a 1.5" solid rustic wood (maybe cherry wood), with copper or golden faucet. for the floating cabinet, it would be best in black.

Absolute Black granite honed with expresso island

Thank you, Antonella, for your thorough analysis of Danby marble! I've been a proponent of Danby marble for quite some time now--it's really beautiful and so dense that I have not one stain on my countertops after nine months of continued use. It was explained at one of the stone yards that the reason for the low absorption rate of Danby is due to the stone being in the underground quarry, and therefore not subjected to the ravages of weather (rain, snow, sunlight, etc.) that other marbles are battered with. I agree that in order to select any material you need to educate yourself, and then go with the one that fits your lifestyle the best. No one material is right for everyone. That being said, in the New York metro area where I live, the stone yards can't keep the Danby slabs in stock--they are so popular that they're sold as soon as they come in. I was lucky, I happened to visit ABC Stone in Westbury, NY, just as they received a shipment of 20 slabs, and got to select the 2 I like best!

Butcher block. We did more research than I wanted to . Going from composites to quartz to granite even zinc and copper. My Mother and I own the house together so she and the designer went back and forth for over a month. I wanted wood from the start. Once she realized the costs involved in the other choices she came around. It goes in next month and I can't wait to get going. We've been planning forever to do this kitchen. Cherry wood BTW.