Depending on functionality, how your island is used, it can be somewhere to showcase a different material, as in a traditional kitchen with a substantial timber top, or if it's a practical prep area, the durability and maintenance is of utmost importance. If it is a highly utilized work area the surface would be best suited to reconstituted stones, which are man made such as Caesarstone, essastone, quarel la etc, as natural stones such as granites and marbles are more porous and require some maintenance and care. Depending on form and style, your options are almost endless. Cntemporary spaces can indulge in stainless steel tops, acrylic solid surface tops that can be any thickness, profile and can actually be repaired without joints. Glass or concrete are more options. So you ask for help on choosing your island bench top, That is dependent on a great many things. Factor in how you would use is surface, and what you can afford, then think about the overall impact these options can provide on the entire space. Eliminate. And collect samples to make your decision. It will probably become the single most used space in the house.

I'd like to suggest that the most important thing here is more about who is using the room. If It's a child's bedroom use lovely children's curtains - there's so much around and any pattern could pick up the wall and floor colours. If a guest room and not used often I'd suggest a beautiful velvet or good quality Linen and forbid the little ones from going in to that room!!!!!! alternately a blind attached at floor level could be raised or lowered so the view is still there but with privacy from waist height perhaps. Good luck. Bee

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

Hi Linda. The Resene Merino on the walls may make the trims possibly look more creamy. If you intend to paint your trims, doors etc, I usually tell people to use a stark white like Resene Alabaster because if you change your wall colour again at a later date it will still look good. If you know the trim colour let me know. The inspiration picture of white works well because it is broken up by lots of natural textures and materials.