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.

Hi Purvi, for open plan kitchen you can change the fridge door position to front facing instead of balcony facing. One more option is, you can plan for pocket doors. The advantage of that is if you wish to have the open feeling you can keep it open or close it. My personal advise will be, instead of asking for individual queries you should consult a person and take complete details as per your requirements.

Hi,  Go for Jet black granite for counter top. It would look classy with your white ceramic wash basin and beige wall tiles. And go for above counter wash basin.

Laminate is incredibly durable. Currently we have a stone-look gloss surface with tiny, occasional pits for texture, no problems with food particles getting stuck. Previously we had a matte finish in color, it lasted 20 years before looking scuffed. I would not use raised texture on a counter bc the peaks would wear more quickly.