I have Pental lattice, it reads white but has some very fine caramel veins if you look up close. I have had it 2 months now so not long, but have not notice any staining and with moving in the the house and all I have not kept things as clean as I normally do and things have sat on it over night. I cleaned up some blueberry syrup that had dried on there. A smear of grape juice. My husband sat an aerosol can on it that had rust on the bottom and that came right up. So far so good.

I think the granite looks great: very classic and a big improvement over the tile! I'd definitely look into undercabinet lights. Before, the white counters reflected the ceiling light back up under the cabinets. The dark granite holds onto the light and makes the undercabinet areas a little cave-like. Lighting will make a big difference. I think the previous suggestions are excellent: painting the wall in the kitchen, along with finding some colorful accessories. I had a small galley kitchen similar to this one, and I was amazed at the difference a bright blue rag rug and a few blue dishtowels over the stove handle made.

I know you want a very sleek modern look, but I would be concerned that a 1/2" thickness with an undermount sink would look pretty puny at that point. (The pictures I sent you show mine with the 3/4" material and undermount sinks, but the CaesarStone is laminated to a double thickness at the front counter edges). Strength during handling/installation of a large piece of a 1/2" thick slab would be another concern for me. The higher the product number of the color/pattern you choose (9XXX vs a 2XXX) the more quartz particles it contains. Do look at the Caesarstone site that covers USA (then find your zip code) to be sure colors and thicknesses are available from the yard that supplies to your zip code. Not everything is offered everywhere.

We ended up going with Pristine, and it's absolutely beautiful. It's been a year, and it looks brand new, no stains or issues. I love it even more than expected. My husband is thrilled and the whole room looks elevated. We used BM Simply White for the cabinets and SuperCore oak natural for the floors. Check my profile for pics in progress (old floors, tho). We've chosen Satori venatino marble subway tiles for the backslash and all these whites are compatible-- no issues with warm/cool undertones fighting. I'll be sealing the marble on all 6 sizes via a dunk in 511 sealer. Can't wait to see it finished-- the marble could've been risky against a marble-look quartz, but it looks absolutely perfect and gorgeous together.