We have been using our Corian countertops for 10 months and we love them. They are not hard and sterile feeling like Granite. Neither DH or I like granite. If you want SHINY, Corian is not for you. But ours certainly are NOT dull - they have a really nice sheen to them and it's exactly what we wanted. We have "maui" which is a "medium" color, I would say. It's speckled... black/gray/brown-ish, with some speckles of white. It blends beautifully with our praline stained cabs, stainless appliances, beige tumbled marble backsplash, and white trimwork. We have 2 small kids and minimal scratching. I do not baby them at all, just wipe with a damp sponge. I use "Hope's" brand countertop cleaner/polish on them maybe once every two weeks. If we decide at some point that there are "too" many scratches? they can be refinished. For me, I do not care for the look of the very light and very dark Corian. I think the very light / white corians look "plasticy". And I think the very dark ones look like they're pretending to be granite when they're not. I love the medium colors and tones though - they hold their own and there are SO many options to choose from. Good luck :)

PS -- not sure what color is on your wall now behind the test colors, but existing surrounding colors and the type of lighting you have in the room strongly affect how you perceive color. (Surrounding colors make sample colors look more like their opposites). Try to look at large swatch samples without "color pollution" from existing colors in the room, and in the correct lighting.

Thank you, thank you! I have been so rude not getting back here to update. Distracted by picking out lights for a whole house is overwhelming me and starting to really drive me crazy. But on a positive note I took all of your good advice and made progress on the countertop front. I went to the stone place in our town. They had a small sample of the London Sky. It was really beautiful and looked a lot like Marble. A better choice than a lot of quartz that I have looked at. But it was a little too gray for my white cabinets. i went back to the brushed via lactea slabs with my dark cherry door in hand and try as I might not to I had to admit that it was too dark. I hated that because I adored this brushed stone and it is my first choice but I have to listen to the good advice I got here. Sometimes I think the folks here know more than the professional ids. then I found two quartz samples that I really liked all while my granite gal told me that they had some Taj Mahal that I could look at since I had never seen it in person. My eyes must have lit up and she warned me that it will be higher than my via lactea. I was excited about seeing it anyway. just for the heck of it I asked her if she had any Imperial Danby since I loved the slab shown up thread...knowing I really could not choose it. But, still I felt like I needed to see it if she had it. She told me no that she didn’t and that knowing me it was a good thing not to fall for something I should not have. so, my kd and my granite gal and I took the hike out to the Taj Mahal with my door samples and the 2 quartzes I liked in hand. here is the result. The Taj Mahal is beautiful. I love it. Now if only I can justify the $$. Waiting for the price. Thank you all so much.

lisalija, I assume this question--"...how do you put in new rug, coffee table, etc in place of existing??"--is directed at me. I use Photoshop. The dark chair you posted yesterday can work as it is, I think. The cushions look like they're covered in a light leafy fabric already. Put it on the left side of the TV console and give it a beachy side table of its own.