We have black pearl granite. Been in around 10 years and looks as good as the day it was installed. Easy to clean and doesn't seem to mark or stain. I would however not use black again as I think white would of looked much better. Granite being a natural product can't be matched up as easily down the track if you decide to add more benches and the like. Each batch can potentially be different.

I found this article when I was looking at benchtop material for a family member Porcelain sheets are the way forward, non staining and of no danger to the craftsman/maker Porcelain is more expensive than Quartz (both in raw material and in installation costs), but then so is marble. I am using a lot of Neolith in my house, so I shopped around to find a stone cutter who was crafty with maximising the use of each sheet of Neolith (to avoid wastage and minimise the number of sheets needed). It made a huge difference. My house was also designed around the sheet size - Neolith sheets are 3.2 metres long (so you can have a 3.2 metre benchtop or island without needing a join). You need to use 12mm (or thicker) sheets for benchtops. (Splashbacks and showers use 6mm thick porcelain sheets - Neolith does 2 different matching sheets for each marble design, so you can bookmark and pattern match the splashback). Also be aware that the marble pattern is only printed on the top of all of the brands of porcelain. If you want to continue the pattern on the “lips” of your benches, this needs to be a beveled edge (which you also need to do with quartz or marble if you want any thickness of “lip” to your benchtop). So you also have to factor in the stone cuts needed to create the benchtop “lips” when calculating sheet cutting and usage. I am not having edging on my benchtops and am instead going for the slim European look of “floating” benchtops. I am not worried that the 1.2 cm edge all the way around the benches will be plain white.

We got an engineered stone resurfacing in marble for our bench and splashback. Looks amazing. We went with Granite Transformations in Taren Point (Sydney), very happy with their customer service and speed of installation. We changed our sink and that could be easily done with the benchtop overlay. You could get rid of the ugly bullnose and get a straight edge too. They also do stone, which is a bit cheaper, but marble looks so good. Granite Transformations Sydney South

Hi, answering my own question for anyone else looking at this product. Working at a beachside resort this week and found they have Xenolith on their tables in all their apartments. 3 years old and they are very happy with it. Had one tabletop break right at start and it was replaced under warranty. No chips or other probs except for a rust stain from a bottle top left on an outside table. Rust is a big issue at the seaside.but no mark from the ashtray that sits on the table the whole time. Obviously a kitchen may be a bit harder on a surface. Hope this helps