POSTING PHOTOS THIS TIME AROUND! I will post more closeup pics of the granite in the next day or so. I hope someone finds this helpful! :)

This post is for ANYONE considering light colored granite countertops ~ Napoli in particular. I know there is also a Giallo Napoli but I am not sure if Napoli and Giallo Napoli are the same (although many pics on the net seem to show they may be very similar or even the same, but I am merely stating that I am not SURE if they are the same or subtlely different according to name). Let me ALSO say it took me six years to AFFORD granite countertop so I did NOT take this decision very lightly. The granite was on sale (reduced a couple or so dollars per square foot) and the cost was $1,785.00 for 42 square feet of countertop, including the sink and installation (the faucet is from Lowe's). My post is about Napoli granite though - it is absolutely beautiful and I do NOT regret it at all, BUT, let me just say, YOU SHOULD BE A FAN OF WINE/AMETHYST if you end up choosing this granite. At the warehouse where we chose our slab, the lighting was flourescent and poor (lighting was waaaaaaaaaay up in the rafters of a warehouse - and I found MOST granite shops to have very poor lighting unless outside - they do usually offer a free sample for you to view in any lighting)- the granite looked like coffee brown splashes and we saw no amethyst whatsoever in the warehouse lighting. We took a nice-sized sample with us and looked at it out in the daylight - I did notice ONE small deep, deep wine spot that literally went from a dark chocolate to a very deep wine color, but it was a tiny, tiny spot and no more showed up on the 5"x5" sample. Once the granite was cut, delivered and installed, the amethyst was PROMINENT (and mesmerizingly beautiful). I might not have chosen this particular granite if I was aware of how much wine/amethyst was in the stone and that would've been a mistake, I think. Once it was installed and down on the cabinetry I realized how much wine/amethyst was in the granite and it took me a day or two to absolutely fall in love with it. The colors in the granite absolutely changed with the time of day. The best way I can describe it is 'chocolatey spotting/markings that mysteriously turns to wine/amethyst depending on the lighting'. At night, under our flourescent kitchen lighting (mixed with 'natural' lamp lighting and a couple of pendant lights), the wine/amethyst is fairly prominent, along with many, many chocolatey, rust, steel greys and pearl markings and spots. In the natural daylight/sunlight that pours into my kitchen - the granite is absolutely amazing - wine/amethyst with very little chocolate. I am going to continue with the plan of painting with the Olympus Pony Tail color (a very warm puddn'ny taupe) in the kitchen as there are tons of rusts, browns, creams, pearls, greys, steels and blacks accented by the chocolatey/wine/amethyst markings. As soon as I figure out how to post photos, I will. I love it and think I might not have chosen it because of all the wine/amethyst if I had seen someone else's detailed photos and am glad it worked out the way that it did - I might not have chosen it and I can't imagine now being without it. I fell in love with it almost immediately once it was installed. I loved it at the warehouse and then loved it differently once it was installed. I have a white kitchen and DO NOT plan to accent with any color (and certainly not amethyst!) as the countertop has a good bit of movement and color to it even though it is not a countertop granite that usually has much movement at all. I will try to find a way to upload pictures. I have fabulous close-up pics of the granite that I am GLAD weren't available on the net for me to see prior to choosing this granite - or I might not have chosen it. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Updates (countertop/reface cabinets)