Thanks Pragati, it looked to me like some sort of high polished quartz stone and if this was the case there would be a way to hide these joints by filling them with an appropriate material and polish them thereafter. So I guess, the framing-idea with the LED-Strips which pollyannagal mentioned would be a good option. You could also tape some sort of accent-tape over the joints or even just LED-Strips to hide these ugly joints. Cheers Bertram

actually, to brighten up this dark and small feeling space, i'd look for a creamy base colored stone like khasmir gold or ivory gold, being sure to add an overhang on the island (if you like movement in the stone check out juprana granite) then exchange the pot rack over the island with either a pair of great pendants or a statement chandelier. from my own kitchen remodel experience i'll share you with you this: you'll get a much better price from a granite company then you will from a large home store ;) and be sure to take a cabinet door with you to shop. you can continue the granite onto the wall as a backsplash...they can cut the stone and make it go higher up the wall than the standard 3 inches which can be a great look. but if you really want tile, go for something simple that won't compete with the granite....like a cream colored subway tile. you can apply thim in a running brick pattern or a more modern stacked geometric pattern or even a herringbone. to control staining from food prep, don't use a white grout, use a slightly darker grout color that is inspired from the stone countertop. just remember that using a pattern on the countertop and another pattern on the backsplash can easily become overwhelming and then neither element stands out as the focal point. if you are spending a lot on a granite countertop, do everything you can to make it stand out as the best feature.

I am not exactly sure whether the material is similar to Corian or quartz manufactured in India and used for kitchen platforms, but I won't advice you to use it considering our use of turmeric in cooking. Better someone else be gineapig before you spend your good money on untested material.

Hello Janani, Granite is cheaper than Quartz. It is easily available. It can stand very high temperatures. Depending upon the color and coating it may be stain resistant. Once in a while it requires a repolish. Quartz comes in a lot of color variations, it is much harder than Granite and it is non porous so stain resistance wise it is better than granite. You should not keep 'very' hot vessels directly on quartz. It is made from recycled quartz so is more nature friendly than granite which needs to be quarried. For a regular use both of these needs a quick sponge cleaning. See what of the above factors matter most to you and decide accordingly. Thanks, Nitin CORNERSTONE DESIGNS Bangalore.