I'm with your husband -- I think it all looks nice. Maybe the mosaic is a little busy with the busy countertop, but the other splashes look pretty good to me. I love the grey and the blue - might change the outlet covers to something that blends better with the blue splash. Is the wood you show walnut? I sure wouldn't stain that to almost black. It looks custom built and gorgeous...maybe pics from further away might give a better idea of things that I'm not seeing? The general wisdom on these boards is to wait 6 months and live with your new home before you go changing things -- you may find that you go changing all the tile, and then realize that it was the countertop you didn't really care for and you should have started there, or what you really wanted was different colored cabinets. I get the impulse to re-do immediately, but I think if you wait and plan it out, you will be more satisfied with the final result.

Looks like 2x4 tumbled travertine, could be Picasso.

Ok so you weren't serious when you asked what stone it is. You can't paint it. Brick maybe but noone paint's stone so that leave's us with replacing it. Just in case you weren't serious about replacing it either,i'll give you instructions one step at a time rather than laying it out start to finish. First step is getting it off. A sledge hammer and crowbar can handle that. If you don't have those,buy what they call a Mutt Bar at Home Depot. One end acts similar to the thing DEA ram's a door with 2 secounds after they shout search warrant. The other end will pull off any stragglers left behind when hit. When you are finished with that,post pictures and we will go to step 2.

Yeah, that’s just limestone ledger. Ok, I know I’ve posted about how much I love my soapstone countertops, but I swear this isn’t just another gratuitous plug. Soapstone will give you a much nicer color, but the best part is that it absorbs and retains heat for a really long time. It is an amazing fireplace product! Belgian Bluestone will also be nice, though possibly harder to find and a bit pricier.