I'll just put in my Le Creuset experience for future searcher/readers. Bought a set 30 years ago; Large Dutch Oven, Small/Med Dutch Oven, Medium soup pan, small soup pan, both with the wooden handles, med and small fry pan. Great stuff, love it and used reliably for many years...fast forward I burnt up the med soup pan (and btw the wooden handles were never a problem since I dont put things in the oven and they stayed fine over the years) making sugar water. The bottom had become a little rough over the years and so could not be salvaged - sent it in and got back one of the new all metal sauce pans. I liked the size and weight and shape and handle of my OLD pan better, plus for a sauce pan this seems to get a ring of hot spot on the bottom (I do cook on higher heat than I should or maybe its my elec stove?) anyway this is heavier, much longer handle, don't like or use it as much just due to the shape/weight issue. Then I do the same thing with the small soup pan. Send it in, replacement comes with the new black phrenolic handle, no big deal but they've changed the shape and size, its narrower at the bottom and taller and weighs more. I liked my old one better. So while I still think Le Creuset is the best enameled cookware, and perhaps just plain the best cookware with the no kidding greatest lifetime guarentee (I put in a letter saying I ruined it and that I'd be happy to buy a discounted replacement), I don't like their revamped shape and style of their soup/saucier pots. I don't know why they just didn't change the handles from wood to the black ovenproof stuff. If I could figure out how to make my old Paypal acct work I think I'd try buying the old style on eBay. (But you never know what people cooked in them and that creeps me out a little:)

Dreamgoddess, what a delightful kitchen & dining room - you should be very proud of all you've accomplished! Is a match or near-match to your current counters not possible or not desired? Are they wood like the island, or? Looks like you can use any material from Victorian times to the 40's (or any convincing imitation of one) if you prefer historic mode. Stone, marble, zinc, copper, wood come to mind. A raw countertop, exterior or marine plywood can be covered in sheet copper, zinc or lineoleum with a little work. We did that once with copper in a Victorian kitchen add-on to a colonial house. Found the copper at a scrap yard, but you could ask a roofer who uses copper to sell you some shorts or sheath a counter for you or find a willing metalworker. My husband made a tabletop from tongue & groove oak flooring. I picked up a marbletop coffee table at a yard sale once for $10 just for the marble to use in a baking area. I see stone & all kinds of counters often on craigslist here & a city an hour away. Usually left-overs from a job offered by the homeowner or tradesmen, more common lately in this economy. There's also freecycle & local groups, Habitat for Humanity showrooms, and maintenance departments of labs & colleges & such who know what's about to be removed for modernization. Kitchen design & builder's showrooms swap out their displays & sell the old ones. Those in the business of kitchen installation sell the kitchens they've torn out & hauled off (if the homeowners don't advertise it beforehand). Ask around... I'd be tempted to pick up the identical match to your Hoosier, especially if it's inexpensive. Even if you don't use it for the countertop proper, it might make a great breadboard-type pull out for the cupboards you're contemplating (or a worktable elsewhere). But I'm a big fan of long breadboard pull-outs to double counterspace anyway, and the strategic location next to the dining room would make it a great stage for desert and coffee waiting in the wings. Basically anything fairly straight & sturdy can be used for a countertop, right? More delicate surfaces can always be protected with a sheet of glass as are furniture tops. I bet you're resourceful & will come up with many more possibilities once you get started! And a good brainstorm doesn't cost a dime.

A few years back, didn't we decide on a system of elimination for determining whether you're a good candidate for a copper sink? Do NOT get a copper sink if two or more of the following are true: a. you iron your jeans b. you are bothered by cupboard doors or dresser drawers being left slightly open c. you wear white jeans jackets, or any jackets with rhinestones or fringe d. you immediately notice when something isn't symmetrically ordered e. you can't concentrate if 'stuff' is left out on counters or around the house f. you make your bed the second after you get up g. you find yourself smoothing out the edges of all the Scrabble tile pieces already played on the board h. you'd never get glass-doored cabinetry or open shelving because you can't stand to see the everyday contents on display i. when your nail polish is chipping, you repair it immediately j. you straighten the hanging guest towels in other people's houses :-)

@kodiak_heather I had the same debate when I ordered my copper sink from Havens. After discussing with Alex at Havens, I ordered a smooth bottom amd a hammered apron front. My reasoning was that the smooth bottom would be easier to clean amd Alex agreed. I went with the hammered front because it would not be subject to the same kind of changes as the bottom would be in terms of acidic foods and so it would look more cohesive. The hammered copper is not the obnoxious hammered look of the deep brown fake patina sinks and looks very subtle in the front.