Hi Thea. Your new home looks amazing already (even without paint) - congratulations! You have plenty of visual interest with the stonewalls, balconies and stepped architectural features, so I would suggest you keep your colour scheme fairly low key and neutral so as to not compete (less is more, sometimes!). You could pick out the lightest coloured stone and work with that; if it's a grey tone, for example, choose a similarly toned paint colour.

I wouldn't put any water under there because of potential mould issues (in fact, there looks like there's a bit of mould already -- is there?). You could tile the bottom of it and put a strip of LED lights under the glass. What did you have in mind when you initially thought of the idea?

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.

Jaisalmer is a beautiful flooring. Its not too yellow. More of an ochre/amber colour. Looks rich and warm and doesn't have the cold impersonal appearance of white marble. It is also dark veined, so it is a very personal choice. The larger the slabs, the better for you. I've used 4'-0" x 5'-0". Even 3'-0" x 4'-0" is okay. But it is very important to get references for proper stone layers and polish guys from the supplier. You can really get stuck if you don't get the right people. And yes, it would look stunning with red open brick walls and traditional furniture