Thank you for all your comments. We have been looking at the black granite composite made by Franke but is triple the price of Blanco. Was concerned the black composite would scratch etc. will probably go two stainless steel, because as previous poster mentioned the blacks are never the same. Sure I will be back for more help or advise.

Hi all, I'm currently going through kitchen design colours and we want to stick with a modern country theme. So far we have chosen alpine white shaker cupboard/drawer fronts. Initially we were thinking of a faux wood countertop but I'm worried that it is too much of a trend and will date eventually. Your thoughts?

Round basin S2 Round stone basin 400 x 400 x 125mm size toka light Silvia counter top round stone basin.

What about colour , character and personality ? A splashback with a pond and a tree may be great , or look naff , as the Poms would say . Potentially , its on the right track , but look at pic 3 . Gone to sleep yet ? Probably $30k spent on nothingness . Now look at pic 3 , and imagine your splashback . Even if it is ( cringe ) black and white too , it will actually add to it . A bit . I don't like the particular light used in pic 1 , but its got character , you notice it , it is not totally bland . Pic 3 is .