kan A friend of mine just did this in her 1920 something colonial that had no definition for the front foyer - just walked into living room - so she divided w/a pony wall with colums at either end - also a wide opening to enter living room - Similiar to this - but it's on 2 sides http://image58.webshots.com/758/5/73/39/2434573390058827873itpdMx_ph.jpg http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh4.ggpht.com/_D4pYBzhvclk/RwBDo3b8OOI/AAAAAAAAAE4/RmJaruC9Xo8/IMG_0065.JPG&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Y-aM_h05V3gG45duxHXqMg&usg=__hK0oUaEFz4egj3JqYnzBIMQKkeE=&h=1600&w=1200&sz=9&hl=en&start=1&sig2=b5sL2HJ-9uCQEZx_U7RgNg&tbnid=6S2GN270C6QLWM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=113&ei=_0mwSe3LOdvFmQevkMDtBQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhalf%2Bwall%2Bwith%2Bcolumns%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Of course you are overwhelmed-10 choices is too many! Can you do a bit of a gut check: what do you envision in your space? (I like what sparklekitty wrote above.) RE: color... 1) Can you post the tiles you are hoping to match? If they are white/off white, which slabs are closest to your particular white? 2) On my monitor--It looks like there are 2 slabs out of the 10 that have more warmth/taupe/gold tones to them (option 7 & 10--maybe they're even labeled different Calacatta d'oro or Calacatta Gold?) I'm wondering if you can eliminate them if you prefer more crisp gray/black and white of the other 8 slabs? (Those 2 taupe toned slabs are actually my favorite, but are they yours?) I'm thinking 2 of these things are not like the other... RE: how to choose what piece for where Can your fabricator meet you at the stoneyard to help show you how they could layout pieces on the slabs you like? There are only certain ways they'll be able to cut the stone to get you all the pieces you need. (This was very helpful to me.) Right now you are looking at slabs, which have little to do with the final look you'll have from the smaller pieces you will see in your home. I'd prioritize which portion of which slab you like for your island (or your bath, if that is more important to you.) But just think about that one thing first. Then, do you like the pieces that remain for your other counters? I took some blue painters tape to the stoneyard to make my own (very primitive) "templates" on the slab it was easier to stand back and "see" my counters that way. Miscellaneous: Large areas of pure white with no veins will show etches the worst. Veining helps disguise etches. I would try to put the most veining on your kitchen island which would see the heaviest use. When I was shopping for our marble, I could find slabs with the tones I wanted OR the vein pattern/movement, but not both. Is one more important to you?

It is by the front door. I don’t know what my taste would be called. I like a mixture of modern, unusual pieces, distressed look but I have been updating for our house to be updated to sell at a later date. We live in a “cookie cutter”neighborhood and our kitchen is already way high end for our neighborhood. I included pictures of it. I know the wood look is out but our kitchen was just done before we bought it and other than the walls I am not changing anything else.

OK that helps. Bringing in the black will really help your overall look. Black helps "ground" a space. Here is a look that might be interesting and different for your high volume entry space. The glass globes hang from a center plate and you can design whatever look you want because each glass globe hangs independently. Believe it or not, it is pretty inexpensive as fixtures go for large, high ceiling spaces. This is a large home I did a couple years ago and with this turning staircase and a long window that faced outside, we wanted a "statement". This did it and didn't break the bank. You can get different numbers of glass balls as well. A good lighting store could help you do something like this.