All stone in the home is a sign of quality. Stone surfaces are very "forgiving" and best of all, can be restored, polished or repaired. Consider the durability of natural and engineered stone in the home. The Marble Man specialise in stone polishing, repairs and sealing. www.themarbleman.com.au 1300 627 626 will always recommend stone!

My dear departed mother was never much of a drinker but every Christmas morning the two of us would have some form of champagne cocktail. Often a Mimosa, which went down a treat. BUT the year we tried a champagne and strawberry liqueur mix was a disaster. Well not for mum and I, we giggled through until mid afternoon when crashed for a nap. When we woke we realised the peas went unserved, some people had the wrong presents and there was something very charred in the oven. The family still talks about the year we were too tipsy to cook lunch. This year it'll be straight champagne (and after 8 years I still miss her dreadfully).

A lot of the time they build a core filled concrete block wall then construct another stone wall against it. The concrete block wall takes the job of retaining while the stone is for looks only. It does depend on what purpose the wall is performing. For example a retaining wall higher than 600mm (usually) needs engineering by a structural engineer which is easier to achieve with core filled concrete block on footings rather than just solid stone. You never mentioned the purpose of the wall which is a vital detail as there can be numerous ways to achieve similar outcomes.

I hate to say this, but I really think it depends on what you like and there are pros and cons to each. First, gloss will show marks, such as fingerprints or smudges easier, so that is something to think about, depending on who uses your benchtop and how it is used. I have had clients use both, but personally, the gloss makes me a little crazy keeping up with the smudges, but that is more of an issue to me, in a darker colour. Gloss also gives a bit more of a luxe feeling and reflects more light, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending what you are after, and the amount of light your kitchen gets. I am assuming you have gotten a sample of both to look at in your kitchen and play with a bit. If not, definitely do that and see what you find. Let me know if I can help more.