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.

Absolutely right, marble is not recommended in a kitchen environment for many reasons. It is a soft stone, extremely porous and costly! You an address each of these things and overcome some of these issues in design, application and precautionary sealing, however only the rich can afford to do so, hence why most magazine kitchens feature marble! There are marble alternatives, but reconstituted stone will never match the natural characteristics of natural stone, mainly due to the manufacture process. By definition of the process, reconstituted stone ie made up of both natural stone by product in a granulated form, mixed with aggregate or not, and a binding resin compound that makes it durable and impervious to moisture. There are ceramic and porcelain veneer tiles that are stone slab size and will provide the beauty of marble, wihtout the worries, there is also 180fx, a laminate option for both gloss and honed (Matt) finish for a Carrara look marble, then again, real marble can be protected with a single sheet of glass on top as an island feature etc. Plenty if options, just research them.

That look's very nice for my next house. It looks so much nicer than concrete!

We...actually mean me use gravity hooks AKA the floor for most coats , living in rental at the moment and not allowed to screw anything into the walls. We have some over the door coat hooks from Ikea which drive me demented as it means the doors don't shut properly.....currently designing our dream house, could find a beautiful space for this.....might even give up my gravity hooks which would please the other half no end