For a cutting board, I like maple or teak. I am not a fan of plastic cutting board because they get easily nicked and cut by knives, which is both unsightly and unsanitary.

I think you meant ”trivet” not “turret”. There are so many good ones available in many materials like cast iron, silicone, thick cloth, and in different shapes of round, square, rectangular, to suit whatever you will be placing on them. There must be thousands. You can go online on Amazon, or go to stores like Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table.

This is my second kitchen with Taj Mahal quartzite counters. I use different types of cutting boards and trivets. They all work fine.

I've never worried about most small appliances or their feet. The only thing I do is place some type of protection/barrier under a slow-cooker, only because you are using heat for 4 to 8 hours on that one spot on the counter.

quartzite is very hard (harder than granite) I wouldn't worry about anything hurting it.

I have a walnut cuttingboard I made myself. but any other nice wood will work. Trivets, I like the cast iron, enamel coated options. but again, if you set a pan down for a few seconds, it's not going to hurt it.