Okay, so it started with the stove. I hate it. It is cheap and nasty and really hard to clean. Food falls down the sides and underneath. More mess. I wanted a built-in, self cleaning oven. Actually I wanted a self-cooking oven and a self-cleaning house but until that's available I want pyrolytic, stainless and at a massive discount. So i bought that and then I bought an induction cooktop that can be built-in to the counter top.

That meant I needed a new cabinet to hold the oven and as this has to be sprayed to match the sprayed mdf cabinetry and matching is hard, we decided to get a quote for all the doors, toe-kicks and drawer fronts to be resprayed in the existing colour. That way all the fixed shelving etc doesn't have to be pulled off to cause more mess and expense. I don't like cream but the hope is I can make it look good again with a new spray, fancy oven, sink, counter-top and eventually flooring.

So my question to you, Houzzer peeps, is the countertop. We were thinking about stone or granite but have been told the odd angles of the u-shaped bench would require too many joins and it is better to go with something more malleable, design-wise. So we are considering solid state acrylic resin like Corian or similar in white. All good, the guy measuring up told me it stains easily with beetroot or wine, and that it has to be kept dry and all splashed cleaned immediately. Now I love beetroot and wine and often splash both, and more seriously, surely water is going to get splashed around the sink, so is this true? I thought the whole point of it was that it was less porous than natural products and easy to maintain etc?

So any advice please on:
- are corian type solid surface counter-tops hard to keep looking good?
- would any other material work for this odd shape, apart form laminate that I am a bit tired of?
- either way, what colour would work with cream cupboards in a way that will update the kitchen?
- is it a false economy spraying the non-fixed bits?
- should I swap out the handles?

Any tips much appreciated, I am at the quote stage but want this sorted fast, new oven and cooktop purchased and in garage, though at least they will stay clean a little longer that way....

PS to the right pf the third photo is a pantry and there are upper cupboards and shelves all around that are out of shot.

PPS The house is 50's, I recently had the kitchen painted a 50's green to match some storage canisters (2nd pic) and the servery to the right of the 3rd pic opens up to a formalish dining room with oak furniture.