You are going to have to leave your comfort zone on this one. Walnut is "brown", you have "pink" as a counter top. I would suggest going with another version of the colours already in the room. you have gray/beige and white. I would hesitate going white...but it can be done. You can move into the grays and be very happy (it would look very modern) or you can move into a beige that holds a hint of pink in it (not pink...but a blush of warmth). Or you could go really wonky and add in something like a brushed stainless steel look to the cabinets and have it go "space age". There are specs of blue/gray in this counter top. The next think to look at is an "ashwood" or dark gray wood presentation that has some blue in it. It would lighten the space yet still add drama that dark cabinetry offers.

I have tumbled travertine (basically a form of marble) in the master bedroom and a marble mosaic in the master bath. It is higher maintenance. It stains and it wears differently in different areas. I am not doing natural stone in my new home. There are some fantastic tiles now that mimic all the stones, and a good quality porcelain tile will be very durable. Some ceramic wall tiles are "weaker" but I have had excellent luck with porcelain tile. Granite floors. Sure. But as people have said they also require maintenance like periodic sealing etc. In a house that size you don't want a different kind of floor in every room. I would stick to one or perhaps two types of floor tile in the main rooms. You can get away with additional types on walls in the bathrooms but I would keep the floors consistent. As far as cost goes, there is a very broad range of tiles and stones. In my shopping I have found some very good high quality floor tiles for reasonable prices. Stone has priced out higher...at least the ones I have looked at. Good luck!

I love the exterior lights in the first photograph! It's a great and simple way to give your property a major makeover with something so settle. We talk about exterior lights and 8 other ways to easily add curb appeal to your property in our latest blog post. Read about it here: http://goodfellasconstruction.net/blog/9-ways-to-add-instant-curb-appeal

Thanks Cornerstone Design Studio. Could you please tell me what you mean by floor plan. The area that needs to be covered is 14 inches X 12 inches. I have extended area for dining space also.