I think the marble naysayers have jumped on the bandwagon without really living with the stone. I have statuary in my bathrooms and love it. Most stains can be removed with a simple baking soda and water poultice. Acid etching is harder to deal with since it removes the polished surface, but its part of having a living stone in your home. If it becomes too bad, you can have it repolished. With a darker stone, you won't have as many issues as a white marble. In order to really know if you can live with it, I suggest you get a small sample of the stone and do some tests. Here is an example. http://www.dohiy.com/2013/04/21/marble-countertops-the-post-acid-test/ Please note that she used bleach and oxyclean to clean the stone after her test. Stay away from both since they can etch the stone just as much as an acidic food. Instead, clean with a ph neutral cleaner like isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), and for heavy stains, the baking soda poultice mentioned above. You have to remember that marble has been used for centuries as flooring, table tops, countertops, etc. throughout the world and most of these installations are still here and aren't stained and etched to the point that it has been ripped out and replaced. Just think about all of he luxury hotels in Europe and how many times they have been exposed to Hangover type guests without any damage.

Unfortunately all your options require custom work: It looks like you need an 18" corner cabinet. You will have to modify the last wall cabinet on the left. As I am eyeballing it, you should be able to cut the last cabinet in the middle and then shorten the left section to fit the space of the wall next to the door trim. It's an option that makes the area looks symmetric. Or you can install shelves over the sink. I would not recommend it because it will take the looks away. And the last option will be to remove the last cabinet, shorten it so it fits over the sink and install a single cabinet where the double one was. This will leave a triangle space behind the corner where the two cabinets will meet. You can block the space under it. Hope this helps!

Hi Rasa, Nice to hear from you and I’m glad I was able to give you some inspiration for your kitchen tiles. I’ve included another image for you to look at that shows more of a farm house style kitchen with the coloured tiles. If you worried the coloured tiles might look too contemporary for your space, I would advise going for quite soft, muted colour tones to give you the same effect but in a more rustic style. You can see in the attached image how they have used a soft sheen, textured tile in neutral tones, with a subtle hint of colour to be in-keeping with that farmhouse feel. For your tile colours, you could pick up the off white tone of your cabinets with the grey in the granite, and a very soft hint of green or blue to add a little colour to achieve the same look for your kitchen. I have also added some paint swatches below you could use as reference for tile colours to help you visualise the combination. Off white: Greys: Blue or Green: Hopefully this answers your questions for you and I’d love to see some pictures when your project is finished. Good luck with the decorating. Paola Dulux Design Expert www.designer.duluxamazingspace.co.uk

quartz is a man made product using natural stone and a resin material. No sealing and is stain proof. I have had my granite for 10 years. I have never had a staining issue and set hot pots down on it seldom, but it has never bothered it. I've sealed it maybe 2-3 times over 10 years. granite really doesn't stain. So, compared to quartz, they are very similar. It all comes down to what you like the best.