cjc123, sabjimata, flwrs-n-co, jkom51, mtnrdredux thanks! We are really enjoying the new space. It is so much more functional and easy to work in. Ginger25 and jenhp: "Blizzard" is warmer than the pure white or organic white from Caesarstone. I think it works better with the rusty Danby marble than those purer whites. Here are some closeups of the Caesarstone, as requested (these are in artificial light): You have to get REALLY close up (3 inches in this case) to see the fine speckles. From farther back but as close as a foot, it reads solid white: Elba1, the uppers are 37 inches tall. The trim between the cabinets and ceiling is under 2 inches, just enough to tie the cabinets to a little bit of a crooked ceiling. There is also a 1 inch light rail underneath the uppers, to hide the under cabinet lights. The ceiling is 8 feet. I thought about incorporating some glass, but I wanted to avoid breaking up the space, for a more contemporary look. If my ceilings were higher, I would have considered a top glass section as well!

Frey - My current granite is polished. I have been super happy with it the past 10 years. Initially we were going to keep the granite and just paint the cabinets, but then the project morphed into something bigger. So we are doing all new countertops. Funnily enough, in my search for an alternative to soapstone, I came across Virginia Mist and Raven - both a honed granite. Here are photos of the slabs from our stone supplier: http://www.tmsupply.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=660 http://www.tmsupply.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=2831 We are going to the showroom Friday to look at these and compare to the Diresco Velvet Quartz. I wouldn't be surprised if we went back to the granite for the perimeter and quartz for the island. Here is the quartz for the island: http://www.tmsupply.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=7186 What color cabinetry are you doing?

I can only comment on your statement that manufacturers wouldn't manufacture problematic stuff. I certainly wouldn't rely on that in terms of what are cosmetic issues of maintenance. People use counters in all kinds of different ways. Many people never cook and therefore could use high maintenance materials with no issues. Some people have housekeepers who clean. Others have different standards so fingerprints and splotches wouldn't bother them. Not the same thing but I am having marble counter installed in my master bath. I know it is higher maintenance than porcelain might be but my use for the master bath is not as hard as it might be for others since I live alone - don't dye my hair and I also am fine with the marble acquiring a patina. FWIW, I opted for honed marble floor and counter both for appearances and also because to the extent it etched, it would be less noticeable with a honed surface. Other people might make different choices of a material based on how they are using the room and also what their tolerance is for normal wear and tear.

I am SO glad I found this post. Thank you Amy for starting it! I love soapstone but for many reasons it's not practical for our kitchen. The cabinet shop showed me the PentalQuartz in Sorona in Honed and Polished and I immediately liked the honed. Thank you for all of your insights and experiences. We have chosen similar cabinet design/color so it's super helpful to see your finished kitchen! Thanks again!