I, personally, don't care for blue pearl with oak or maple cabinets. My MIL has it w/ oak and it just looks off to me. A friend has it with cherry cabs and it looks nice. Maybe the blue seems to "cool" to go with warmer toned cabinets. I wouldn't rush picking your stone. Can you look elsewhere for your first choice? Remember, you will be looking at these counters every day...... don't let anyone rush you, even yourself! Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful:

Whoa Nellie!!!!! Someone told you to stay away from Marble? Shame on them! First off Marble has been around for 1000s of years. Octavia herself had marble surrounding her when she put on her makeup. Some of the greatest chefs who roamed the planet cooked on Marble. Being Italian I have to say Marble is the way to go. And Greeks, Italinos and NYC cooks can all agree that rolling out dough on a marble surface is a dream. Yes, Marble etches. Yes, Marble can stain and Yes Marble has a reputation for being sensitive. But Marble is BEAUTIFUL. And Marble is not as difficult to care for as most people believe. It can be cleaned with Bleach. Yes, good ole fashioned bleach. I do not mean Comet or one of those powder bleaches. They can scratch. Every 5-10 years have it re-honed or treated by a stone expert. They can buff to perfection. And of course Seal your marble every 6 months. You would have to thie with Blue or Emerald Pearl granite. And you really can't bleach your granite. That could create some ugly whitish looking marks. In a bathroom bleach is a great cleaner and even better with MARBLE. How to clean Marble from E-How http://www.ehow.com/how_4870687_clean-marble.html ".....One of the best cleaners you can use on your cultured marble is a bleach water solution. Use a 2/1 ratio of bleach and water to clean your cultured marble. Spray the surface with this solution and wipe with a soft cloth. Always keep the cultured marble wet while working on it. To fill fine scratches and restore shine, try a small amount of car/appliance wax, or silicone sealer...." Okay lets look at Marble for your bathroom. I really think you need to reconsider Marble for your bathroom. Ask the gang over in Kitchens. There are many who love their Marble. And some of these folks use vinegar, lemon, tomato sauce and olive oil which we all know can stain it. These are all from Decorpad... Park Hyatt Sydney Marble Carrera thid Old House Siegrist After NOW. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK below at how beautiful marble would be with your auburn stain. Sorry I sound pushy, I just can help but think you want Marble and the entire Pearl search was because you were accidentally misguided. If I am wrong. Please forgive me. At least you have had fun thinking about options. ~boxer Marble Statuario Venato Calcutta Gold ( a few streaks to go with the Auburn stain) Carrera Marble Venatino Marble Here is a link that might be useful: Why NOT do Marble?

The floors are Mohawk Villareal porcelain tile in Almond Spice color. We used porcelain throughout almost the whole kitchen portion of the showroom because it will stand up to traffic well. If this had been a personal home, I'd have done the under tile warming system as I have that in my baths and it's fabulous. The granite and full height backsplash are 3 bookmatched slabs of Yellow River granite. The backsplash is actually 3 different pieces to be able to get it installed correctly, but the seams "flow" across it because of the bookmatching and are almost invisible. The hutch cabinets are Kemper Herrington Square door in Tidal Mist color with applied V-groove sides on it and the island. I painted the walls SW Iviore. The hood package includes the insert with halogen lighting and 900 CFM blower from Kemper and fits like a hand in a glove with no tweaking needed by the installer other than to attach a pigtail and duct and plug it in. I DIY installed Hafele tape lights for the under cabinet lighting, and they are on a dimmer if we need them to be.

I have Diamond/Omega maple cabinets with the Pearl finish. I was going to go with the straight white offering and my KD discouraged me from doing that. She said the white was pretty stark and looked like a thermafoil finish, IHO. Like you, I was concerned about clashing with other whites. My kitchen is open to the dining and living areas, which I wanted to paint a cohesive warm white shade (I chose SW "Creamy".) Add to that, my trim is white (SW "Snowbound".) I'm really happy with the Pearl finish on my cabinets. There is a slight contrast with the walls, and they don't look dingy against the white trim, which is what I most feared. In the lighting in our home, I don't read grey in mine - it just seems to be a richer, creamier white. Don't know if that helps with regard to your choices. It just reinforces the advice given above that you probably should get some samples in your home and check them out in your own lighting.