What about just using traditional Maple? The black sink may not work....The alder suggested above would look nice, but it is so soft that your counters would be beat up pretty quickly which may be okay if you like a "living" or lived in kitchen look! Hickory may be a consideration....with a "rustic" hickory, you get quite a bit of dark graining that might pull the sink in....may be busy though for you.

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Thank you all for your comments. I am starting from scratch. It is a galley kitchen but the width between the units on either side is wide (and there is an open breakfast room at the end). It is a very old cottage so don't really want grey. would make sure the floor was sealed (not glossy though). The hob is on the left and the sink on the right side so these piece of slate would be on either side of the galley. Currently it is all old oak as as much as I would love to keep it, it make the kitchen feel dark and it's in very poor condition. I will sell all this oak on ebay. Considered using some of it but don't think it's going to work as will be even more "patchy"

I agree. That is a dated door colour. If you going to paint them I’d go for a standard dove grey. It’s in fashion, very popular and more or less anything will go with it. Be warned though, painting kitchen unit doors is time consuming and patience is a virtue .