most porous of stones and that's where the issue lies with people being scared to use it. There is a resin coat system that can be applied to prevent absorption although is extremely expensive. Carrara itself is almost the top of the price range so the alternatives to marble are starting to become available. Yu cannot replicate the natural beauty of marble in reconstituted stone, due to how it's made, although essay stone and Caesar stone both have natural looking white stones with a feint vein throu them to mimic the subtle grey beauty in marble. Because reconstituted is made up of up to 90% resin, it is suitable for kitchen surfaces as it withstands everyday use much better than natural stone. As for colour. The more natural the better, and to liigghten your space the white stone is best contrasting with your cabinetry if impactis what you're after. I would go with off white perimeter cabinets, and tie the island in with white stone, the island base can be a dark tone or timber, either a painted colour, which i would get from the stone colour, so if it's a marble the grey vein then paint the island cabinetry in a complimentary grey cabinet, or a beige stone then the island cabinets may be a timber. Ether way, don't go with more than two colours, use timber and stone as the focus, and pick one colour. White is always good.

@brookegatt, yes this is still classified as a renovation as the floor and some structural walls were restored. If the entire house was demolished then that would be a knock down rebuild.

Hi Sue. I think it depends a lot on how big and how light your kitchen is. Are the colours firm, or could you swap them, i.e. the white on the island with the wooden top, and the blue on the rest with white top? Try and picture the jarrah on all the tops, and work out whether you think it will be too much (if there is a lot of surface), or would work better as an accent. Best of luck.

That is absolutely stunning, I love it.