I was going to do a medium-grey soapstone (still sad I'm not doing it, actually) and I think that would look great. Or obviously if you don't want soapstone you could get something like either grey or charcoal-colored Ceasarstone which is pretty nice I think. Whatever you do, it shouldn't have too much in the way of speckles, sparkles, swirls, veins, in my opinion. If you get a soapstone, I'd get one that has very little veining. We've made the crazy decision to do stainless w/ marble subway tile backsplash. I would NEVER have gone for this (I want a period kitchen in my 1913 house) had I not seen very inspiring pictures online and in magazines, that show a stainless counter w/ white farm sink in an old house, with marble backsplash, white cabinets, wood floors and an island with either a marble top or something that contrasts with the stainless such as butcher block or soapstone. I prefer to have my island's top be a nice rich wood, just cause it warms up the coolness of the stainless steel, and was often seen near the steel counters in the early 1900's homes (only back then, instead of stainless, the counters were zinc...so really, stainless isn't too far from period). Anyway, I digress, obviously (still trying to talk myself into the decision I've already made!), but wanted to point out that if you're not going to be as nutty as me and do stainless, any greyish color that's pretty simple/uniform would be beautiful. I even think wood would work, if the marble had some tan in it. Here's a nice gray caesarstone: http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/product.cfm?ProductID=111 Here's the marble subway tile that inspired me (when I thought I was getting dark grey countertop): http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0222343629720.html Here's the stainless pic w/ marble backsplash that most inspired me (although I prefer subway marble): http://picasaweb.google.com/quapaw/Our1890HomeAndKitchenRemodelRestoration?feat=embedwebsite#5252790674989404962 This is my favorite soapstone link (from gardenweb). It's got veins but very subtle: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0110311030000.html?11 And here's some beautiful marble minibrick subway tile, w/ black or dark grey countertop: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg101250599127.html HTH, and sorry I don't know how to put in proper links (sorry you need to cut/paste)!

Great suggestions so far. Two other places to try are Portland Direct Tile and Marble and Thompson Tile. These 2 are right across the street from each other. United Tile and Pental are close by so you can hit 4 stores within easy distance from each other. Just be warned that even though you're buying locally, the tile you choose may not be in stock. Suppliers aren't stocking tile like they used to do. But if you need to order tile, all of the above places have showrooms so you can see the tiles before you order. The showrooms are really fun - and dangerous, too many temptations. (You may need to go through a distributor for Thompson Tile. The showroom is open to the public but I think they are wholesalers. I ended up not using tiles from Thompson but if I had Interstate Flooring would have handled the order for me.)

AMYLOU--I just blogged about your conundrum...short and sweet. You might want to check out the link. A lot of Carrara is finished in China. That's really the whole cannoli (I think). Here is a link that might be useful: blog

I recently installed and grouted a carrara basketweave tile (with small black marble squares) floor in our new bathroom. Since we were really concerned about getting the color we liked, I put some extra tile on a sheet of plywood and tested three colors: Delorean Gray, Standard White and Silverado. If it's possible, I'd suggest a similar test so that you are confident that you're getting a color you love. Here's what I saw: - the Standard white had a yellow undertone that didn't go at all with the grey veining in my marble - the Delorean Gray was too dark for us - the Silverado was the closest match - the tones were fairly close to those in my marble (though with a slightly brown undertone) Can you test Silverado before committing? We wanted to see the grout lines to emphasize the pattern, but didn't want anything too dark. We finally mixed Delorean Gray and Silverado 50:50. It was quite a feat to mix so much powdered grout thoroughly, and I wouldn't really recommend it, but we're very pleased with the results. Hope this helps!