We are installing the Ove Lourdes stand alone vanity from Costco which does not come with a side splash. We are tucking it in along the left hand wall so I was concerned about in not having a backsplash, mainly for visual purposes. Our professional designer said that we do not need a side splash visually or practically.

I would only do the subway tile on the back, I would not put a back splash on the side walls ... it will make it look too closed in, you want your eye to only go to the back wall for depth. And because your counter tops are so dark, I would not use the small 4" granite back splash anywhere. I would only put the dark granite on the horizontal surfaces and then tile all the way down to them.

You didn’t know what you didn’t know. And that's pretty much the rule for every project where a home owner works with a professional. If the home owner knew everything, they wouldn't have to hire anybody. If the professional asks an ambiguous question, and then deliberately skips the industry-standard step of visually confirming the layout with the client, then it's inappropriate to blame the client for not communicating well. This is a question that comes up with literally every single job the fabricator does. They should know how to verify instructions. We have had all sorts of counter tops installed over the years. Every single time, the fabricator would come to the house to do precise templating. And then they'd require that either the home owner or the general contractor sign off on the template before they'd make the first cut. These processes are in place exactly to avoid this type of issue. Yes, there have on occasion been mistakes. But when that happens, the professional eats the cost or finds a way to fix things that is acceptable to all parties.

My straight-down flow Moen Genta faucet splashes toward the user. The only way I have found to stop it is to depress the drain plug most of the way while keeping the water at a low flow. The adjustment to restrict water flow under the sink does not control the flow enough to make a difference. The sink bottom is narrow and flat with front and back sides sharpley angled. The aerator in the faucet is rectangular with large holes. I cannot find an aerator replacement with finer holes for this shape of faucet opening. This is a design feature/combination that needs to be researched and addressed by the manufacturers.