Hi Petapea, With the colours you already have in the kitchen, a white ‘marble look’ caesarstone that has texture, streaking or specking in it would suit very well. You wouldn’t want to go with one that is predominately white; it might make the room look too clinical. Regarding marble instead of caesarstone, definitely be careful, marble WILL stain from coffee, red wine, acidic foods (tomatoes, lemons) etc. despite sealing, which is fine if you’re happy for a seasoned look, but if you want a clean unmarked surface, stick with the caesarstone. If you wanted to make the kitchen stand out even more and it was in your budget, you could also consider matte black cupboard handles – this would look good with either type of bench top, or painting the door to the kitchen black. Hope this helps!

Bluemeeru, yes sink is on left next to dishwasher, which is next to the fridge. I never wanted a sink on the island for the same reason. Water splashes and there will always be something drying on the island. I like the option of having a totally clear island if I need it. Yes, I was worried the sink was too far from the cooktop but it works well for me. I did consider putting a narrow sink near the cooktop just in case I needed water during cooking but left it out in the end. The distance from my sink to the edge of the island is 1.5m. Dishes get taken out of the dishwasher and are put away in the drawers in the island nearest to dishwasher side, as my island is 3m wide. From there it is easy to take them out over the island to the dining table or serve the kids who sit on the island for breakfast. It’s 3.8m from sink to centre of cooktop, which could be considered quite far. I suppose I have gotten used the distance.

Very unique. Hope you found it!

Quartz by any major manufacturer is basically made in the same way using the basically the same raw materials and process. Caesarstone just happens to be the "COKE" of the stone world and the advertising budget to match. Is it the "BEST" in our opinion there are better options, finishes and prices. Some of the better brands in Australia would be Technistone, Silestone and Samsung for finish, durability, price and after sales service. Though Smartstone have some very nice marble look ranges now as well that look and feel just as good as the top brands. Ikea, Bunnings where, if not still are using caesarstone brands of quartz. Though it does change around. like their fabricating companies