I had black stone bench tops at our old house. My kids would sit up at the bench whenever I was in the kitchen, so I was constantly cleaning off the little hand prints they left behind which seemed to be more obvious when light would hit the bench top, but it was easy to clean overall. Just moved into a house with a white corian bench top around the kitchen sink and stove area and it shows everything, every splash, bit of dust, tiny speck of whatever, everything. Makes me miss the black stone!

Very hard without visuals. Generally speaking, I would avoid black tiles in the bathroom. They will show soap marks, water marks, dust and even scratches can be more pronounced. Lighting in the room will also dictate the degree that black can be used. The kick board in the kitchen should really match the cupboards for a more seamless look - you don't say what colour they are. When it comes to the kitchen both colours will show dirt - anything dirty IS dirty!! I prefer to keep as much as possible white so I instantly know when something needs cleaning to keep the kitchen clean and hygienic and visitors to the home can see immediately your kitchen is clean. That is very important to me. As far as everything else goes you need to look at the big picture to ensure you don't end up with dots of black everywhere and create a messy, disjointed look. Today's wall ovens and hot plates in black glass look very dramatic on a white bench top, but you can still keep other appliances like fridges and dishwashers white so they take a back seat. Can you see other finished apartments to get a better idea of what has been done and how it looks?

Agnes, kicker concealed drawers are generally fitted into 150mm minimum kickers with a push catch release runner, which you kick with your toe. Runners are 25mm high, and the kicker drawer would be a solid base coinstruction, so factor in a 16mm base, 10mm top and bottom clearance combined, the 25mm runner, and you would end up with a 49mm high internal drawer box in a 100mm kicker, and almost 100mm in the 150. These drawers are really only useable for oven trays etc, although as they are used often, this is a impractical storage system to utilize daily. These drawers are factored in when limited storage can be included into joinery, and the cost for installation is quite high. The time to install onsite is costly, and level and even floors are a must for them to work. As for your floor, definately floor first so if joinery is ever modified the floor is consistent and no infills are needed. It is also beneficial for leveling, and sealing the floor surface entirely. Go with this option.

You might like to get in touch with Andy Pickard: http://www.ajpengineering.com.au/ He specializes in home energy efficiency advise and retrofitting particular to the Canberra climate and issues. We have a unique climate in this region - not just because of the extreme temperatures, but also because of how vapor behaves in our walls, which makes choosing the right insulation important :) Goodluck! Should be lovely after you've installed it! (I work at Jigsaw Housing, the collaboration of architect + builder + scientist, and we specialize in energy efficient homes. I also do casual private consultations for people that are just looking for a bit of design/efficiency advice that's not really worth taking to an architect for a full service.)