I think your benchtop material choice really depends on how both you and your husband live and what level of natural wear you are comfortable with showing. Natural wood benchtops to me are very similar to natural stone or stainless steel. The surfaces will naturally age and show use, scratches and imperfections much more than say a caesarstone if it's a high use area but some people love that look and it goes well with an industrial or natural style. My wife and I thought long and hard about it but realised we want the benchtop to look as new and clean each time as possible so opted back for caeserstone (Ocean Foam) which hid small stains and dust :)

Hi there, we just do a wipe down every day for cleanliness ( can still see some marks with this) and a wipe and buff once a week to look as new. We have red wine, turmeric, beetroot, coffee drips, grey ‘pencil’ scrapes from plates. Oils are pretty much a daily addition on our benches too, and as it is also our backsplash it gets tomato sauce, spatters etc from cooking. All disappear with the wipe and buff method except for the pencil type marks which I use another Enjo product called marble paste on then follow up with the usual routine. I think you may have to make the hard decision between the fresh concrete look or a stone that shows less marks in certain lights- choose whichever feature will make you the happiest in the long term. Either way you will love your new space.

Just remember when changing sizes your grout lines won’t line up. So if that is an issue with you look at an edge strip where you change tile size or change to diagonal laying or keep the same tile size.

First step -- live in it for 6 months ! But even aside from that , I'd possibly spend the paint budget elsewhere -- by that I mean even if you did the walls an offwhite or something with a slight blue tinge etc , it will still lack warmth and character IMO . The tiles are okay , the 80's tones are dated but the white plantation shutters lift it . See how pleasant the bedroom looks with the matt black bedframe ? See how boring the kitchen looks , even with wood or wood-look formica or whatever material it is ? Me , I'd do most furniture in black and/or a warmer ( maybe cedar toned ? ) timber , with some colourful art in matt black frames ( you'd want warm tones in the art -- without the frame they would look tacky against the buttery walls IMO ) . If the kitchen is timber or timber veneer , I'd consider similar cedar type tones , or maybe even a Japanese Black stain , but with modern stools ( those slightly tacky coloured fibreglass and chrome ones would work at a pinch -- personally I'd go more unique but that depends on budget and what you can discover ) . Likewise , I'd go for say a wheat coloured lounge suite with colourful ( reds , yellows , oranges , white stripes , etc ) cushions , or maybe go 'classy' with buttoned brown leather and a large rug ? In other words , its not too bad , and can form an interesting base . Going a more modern offwhite with a slight tone may sound more appealling , but why be like 80% of everyone else ?