There are many examples on houzz of contrasting counters for perimeter and island. For example butcher block on island and stone on perimeter or a solid color on one and something with movement on another. I would only mix two stones if one had movement and one was fairly solid. The stainless on perimeter and something else on island sounds good to me. Here is a pic of stainless counters with what looks like a stone breakfast bar. (I hope I understood your question right). http://houzz.com/photos/3137660

Excuse my duh-ness but i'm having difficulty trying to follow whats going on here. Are these two photos an exact replica of your house and pool ? If not a hasty sketch with dimensions could help a lot. By kitchen wall do you mean the wall behind the bar ? And where is the pool wall ? Are you considering the covered area as being "inside" ? Sorry for all those questions lol Sometimes when you have a design problem you need to turn it inside out or on it's head. If you can't beat it maybe embrace it by making a feature of it : i.e. contrast by having the lightest colored pool surround and a great blue or tile inside and under the overhang, something that will echo the water color ? If you have a great covered area as in photo you'll most likely be spending a lot of time there and it could be soothing to be able to sometimes retire into a darker inside. In my book, 10M isn't small and also contrasting two floor colors doesn't necessarily make a space seem smaller and confined and may in fact even open it up. Could it be that you've thought yourself into a box here ? Sometimes one needs to give it all a good shake up and see how it resettles.

The all black kitchen looks scary as. Maybe because there's no lightness in there at all.

Hi Michelle - It looks like treated pine to me, and looks as though it has been recently built. If you did nothing it would fade to a grey colour within 6 months or so. This would probably blend in with the house quite well, and you wouldn't have to do a thing! Otherwise I would stain it - there are lots of stains on the market - see if there is one you like. A dark one would create a nice contrast with the house and make the fence look more like a feature. Good luck!