I am looking for advice for my kitchen counter selection. We have acacia hardwood flooring, cabinets will be walnut. Walls are currently Benjamin Moore Simply White, and I want a white tile backsplash (TBD). We have been looking at Silver Grey honed granite, but I am worried about the room being too dark with all the dark wood. The kitchen is south facing, but only has one window, and we are in the woods so don’t get too much light until the leaves are down. The adjoining dining room has a sliding glass door, there will be bright recessed lighting in the kitchen.

I’m also worried that the lighter grey granite will become even more dark from oil stains or sealant (see photo of it wet vs dry). The sample I have stained from olive oil after 1 coat of sealer.

If money were no object, my favorite stone options are Danby marble or Taj Mahal quartzite, but these are not in budget. I don’t like fake quartz but have been looking at White Cloud real marble. We have 3 young kids and cook a lot, so counters need to be durable, thus granite seems like the smart choice. But if it is going to stain from oil anyways, maybe I should just get the white marble I really want?