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 Abdul, Old wood is really a treasure and should not be parted with. Painting, polishing and caning can really increase the life as well as the beauty of old woodwork. You may follow the following steps to achieve the required end product - 1] Check for any loose joints and strengthen it. 2] Add shelves to it. This way you can accommodate more planters. You can also add hooks to the rafters so as to hand gardening equipment. It looks neat and pretty. 3] Next, you can either have it painted in the colour of your choice or have it polished. It is advisable to paint it using oil paint if you are planning to place it outdoors like in the balcony or on the terrace. If you are going to place it indoors, even polish would work. 4] Attach wheels if you want for ease in mobility. Here are a few pictures for your reference - Tip: You can also use it for storage cum seating like this - Or a coffee table cum storage like this - Hope these ideas inspire you. All the best! Regards, RnD Atelier Nagpur

Hello there, When you are going for wooden and concrete texture, the decor you need to put must complement the interiors. If going for traditional and rustic finishes, athangudi tiles would really help for outdoor and indoors as well. They go seamlessly well with wooden textured tiiles/ wooden floors/ Try to add wooden rafters/ slats to sitouts and balconies to enhance a few aesthetics. If going for contemporary finish, try IPS (Indian Patent Stone) flooring for outdoors and indoors as well. These are basically concrete slabs with iron oxide paints on top and come in a wide array of colors including copper sulphate blue. If planning for cement tiles, try Bharat Floorings . They have been manufacturing concrete tiles for almost century. Blue with wooden, if used generously, lends a beach house/ marine theme to overall decor . If that's your preference, then do not hesitate for a moment. Regards, Aurum Ideas and Spaces Bhubaneswar

Yep, I agree it's nowhere near Scandinavian. Although I tried hard to emulate it with the resources I had and conflicts with other family members, but oh well. But I'm trying to emulate the Scandinavian theme at least in the paint job. Do you think if I somehow achieved it at least in paint job it won't look good? I really like the color scheme of Scandinavian design. Edit: I really like the minimalism and coziness scandinavian design provies. Although, I do have to mention that I didn't mean to say that the photos that I've posted are necessarily scandinavian. I was just talking about the colors especially the white color.