Concrete bench tops and decorative concrete pieces are a good idea if you like the solid look. I certainly would not recommend asking a general concreter about a concrete bench for your kitchen. Normally the bad rap that concrete bench tops get are when they are manufactured like a driveway or footpath. Kitchen bench tops require different characteristics. They should be constructed dense (to help prevent staining), flexible (to prevent cracking), lightweight (so can be manufactured off-site). With the materials that are available now, concrete can have all these characteristics. Sealing is another topic for the professionals. There are three different methods of sealing concrete. Penetrating, Topical, or Reactive. Sometimes all three are used to seal a concrete kitchen bench. This is because the way a kitchen bench is used is different to a floor. You are not only trying to prevent staining, you are trying to prevent etching that could occur with acidic foods. There are companies around that specialise in concrete bench tops for kitchens. Try them you may be surprised at the options available for "concrete" bench tops.

Thanks everyone! We will live it with now. @ cloudpants and suzineedsahouse - The ideas about putting something on the bench to distract the eye is a good idea. Maybe a nice plant? @ Elements at Home - That's an awesome idea. One big door on heavy duty hinges. We'll use the drawers mostly, so we won't be opening and closing them often. I'll definitely investigate that option further. @ dohraine - Only one drawing out of the 60 or so drawings showed the position of the taps in correlation to the doors. But, on paper the difference really wasn't that noticeable. The bench is Caesarstone. The pictures are a week or two old so the filing is all complete now (or it should be, I haven't seen photos of the interior in a while). I'm not sure just replacing the Caesarstone and sinks is a viable option.

White-matte cabinets (flat panel, not shaker) and white bench (or maybe epoxy sealed marine ply??...siriuskey can tell you about that), mirror splash. Love the ceilings. I personally would go for a modern, stream-line, no handles, integrated appliances look. This space has real potential to be very cool, even with the slate. It doesn't need any more more texture or darkness. This is a nice kitchen, you should be able to sell it on ebay.

I have timber on island and laminate on rest and am happy with that. Would need to tonal,y match so it is your choice of timber or stain.