I vote minera to provide contrast. Does this darker color pick up the darker veining in your marble? I think that would be very pretty. I also like the minera and the nougat together in your photo. I see that it is hard to photograph the minera. It also looks like a soft dark color and not harsh. I definitely don't like the photo above this post with the dark modern cabinets.

Moccasinlanding, thank you - I wondered if I could just take a picture of it. Now, however, the deadline has passed and I'VE DECIDED WHAT I'M DOING. Whew! Actually I didn't decide. I told my contractor who showed up this morning that I CAN'T DECIDE and am going completely crazy out of my head bonkers not being able to decide between stainless w/ marble subway backsplash or soapstone w/ beige subway backsplash. So I told him to decide for me and I'd be happy either way (and if not happy, it would be default tell me that I really wanted the other thing)! So HE chose stainless w/ marble. He said black counters are too ubiquitous these days, and dark (potentially depressing), and that we can add more warmth by replacing our kitchen island top with butcher block (it's currently stainless). To answer your question about our floors, they're wood. Yesterday I found an interesting online piece about a woman's original 1912 or 1913 kitchen - showing pictures - having one counter w/ steel on it. It appears to me to be zinc or pewter, and it was in a pantry-type room that had U-shaped counters, the connecting counter being the metal one. The other two were made of old dark wood. Stainless was invented in 1913 (amazing how many things were - including refrigerators!) and so I feel good enough about doing a period kitchen in stainless as long as all else looks old-fashioned for the most part. And as long as I can contrast w/ lots of warmth in other ways - particularly re. wood. The marble should help w/ that too I hope. Can you tell I'm trying to convince not just you guys but myself, too? ;) Here's the link that shows that woman's original 1913 kitchen (I can't help but feel sad that she changed it - and also some of her choices - but to each her own. Plus she wrote that it was meant to be a temporary fix only): http://www.fromtimespast.com/RestorationJournalTheKitchen.htm Third pic down shows the metal which you can see much better if you use your computer to zoom in on it.

terrilynn, I am confused about what to do for the island and also the desk/coffee bar/bar area. I'm going back and forth on wood or soapstone for the island. I'm pretty sure I want wood on the desk and soapstone on the bar/coffee area. (just for maintenance purposes). I'm not sure if I do the base colors on the other areas the same as the island or different. We aren't doing any stainless except for the range, but that desk is pretty cool! Lavender, thanks, and I love the idea of red accents. I hadn't really thought that far, but that will be perfect and will blend with the rest of our house. I guess I need to figure out if I can really do the painted island and how much maintenance that will be. Here are my options, in case anyone else is as confused as I am: 1. Wood colored island with soapstone top 2. Sage/light green island with soapstone top 3. Sage/light green island with wood top Desk: something with a wood top....I'm thinking base should match the island, unless of course the island base is wood tone, and then it would either match the yellow cabinets or the coffee bar area. Coffee bar/bar: definitely soapstone top- either yellow cabinets like the rest of the kitchen, green, or wood colored. I'm even confusing myself, so if anyone is following this, I'm impressed, and thank you for any thoughts!

I love stainless, in fact DH is one of the largest fabrictors on the east coast, but I don't think it melds well in many kitchens. Perhaps, if you are planning a stainless sink, you could have a large drainboard surround with runnels fabricated consistent with that period look. I also vote for #3. Have you considered adding texture to the island base? White beadboard would be fabulous! Are you planning hardwood floors? Another suggestion would be have the island base stained a tone just a tad darker than the floor - it will ground the space nicely and your marble will really pop.