Samantha B I just completed my kitchen Reno in Perth. My pantry was also bricked up like yours. Literally doubled the space by getting rid of it but we found out after that the pantry was structural & we had to put an extra support beam in the roof instead ($800) so be careful of that! We completely moved the plumbing, gas & electrics & it only cost a few hundred! So don't be afraid to do that as long as u know decent priced tradies! We ended up doing nearly everything ourselves & went with a masters flat packed kitchen & sourced our own stone benchtops dirt cheap ($2500 installed for a 2m bench & a 1.5m island each with one waterfall edge.). Heres before & after pics.

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 :)

I would speak to Tim Lorian of Milano Stone in Claremont, he knows everything about stone. www.milanostone.com.au

Hi Wally, when your tops were made, all the corners and folds were welded and flushed, whereby making invisible joins. You could now get a Stainless Steel Fabricator back in to weld up these holes and then flush the welds and resurface the whole benchtop; bringing it back to its original condition and making the holes invisible. Hope this is of help to you. Malcolm