I'll assume it's laminated. Cheapest is probably to find a color laminate you like and glue it over. Other options are copper sheeting it, have a stainless steel sheet bent to size and slide that over or put a 1" layer of colored concrete over it. Considering your budget I'd go with option #1 :)

Hi, as Stephen Edwards has suggested cover up with a unit, judging by the pic you have a 300 mm base unit and a slim line dishwasher which I'm guessing is around 450 mm wide if there is room in your renovation go for a extra tall larder unit with 50"/50 split doors full shelving at the bottom and as Stephen said triangular shelves above. This will also fill the gap between the dishwasher and cupboard, to fit this in though the whole kitchen layout would need to move over 50 mm hopefully you understand this and is of help.

Generally it has to be Quartz, though we do love others, as sometimes they can give the right feel for the design you want. Different metals can look amazing and Quartz can't replicate these. We are just starting a project that has mainly Quartz but one side of the island will be copper . . . Can't wait to see the finished look

Hi Sarah, Huge rug under dining table - big yes! As I mentioned before, just make sure it it doesn't have a deep pile and is fairly easy to clean / hoover. This will break up the black considerably! The rug size needs to be big enough to pull all your chairs out and they still sit on the rug - that's the minimum right size. Just a thought about finding the right paint colour for your walls and cabinets to brighten everything up. When my family took a trip down to cornwall, we stayed in this lovely cottage in the country-side. The cottage had small little deep windows, so didn't get much light in. However the cottage was so bright, warm & crisp. It had been painted a white that really really worked - white can be tricky to get right. So I called the owners of the cottage to see if they had a paint can laying around so I could find out the exact colour. It was straight Brilliant White - standard paint you can get for kitchens, walls, ceilings, masonry, etc in whatever finish you need (matt, sheen, semi-gloss or gloss). I've used it a couple of times sinse to freshen up or update an area, to make small spaces pop, or just to bring a whole space that crisp - perfect white look to show off art and objects (it is one of the few whites that can do so well as art and objects usually look dull or get lost with a plain white background). This might help with your project as it is the best paint for reflecting light and brightening your areas - but it is bright - so you will have to do a test area to see if it is too bright for you, in which case go with a white toned down from that. Think the rug(s) & the paint colour change of walls & cabinets will work the best for you since you've spent a lot on your interior already and your husband likes it as is - it is hard to justify large costs when your partner thinks it is great and you've already spent a lot.. Good luck!