thank you very much to everyone who responded! I'll look into espresso and charcoal grays. As well as the steel backplash. Emmarenes, I'm living abroad in India, and the only granites in my budget are the local ones. I was advised against the gray and white local ones because i was told that they would not hold up well in the kitchen. I could have gone with a black galaxy as well but i have that granite now and despise it because of the way it hides ants and bugs so well. we live in a tropical area and there are always critters here and there. My first choice was a Brazilian white granite but it was triple the price. This granite is called Shiva pink, so it has a pink salmon and gray look to it. Im really hoping I don't hate it once it's installed. The stoneyard was a 9 hour trip up and down and i was just pressured to make a choice after several undecided trips. And I'm getting new cabinets put in. but I think I can wait for them to put the slab before staining the wood. Thanks for that idea :)

Hi, Don't you think your query is very open ended. There are thousands of color options available. Ideally you should look at few pics that suits your choice and then get a feedback on those for final color palette selection. Thanks, Nitin Cornerstone Designs, Bangalore

Why would you not want to use glass in those tall openings? It may be the main source of light for the interior of the building during the day. Unless you really can't bear so much sunlight or you are concerned about the lack of privacy at night. In which case you can use frosted glass instead of clear upto the top of the second slab level. Above that level you will get three vertical rectangular frames. You could commission stained glass panels for those. Alternatively, below the stained glass panels you could used wooden slats with gaps in between

hello Harsha! It is good that you are going for the white color. the color of the appliance is not in our hand when we have limited choices. since your kitchen seems to be a mixture of black and white color, the white color will only enhance your kitchen. scratches can be on any color and stains are yes much visible in white colors but then its up to you how you use your appliance. go for the white one. regards rehman