Happy to hear I could help you with your sink choice, Ott2. I contacted Blanco USA in NJ and they mailed me the chips. You can go on their website and request the silgranite via a form they have, but after a week when I had not received the samples I called them. They explained that they will not respond to your email unless you make a request for them to do so. The next day, my samples arrived. The Metallic Gray and Anthracite sparkle, like they have shimmer in them. The Truffle is much more matte and subdued, but I think it's elegant and a gorgeous shade with the Luce di Luna. I had also thought about the Jet Mist Antiqued yesterday. It was very pretty, resembled soapstone without the maintenance issues, and 25% less than the Luce. Check it out! If I did the Luce di Luna just on my islands, I might splurge. And do something more solid and less expensive on my perimeter. But, I thought the wood top on my eating island would be warmer than the quartzite, and I don't think I can do three different countertops (wood, Luce di Luna, and quartz or granite) in one kitchen. ;-) So many decisions, aargh.

So hard to decide. I love MP. I have MP. I love LdL too, but for me it seemed too cold and modern. I wanted a modern farmhouse vibe, so I needed more warmth which MP provided. I actually did walnut perimeter cabinets and painted island( a flip flop to your plan) which made it easier I think. The MP looks stellar on the walnut cabinets and on the painted(olive) island cabinetry, but IMO walnut countertop wouldn't look good on walnut cabinets so if I had down a walnut cabinetry island I wouldn't have considered wood there. I think that means I don't like your option 1 with the smaller island with wood cabinets and wood countertop-sorry) My original plan was MP on perimeter and walnut bb on island, but because I also have post and beam structural elements it seemed like too much going on so I simplified and went with a single countertop surface, all MP. I am quite happy with that choice- ecstatic actually. You are trying to make a lot of choices and thinking about alot of scenarios. I can tell you what I would do, but it might be better to figure out which stone you love and then, as Tim Gunn says, "Make it work" even if that means re-jiggering some of your other ideas. If you consider all your elements and potential elements and then figure out what you must have then you will know what to do or at least where to start. Now to add to the confusion, some things that popped into my head: Stainless backsplash behind stove would also look great. Where you have stainless countertop next to oven, you could alternatively do walnut butcherblock with embedded stainless steel heat bars. This would put the walnut on the white cabinetry which I think would look lovely. The island eating area and the eating area behind the sink could be butcherblock and everything else could be stone. Definitely go look at more quartz options to go with the MP. Think about which of the tones in the MP you would want to bring out, there is gray green gold, mine has purple streaks too. Would the Pebble go with the MP?

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2499581/marble-quartzite-and-other-rocks-in-the-kitchen?n=156 That is the link you want. karin_mt is some kinf of geologist and not in the business. His original post was about looking for super white quartzite and not agreeing that it was even a quartzite, its more similar to marble. He explains the tests you need to do in the first post and I think he has like 6 or 7 threads going. I just tested out our sample of super white "quartzite"... We put red wine, ketch-up, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and a slide of lemon. We left everything for about 5 minutes and wiped it off and saw very very very faint etching, you could only see it on one extreme angle. We left everything overnight and there were no stains, only etching. The worst etching was from the actual slice of lemon and you could see a faint out line. We also noticed that the grey parts didn't etch as much as the lighter areas, no clue why. We did the glass test and it easily scratched a glass bottle. I've been agonizing over this for a few days and would highly suggest getting a sample from the yard and doing your own experiment with what you would cook with. Only thing left for me to try is heat.

Sochi- I KNOW the old saying of: "If could-haves, would-haves, should-haves, if's and but's were CHIPS AND NUTS... the whole WORLD would NEVER STARVE" applies here, and I don't want to get a sore foot from kicking a dead horse..... but......... first of all - your fabricators should have used 2 slabs for the project to have gotten a showpiece result. Yes I know that Quartzite is more expensive per square foot that many other Granites - but the extra cost would have been worth it for the end result that you now do NOT have.... as far as seams go - from your description - IMHO your fabricator is a rank amateur.. Seams can be made to have NO GAP between the two halves of the stone - I TEACH this technique for cryin out loud!!!! IT CAN BE DONE BY HAND!!!! A "dual seam" at the cooktop - one at the left side and one at the right side - both front and back - might have stretched the stone to the right - (looking at the counters facing your cooktop) enough to have given you enough stone to have gotten the overhang dimension so you didn't have to do the walnut thingy (which is going to show wear WAY faster than the stone would have) A guy with more "pro level" experience would have "floated" that idea BEFORE fabrication started. This guy did not - which tells me he does NOT have a lot of jobs under his belt, or, he was clearly distracted by other things that held his attention more.. Did you have Boxerpups on the project ? - maybe he was captivated by her good taste and just couldn't focus on your counters, but then - IF Boxerpups would have been your designer - this clearly would NOT have happened...HA!!! Seriously - your fabricator is not up to a re-do if this is his "best effort" "coming out of the chute" - Tell me you have not paid in full for the job... IF you get another slab - I would look for a new Fabricator (with a Capitol "F") that CAN handle a project like this. Quartzite is NOT the easiest material to work - it is way harder that many Granites and can be frustrating for guys to hone and poilsh, but it can be done - you need to have a real "PRO" do the "re-do" - not a beginner..... hth kevin