I am thinking of going with Piatra gray for my kitchen countertops. I was trying to decide between that and Raven. The Piatra seems like to be a bit lighter and a slightly warmer gray that it could so with both hardwoods and/or stainless steel and white. Some times of the day I lean towards one but later the other. Any photos of the Piatra Gray in your kitchen would be appreciated!

We have a set of Sartodoor double barn boors and a set of matching french doors from United Porte. They look gorgeous and go up pretty straight forward. However, the vinyl wrapping on one of the doors is bubbling/separating from the wood and the other came with the vinyl cracked/torn in an area. While they are sending us new doors, it still makes me wonder about the longevity of them. We also got the silk white color and while it is very clean looking and silky, they get dirty from the slightest touch of even a 'clean' hand. Further, they're not paintable, according to Sartodoor so we're stuck with cleaning them as much as we can but some dirt smudges are pretty much permenent; like pencil marks from measurements during install. Some of those pencil marks got worked into the pores of the vinyl and are permanent stains now. The door frame and trim is also vinyl wrapped and not paintable. So, screw and nail holes aren't really able to be caulked because the caulk turns yellow and dingy when not painted and the vinyl isn't paintable. We did paint a section of the inner door jamb where some sharpy marks and extra holes where made after mis measuring hinge screw holes. With Kilz, the vinyl did take some Behr trim paint. However, it is easily scratched off with your fingernail. Fortunately, the painted section is high and in the jamb where it's not touched. Don't get me wrong, they're great doors especially for the price. But if given the choice again, I'd go with something paintable, not vinyl wrapped.

The Engima Valley counter is absolutely beautiful, but I would NEVER install it again. I've only had it installed for a month and I already have two big chips in the island. I keep my house immaculate, including wiping down the counters every time I cook to ensure it isn't damaged by red sauce or acidity from lemons. I already have light stains forming on the island. I have marble in my bathrooms that's holding up better than the Enigma quartz. I reached out to Enigma for help filling in the chips. They redirected my email to the store I purchased the stone from who then redirected me to my fabricator for help filling them in. Really disappointed all around, especially since it was $5700 for one slab and fabrication/install.

If you have natural gas available that's the most economical with propane coming in second unless you cut your own wood. But economy is moot when heating a screened porch. That makes resistant electric or heat pump the best choices for peace of mind if worried about safety.