I plan on keeping the light coloured tile, but will be replacing the brown carpet with bamboo or hardwood in a light shade.

View from the living room back to kitchen in our open concept condo.

If you want to switch the carpeted area to hardwood I think you should switch the kitchen to hardwood as well. Then put a nice area rug in the living room area. Since the rooms touch I think everything being hardwood rather then half hardwood half tile would look nicer.

All of the Kashmir's are sponges, barely suited to bath use, much less a kitchen. Sealer doesn't really help. It's too absorbent. Fantasy Brown is a marble, and you have to love living with marble patina's etched and scratches to love it.

I didn't know that about the Kashmir granite, I was thinking of leathered Fantasy so it wouldn't show as many marks. What do you think Sophie? Is there another counter you would recommend?

I think leathering makes etches more visible, not less...

I have Fantasy Brown Quartzite. It was leathered as recommended by the stone supplier two years ago. I tested a sample given to me before deciding, by putting lemon juice, ketchup, you-name-it overnight and it was bullet-proof. I also did the test by trying to scratch glass with it, and it it DID scratch the glass. It hasn't stained, etched or scratched in two years of not babying it at all.

Here's a page of things to read about it being different stones, but mine is quartzite for certain.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fantasy+brown+quartzite&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

that quartzite is very beautiful My3dogs

(Why do they call it Fantasy Brown? I can't see any brown. interesting)

I was also about to suggest something in the soft gray realm..I think would look very cool with the color of your cabinets, and the future flooring(at least from what you describing)