Dark granite in kitchens is hard to keep looking pretty without having to polish it regularly, stainless is a pain too – it scrathes easily and shows finger prints, plus you have to use a special cleaner to keep it shiny looking. I currently have a blackish brown granite and it’s a lot of work. In my last place I had a lighter granite, it looked more like marble and that was much easier to keep looking nice. I personally love the look of wood floors and tall molding, it’s also amazing what great paint colors can do for a room that has more average looking bathrooms, kitchens, etc. Also for stripper poles, make sure that you get the kind that doesn’t need a lot of polishing – it gets too slippery when you are trying to hang upside down, the one in my master bedroom is brass 😉 (joking…maybe)