You need to do some homework. Every material has it's pros and cons, and it all comes down to what you are willing to live with. "Best" is completely subjective. Frankly, if my DH had not felt so strongly about our using a "higher end" counter top (we ended up with engineered quartz) I would have done a laminate. They are durable, warm, soft, and very inexpensive. Completely low-maintenance if you are not careless about using them. Our quartz will be fine, and looks fantastic, but we spent nearly three times what we could have spent on a high-end laminate. IKEA has some DIY laminate for incredibly little cost if you are willing to put in the effort and will buy you plenty of time to do some research on your countertop options. Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA wood and laminate countertops

I think you can't go wrong - should you go with wood counters - with having it be light to match the floors or medium to match the cupboards or darker to give some contrast. You'd have to show us pictures to give our opinions of darker or lighter I think but I don't think you can go wrong. I personally like the look of subtly contrasting layers (making up that term - I don't really know much about design but this feels like the right word). In other words for example let's say medium floor, light-ish lower cabinets, darker countertop, contrasting backsplash (that also pairs well) and then lighter upper cabinets again (with pops throughout such as something even as simple as a white sink on a black counter). So in your case if you have light floors which run up against medium cabinets, and then more matching cabinets above, I would probably be inclined to do something on the counter other than wood, or else put a LOT of thought into that backsplash. I happen to ADORE wood countertops, but then that's also cause I have white painted antique cabinets (I have old fir flooring). I would have gone w/ wood had I found a hard and water-friendly enough wood (cause of the sink) that also happened to be not too light (light wood counters weren't found in the old houses around here) and one that wasn't too full of contrasting stripes. It just got too complicated and I ended up loving that zinc look (zinc was found in lots of houses as old as mine, 1913, but in their pantries) so I went w/ stainless. Stainless isn't as nice as zinc but it's cheaper, more durable and makes a similar statement if done with a farm sink, old cupboards and lots of wood around for warmth e.g. in the floors or island top. I also may not have done stainless had I not planned on doing it with honed white marble subway tile which is a dream combination - along with all that wood I mentioned. But marble wouldn't go in the farm house I'm guessing and if it's truly a very old farm house I'm not sure stainless would work - it might not be rustic enough. It's surprisingly NOT modern looking though, if it's surrounded by other old-fashioned looking things including appropriate lighting. It's just soft and watery and clear/reflective in a way and handles scratches really well (they all blend in and seem to buff out with every cleaning/drying) and it lends a lot of light to an otherwise dark room such as mine. I'd love to see pics!

for the handles, may I suggest something to pick up on the hues in the flooring? A little more copper toned. you have light cabs, light floors. I think throwing in a dark ORB w/o actual copper highlights would be too much of a contrast. IMO. cypress park Sandra, I like the porcelain one better than the other one. Does the backsplash have to be done immediately? If the tones in the porcelain tile you picked clash w/the ivory tones in the counter, it could be a problem. However, I did find some copper toned ones that should be avail. these are porcelain/SS, and treated so as not to stain or tarnish. I LOVE these for your kitchen. timeless and gorgeous. They are probably not super cheap, but it would be worth it for me. http://www.miusartmosaics.com/arabesque-lantern-beacon-copper-tile-in these would also work. the site is here: maybe they have them in stock.http://www.westsidetile.com/arabesque-tiles/ i like this one too. notice the copper faucet. beautiful w/the glass mosaic. if you got the cream countertop, this would look amazing w/your floors. this last one is a copper colored slate/quartzite.

We redid our kitchen a few years back and did most of the work ourselves. Also have hardwood (oak) floors throughout house. We eneded up covering the linoleum kitchen floor with engineered hardwood and it looks great. We did not try to match the tones of the hardwood floors adjacent to the kitchen and went with something very different in tones and grain. As for mixing countertop materials, I think it can look great! We did mostly soapstone and then light maple butcherblock and they look so nice together. I like the way the wood softens the overall look of the kitchen, and it is also a really pleasant (and quiet) work surface.