I would clad it in horizontal wide timber flooring planks. Myself I'd go a grey, weathered timber like an oak, the engineered flooring can be bout in packs, so a single pack would create a feature inexpenssively. It will provide the oppotunity to introduce timber details in furnishings or kitchen accessories. Natural timber softens modern interiors, relaxes and adds character to traditional looks like provincial or hamptons styles. The wide plank will enhance the flow as a walk through, but still provide an intersting visual texture to the adjoining lounge area.

I probably would steer away from black if you want to keep the country theme

I was hoping you would say that! great minds... A navy blue would look great accompanied with your colour scheme, and would add a focal point and some character to your fairly neutral kitchen! Navy is always trendy, and never really goes out of style - timeless. More importantly it's a wonderful colour! I have outlined some darker navy tones that I think would work well with your pallet. I re-painted my bathroom incorporating a blue accent colour - I also chose a bright white for the panelling. (for reference - similar colour choices to yours) - that's the tricky thing with paint, it looks so different in each environment and will react differently when next to other colours. Not sure what your lighting situation is, how much sun comes through etc.. I found it incredibly useful when doing this project to paint a large piece of cardboard or thick paper - cardboard worked best in my experience(just cut a square out of a box or something) Tape it on the island - I found doing two colours at a time works best - having a variety will get overwhelming. Keep an eye on the colour during different lighting scenarios through out the day; morning sun, afternoon daylight, dusk, artificial lighting, etc.. Anyway! Here are the navy's - the colour on my feature wall is Cobalt blue - very dark, but in my bathroom appears much lighter than you'd expect! I would highly recommend doing this exercise if you haven't already - gives you a great feel of the colour before you commit :) http://www.resene.co.nz/swatches/search.php?colour_palette=Blue&type=palette 

I think you should lay the floor first as I'm almost certain it will change your benchtop choice. There will be very little contrast in that space once you install a washed oak floor. I understand the reaction to the dislike of the current benchtop to choose a really pale one. But you may well decide on more definition than those very pale choices provide. If I look at all the modern white kitchens they typically have a large dark contrast area in the room to bring out definition.