Thynes! Thanks so much for giving me the exact name and number for your tile. I had seen your expanded kitchen post and couldn't find the exact tile. You have such a lovely kitchen, so warm and welcoming and the tile really makes a statement. I also see they only have one USA distributor. Your tile in your kitchen looks totally different than on the website..were you able to get a sample or see the tile in a store? I've sent Saltillo an email as well..so we shall see. Thanks again for the information. This post was edited by harleysbud on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 15:25

Research queen: Your kitchen is stunning. Your BR looks quite different from mine. I've seen other examples of BR on GW, and it seems there are alot of variations, or granite yards applying different names to different granites. I wanted a BR without the pink or burgundy, so I chose one that had very little of that. But it sure looks amazing with your cabinets. rdw: after seeing research queen's kitchen, I think the BR would be perfect. As for the price, it sounds awfully good to me. If I remember correctly, we paid $85/sq ft, and installing the sink & cooktop, and the upgraded edge were extra.

Sorry for the late response! We have a lot of family visiting for the holiday and I couldn’t get to a computer… Beautybutdebtfree- Good idea!! We will probably use the uba tuba for the fireplace hearth and surround, and possibly mantel too. Hopefully it will coordinate well w/ the kitchen. Thank you! Skyangel23- Thanks :-) I have been looking at the black trash bags a lot, just walking through the kitchen and really like the look :-) I did order a bunch of light and dark samples from wilsonart and formica but don’t remember if I got any of the 180x series. I thought of doing the silgranit overmounts, but they didn’t a large single bowl for our island sink. :-) Just the diamond series which had the curved back side and offset faucet hole… May_flowers - Thanks! I hope so :-) We have until Tuesday to decide for sure :-) Enduring- The slabs we tagged were polished- not sure if they can change that in the fabricating process/or if there’s an upcharge (probably)? I haven’t looked into the benefits/downsides of those- will look it up on here. :-) Whenever I think there couldn’t possibly be any more choices, there are haha. Nosoccermom- I love the adjectives you used- a combination of rustic, sophisticated, and organic is definitely what I’m going for :-) Hope to find a good balance! Thanks for the link too- I’ll check it out :-) Hyny2- It is good to know about the wipe marks and have that expectation going in! Thanks! I usually use hot pads (we have laminate now), but I had heard hot pots don’t damage granite too much- but it will be better to be safe than sorry! Will definitely use hot pads- thanks! Serindipitypoo- Sorry I can’t help too much w/ this!! I too don’t know what I am doing! If you start a new thread more people might see and be able to offer advice- if you go to the main gardenweb kitchen page, scroll to the bottom and you will see the new post form. Thank you again everyone for such thoughtful help and suggestions! If anyone has an example of a honed vs. polished uba tuba countertop I would love to see it!

maxiepines, I didn't follow your thread about cook tops so maybe someone already mentioned this. A downdraft set within a gas cook top pulls at the flames. This isn't an issue with your old electric cook top - no flame. I have a pop-up downdraft for my island's gas cook top. Even though it rises 7" above the cook top, it pulls the flame when turned on high and even on medium, it pulls on the back burners' flames more than I'd like. The downdraft blew out (would that be sucked out?) a burner when it was on low a few times. Today's gas cook tops generally come with automatic re-ignition, which is good, because the only way I know this has happened with my old cook top is when I smell gas. Anyhoo, a downdraft set at the same level as the burners will do this even more than my 7" pop-up does. Can you add a pop-up downdraft, preferably one of the newer models that rises more than 7" above the cook top instead? Stunning photos, as usual, boxerpups. You rock!