Second attempt was with Windex and same paper towel, which cleaned the two honed surfaces up pretty well. The lighter Raw Concrete seems to have been easier than the Sleek Concrete. And finally, to get rid of that pot scratch I used a non-scratching Scotch brite pad (what we usually use on dishes) with some diluted Soft Scrub. This one took a little more elbow grease but I'm satisfied with the results. My opinion is that comparing the two surfaces (honed vs. glossy) there is a marked difference. That being said, I currently have tile from 1978 and grout lines that are so deep and narrow I have to scrub them out with a toothbrush. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. We decided to go with the Raw Concrete after all, and like others have said, just expect that it'll take a little more work and show a few more stains. But then again, isn't that the whole point of concrete? That it looks industrial? I hope this has helped someone. If anyone is interested I'll try to post some more photos and real life feedback in a couple of weeks once ours is installed.

OMG Siriuskey. You have nailed it!!! This is almost the same as the designer has come up with. I have measured the wall with the 2 seats on the end and it is 5 meters long. Then there is a big gap for an opening coming in from the front of the house which is identical on the opposite wall going in to the back of the house. Hubby thinks that if we were to take out full height Pantry and have our pantry in lower drawers he would be happy with the wall not being nearly completely filled in. You are very clever lady. Thank you. I will show him this as I eagerly await to hear back and get drawings from our designer.

Thanks for your reply! It will be a cool, pure white on the bottom (the photo makes it look warm, but it's not). This is my inspiration, but the stone bench they have used is Topus which is darker than Ceasarstone. Their grey is also darker. We would have a timber bench installed in the return of our island bench instead of a waterfall edge to bring in some natural warmth. The upper grey cabinets will have vertical grooves as per the inspiration photo above. So the panel between fridge cavity and cabinetry will be white and plain to match, like the bottom drawers. Here is our floorplan: As mentioned, my vision is that it's a light grey benchtop on top of white bottom cabinets, with a contrasting grey upper cabinet. So I'm just not sure the Cloudburst will have enough interesting contrast against the white cabinetry, or will it just look dirty/cream. Any help would be appreciated!

Check out the Holcim geostone range. We have the wattle colour exposed aggregate concrete. Our home is similar colour tones. https://www.geostone.com.au/exposed/product-range/ When choosing the base concrete colour, just be aware of the yellowish cream finish or the greyish white concrete finish. On mass, it does make a difference. The colouring of your home, I would go with the greyish base concrete.