GoRavens.... 1. Ab.so.lute.ly! love the stones shown on the MotW website. I'm more partial to the cooler palate but both are examples are spectacular. 2. The stone on CL, I like it also, but unless you can use the greater majority of the slab in one piece (because of the way the colors 'zone') then I think you will have a slightly minimized wow factor. 3. I've looked at similar stones but for an accent wall in a walk-in shower. I know....huge overkill...and way out of my budget. But a girl can dream right? 4. For me, the stone screams contemporary so as such, I would want to see it in a more contemporary/modern/euro sort of kitchen design. 5. I would like to see it be a focal point piece for use on an island or as a backsplash behind the cooktop, making sure it was beautifully lit regardless of the location. So there is my 2.5-cents worth of feedback. Pepper ~ Granite installed yesterday. :-)

The current countertop is butcherblock. The intent when we eventually remodel the kitchen is granite or something similar. I thought about inserting a piece of butcherblock, but it would be real obvious and stand out too much. How do you make it match? I can't see us ever moving the cooktop away from the island. There isn't enough space with the cabinets along the walls and we don't want to change those (they match the rest of the house). I'm going to give an electrician a call and see if I can get him to come out and give us an idea of what upgrades we'd need and how much it would cost. At least I can settle the electrical questions about what's practical and what's not.

Heatheron40, very nice. I asked a question about doing a tile countertop in our guest cabin recently as I feel like the look would complement the cabin aesthetic. Also I’m dying to learn to tile and thought it would be a fun place to start as it’s not an everyday space and I could take my time. Most of the responses were against. Basically stating the grout would make me crazy. The guy at the said what you’re saying I think, he said that modern grouts are more resistant to staining and such, and also to go with a tinted grout of some sort. I love your use of pattern to give it interest and intention!

Vacuumed Festool rail saw with a diamond blade with a supplemental shop vac at the front of the blade. Twenty minutes and no dust. Not gonna crack. Cut 1/4" minimum please; the blade will drift on a smaller cut and it will take a dusty cup wheel on a grinder to fix that.