I've noticed a recent trend of the vertical color on the island matching the vertical color on the splashback. Liking that trend. So I would say go with the turquoise glass splash back color. Deepen it a little so the hue is closer to that of the floor. Cant tell from pic whether island cupboards are the same color as cupboards above the splashback. If they are, all the better. That then brings the turquoise/white combo forward into the room and gives some unity.

A nice blue/black white always looks crisp. Take care to match splash tile white to white of doors or it won't look as good. Will look like You couldn't get a match. Everything looks great in a small sample but when you get large areas together you can see they don't match.

They are the same as they are both engineered. From the builders perspective the smart stone comes in bigger slabs so it will save on costs to buy fewer slabs. He is trying to save you or himself money. Ceaserstone has a wider variety of colours, there customer care is top notch and they have more product. Like with any Bench top be it laminate, stone or marble, as soon as you drop something on it, clean it up.

You do realise what you wrote ? You wanted it less boring , so you painted it grey ? To be fair , I like the original colour , BUT it is too close to the upstairs off-white , so I can see why you changed it -- it all sort of melts together . ( On a side note , I think monument windows would have suited the house too , but that isn't answering this haha ) . So what would work ? Bright red would be the radical choice , it would make the whole house stand out , but I realise 98% of people wouldn't go that far . A light to mid apricot would be my second choice , and I assume more palettable to most people -- it is reasonably sunny and summery , would pick everything up without upsetting too many people . A light mushroomy taupe would be a good 'in between' colour , have a hint of colour so it differentiates the '3 zones' of brick , portico and upstairs , but too bland for most people . So might a buttery beige , but that would be risky -- to light and you may as well have left the original colour there , too yellowy and it would look too 80's . I'd keep away from anything with any tinge of blue ( like surfmist ) ; green ; brown ; pink -- either too trendy or too old .