I am a fabricator. I have been following this thread with interest and find it contains a lot of disinformation and skewed perspectives. Over half my business is high end homes where money is often not a consideration and interior designers are common. Natural stone is still the preferred material for the majority of the work we do even though we provide a wide variety of engineered surfaces includes the various quarts brands and the new materials like Dekton. The quartz products are rapidly losing the panache they enjoyed for years as the new alternative to natural stone. This change has been exacerbated by the emergence of discount brands and discounting among the big suppliers as they fight for market share. Granite has changed in that "exotics" are much more prevalent and alternative finishes to the traditional polish are increasingly common. The buying public has also become more educated and recognizes the actual maintenance for natural stone is minimal unless the material is one of the alternates like marble or travertine which have inferior material properties. My advice to my customers is always to pick the "look" they want and make sure they understand the material properties. Marble is extraordinarily beautiful but it is only a little harder than jello, wicks up liquids like a sponge, and dissolves readily in common organic acids like acetic acid.

Black quartz counter top with sliver flecks with white Cabinets and my white marble floors lookings amazing and classy... Black will not change color over the years like the white or cream color counter tops that easily get stained and change color within 2-3 years... In addition, it will hide burn marks and mistakes placing a hot object on the counter tops... I have seen 1 year old homes with a nice cream color counter with burn marks that totally ruins it... Also, I am not looking to hide dust or crumbs since I am clean freak so the black color is perfect fine with me... Also, my house is well lit...

Definitely go with what you love. It’s your kitchen. As for being dated, they are still selling Ubba Tubba, so people must be liking it and buying it. Outdated styles eventually get retired. Here in Pennsylvania, cherry is still a solid choice for kitchen cabs and is a premium high end wood. I just remodeled a bath with dark cherry cabs and Cambria Bradshaw quartz, which is also becoming “dated” according to some. Our plumber said I should be an interior designer when he saw the finished product. I do not regret my choice nor will you if you love it! Good luck!

you could choose to go lighter w/a creamy white quartz pre-fab A 9' piece in a similar color like this, should cost less than $500. (they also have 3x5 and 4x6 island pieces) Then, hire a fabricator to cut it to fit to your kitchen dimensions. Total should be under 2K. this is a granite called Jet Mist or Virginia Mist. it can be polished, honed (shown) or leathered. I like this black one Celerygirl mocked up for you. the black looks great w/the wood and the floors. Woven wood blind is nice too You could bring in a creamy white wall color, some new hardware for the cabinets (a very soft brushed gold or maybe an ORB or venetian bronze) And a creamier white backsplash tile. since you have a solid countertop, you can easily do any type of design or mosaic. Check on Blinds.com for the woven wood blinds, or something like this Classic Roman shade. they have tons of colors and patterns they also have these other blinds (a bit cheaper) that come in many colors. I used these in a soft green over the kitchen sink for a house we flipped. Oh look, another Pre-fab. Galaxy White by Stone Contact this is a creamier white granite and would actually be a nice choice w/your cabinets Find out if you have any fabricators warehouse or shops in your area, or check your local stone yards, and see what kind of remnants they have. You may luck out and find a 1/4 slab left over from another job that you can use. Maybe you could do something solid for the perimeter, but bring in something more dramatic for your island. Remnants will give you that option. (offer to pay in cash for a discount on pricing)