Catmom, your mix sounds nice. You're another alcohol user (lol)! The lavender oil sounds like a nice touch...I love lavender! Thanks for naming a sealer brand too. Rockmanor, ooh, those Method products look so interesting! I always want to try them when I see them arranged so nicely on the shelves at Target. They look so pretty and smell so good. Nice to know you are pleased with their granite cleaner...will have to try it now! Nancy, thanks so much. That's good to know. I really want to try that polish, and since you've had a good experience, I feel more confident moving forward with it. I may try the cleaner too! I SO agree with you about the glass cooktop! I posted here when I got it in November, and on the Cooking forum as well! There was definitely a learning curve for both cleaning and cooking. I learned about Weiman's and BKF here when I posted. Got great advice that I have certainly put to use. Dlm2000, got me using microfiber cloths, and actually gave me the little kick I needed to get a pan out and start cooking on the thing. She told me not to pamper it, or be afraid of it, but to use it!! People really make a difference in other people's lives here...thanks, Dlm! Golddust, it will be our little secret...I won't say a thing around your granite about the years of abuse you've subjected it to! LOL! I'm just so paranoid about such things...especially since the stuff is so new! I believe with all my heart that your counters are gorgeous and in great shape. That's the way things roll for you Golddust! Maybe that's the takeway here...whatever you use, or do, you gotta have faith!

Hi tinker! First I'll chime in with everyone else: do keep looking, but only up to a point. As edlakin wrote, it's really hard to compare anything to an idealized something else (I'm grossly paraphrasing). Your old kitchen and its granite can achieve (unfair) mythic status, kind of like what we do when thinking about old loves when our current love is ticking us off! You have the loveliest taste, tinker, and I know this from seeing those beautiful furnishings and textiles over on the Decorating forum. I do want to suggest that your previous granite was on top of painted cabinets (beautiful kitchen!), whereas in your new home it will be the cherry cabinets which will be supporting the granite. I'm having a hard time phrasing it the way I want, but basically your old "ideal" granite might not be so ideal in your new setting, on top of cherry (not painted) cabinets. Does that make sense? Your new granite might end up giving you the same pleasure as your old because it will now be in a completely different environment, with the different finishes complimenting the granite in ways you couldn't have imagined. This new granite might not have looked wonderful on your painted cabinets, but it might look amazing on the cherry. I'm so glad brody_miasmom shared the pictures of her beautiful kitchen so we all could see the granite with wood cabinets. I know your cabinetry (wood / door style) will be different, but it really showed how lovely that granite is with wood. What are you thinking for your backsplash and wall color? Good luck and please let us know what else you find!

Thank you! Yes I have looked at both slabs several times! And I like them both! The indian copper black one would be more of a contrast and look amazing with the sink, but I like granite with more movement. The darker brown one would blend nicely and offer a contrast, but not be as bold. It would provide a warm feel. How in the world do you decide when both looks appeal to you for different reasons! And of course they are similar in price so no help there!!

If you chip your edges, this is what the repairs will look like: Hot pots will make rings and crack granite for which there is no repair and toilet bowl cleaner with hydrochloric acid will suck the color out, again, no repair exists. Make sure your undermount sink is properly attached to prevent leaking and that if your top is rodded for reinforcement they used fiberglass, stainless steel, or carbon fiber, (not cold steel) imbedded into epoxy, not polyester. Or you'll have this:And when it's fixed, it'll look like this: Ignore that hairline long enough and you'll get this: The repair looks great, but it'll cost you $2,400.00 or so: