Mount it on a black painted wall. Don't pick the wall where the sun shines on (this wall needs to be able to reflect the light into the room, so no black on that one). If you want to add color, pick dark wood, black, gold/bronze, naturals and earth tones (brown, eggplant, burnt orange, greige, stone). Some accents (like pillows) in red, some teal/seablue. Search for chinese influences on Houzz: http://www.houzz.com/photos/dining/%2Bchinese-%2Bred- and http://www.houzz.com/photos/living/%2Bchinese-%2Bred- Do you have some furniture already?

A houzz contributor, not too long ago, had made a wine rack out of 4'x4' wooden pallets, that are used in the US to move a load of goods with a fork-lift truck. Perhaps they have them in your country. He cut them in half so they were only two feet deep and stacked them up to high counter height. The wood would be a nice contrast with your concrete, might add a little warmth to the space. cascio.offsite@gmail.com

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.

Some popular and modern additions which add texture and interest are reclaimed wood, stacked stone (tiles) and brick.