I like the granite with burgundy in it also (the Ivory that you posted earlier?). On my monitor, anyway, it goes perfectly with the color of your cabinets. Or you could look at colors that have more pink in them -- don't know the names, but there are quite a few. I think the green would not look as good with your cabinets and would be too dark. If you want dark, Absolute Black or Black Galaxy would look better.

Oakleyok- Your question os a very good one, and I'm sure that there will be a lot of folks that read this thread that will benefit from what you are asking, and the various responses from the folks that are here on GW...... Having done both types of applications, either will work for you. In my experience - the biggest things that swing a consumer one way (tile) or the other (slab) - is: 1. cost and 2. joints IF you have a guy like my Brother Bill Vincent for instance - who is a master of the trade and could do beautiful first class quality work in his sleep, or better yet - in a coma.. You'd be in way good hands. I'm not trying to blow smoke up anybody's skirt here, but that fact of the matter is this - When you hire a master craftsman that has years of experience and a long list of happy, satisfied customers that all rave about the quality of his work (again - like Bill Vincent for example....) You KNOW that you'll be getting a top notch application that you'll be pleased to show off to friends and family, as well as being happy every day you look at the finished work...... THIS.... (in my opinion) is the biggest factor that separates the players from the spectators... Many people opt for slab in lieu of tile for the "joint" factor: they (the customer) prefer less joints for dirt and other foriegn matter to collect in them (the joints). Others prefer the tile method, as there is sometimes - more variation from tile to tile, and that turns people on or off - it all depends on their personal taste & sense of aesthetics. As far as cost goes - speaking for myself - I only do slab now - just because I can - and choose not to offer a tile option to my customers (except as a backsplash application) To use the tired cliche'of: "At the end of the day"... YOU will have to be the one that decides which method you want to go ahead with - based on cost and aesthetics for YOUR taste and budget. Guys like Bill Vincent make your deciding process a lot more easy - since he can do either at a master level, and give you real value which ever way you go. hope that helps you (and I hope that you have a guy like Bill Vincent in your area) kevin Kevin M. Padden Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry www.azschoolofrock.com

Slab is gorgeous, soft and soothing and your little boy is such a moosh! It's so funny how color coordinated the 2 are, lol If I may give you something to consider.... The small rectangle on the far left has some dark veining-it's really pretty, but not consistent with the other pieces. I had chose Typhoon Green in my prior home and there were some darker areas that laid towards the back of the counter. Can't say whether it was due to lighting or what, but it kinda drove me nuts, it seemed dirty looking. That said, perhaps talk to your fabricator about placing that piece forward a bit on the slab and installing it dark vein forward. The darkness combined with the profile will add gorgeous interest and pick up the bit of darkness in the corner of the large piece!

Maintenance varies. As I mentioned, mine is pretty much bullet-proof. I don't seal it or do anything else "special" to it. Occasionally, if I want it to *sparkle*, I'll use Method cleaner, but by and large I just use what I used on my old laminate...detergent & water. One thing, on the laminate (and probably light-colored stones), if you overdose on the detergent you will get a detergent haze but you can't see it. I have polished Absolute Black Premium so the haze is noticeable. But, we've learned to go light on the detergent and we're fine...and we go through less detergent now as well! (The "less is more" mentality has extended to everything...an unintended good side effect!) The "being very careful" stage is just the "new car stage"...it's new and, at least for me, I'd never had stone b/f so I needed to learn what & I could & could not do on my own (I'm one of those that likes to know through experience, not just what I'm told!) What have I learned? Nothing seems to hurt my stone...I no longer worry about anything...I now treat it with even less care than I did the laminate! It's nice not worrying that I'll stain it if I leave something sit (I worried about it w/laminate all the time b/c my mother's laminate has a lot of stains...of course, it's a light tan and 39 years old! It watched six of us grow up!) [And *sigh*, I now have my first big ding on my cabinets...we've filled it in but I can still see it...no one else notices it, but I do!!!] HTH!