You are lucky to have a good SIL. She has given you good advice. We all start out with high expectations of the kitchen we've dreamed of, and along the way to getting it, there are many disappointments. Give yourself some time to finish the other details and hopefully, by the time it's really finished, this won't seem as big. I too have several details that didn't materialize the way I envisioned them, but in total my kitchen is pretty nice.
it's sort of like planning a wedding. We all want perfect weddings, so when things don't go as planned, we go crazy. You have to realize that with so many details, not everything will work out as well as we'd hoped. Perfect weddings and perfect kitchens are both rare. Hopefully, as time passes, you'll enjoy the good stuff more than you obsess over the bad stuff.

Debsan - Not sure if you will see this since it is a late response - but thanks - you articulated it very well.

We have done a whole house remodel and as much as I love the design process I have never done it on such a large scale. I really am sort of amazed it all came together as well as it did! I love my bathrooms and especially the master.

I do absolutely love my perimeter counters now that the backsplash is in. If I were able to see the whole thing together before choosing the island counter I would probably make a different selection - but I still love the look of the ice stone by itself. I can see now my problem was I fell in love with too very different looks in countertops and tried to have it all by using both. I just need to stop trying to make them go together better and realize they each stand on their own.

gldnfan - I can totally identify with your situation! It's so frustrating to put so much time and effort into planning something and then it doesn't turn out as expected. One major thing that I knew I wanted in our kitchen was windows that were either very close to the countertop or just above - well, in the photo below, where are the windows?? Not only are they NOT even close to the countertop, they are at least 7 freaking inches above!!!! I was so mad that I also cried for days. If it had been one window I would have insisted that we would just buy another and change it, but no, there are FIVE windows, so to do that would be to the tune of probably at least a few thousand dollars, not to mention the extra time involved. Then, to make matters worse, the stupid electrician came in and put outlets under the windows and they are so close that we can barely do trim around them. So...I just finally sucked it up that I was stuck with the windows where they are and am telling myself that I will try to be happy that we have so many windows :) I blame myself for it anyway since I should have verified the placement again before they were actually installed, so oh well, should teach me a lesson for the future!

Honestly Soapstone - seen it - but that Pistachio Pearl Icestone looks amazing. Pictures soon? I can't wait!

Gldenfn,
Pictures! We need pictures! The concrete sounds amazing, and I'm a huge pistachio green fan. I bet it's nothing as awful as you initially thought -- think of all the women who give birth and say ack! what's this wrinkly little thing? only to fall in love 2 seconds later. :-)

Traci,
Just fyi, you can have those outlets moved (or even move them yourself with a little education on DIY) fairly easily. I don't know what instructions you gave the electrician, but most of them would see right away that they're too high under the windows and will impede the trim. For what it's worth, your kitchen is GORGEOUS so far!

Just wanted to say, it may be impractical to move the windows, but it's not to late and shouldn't be too expensive to move those outlets, unless there is some code-related reason why they are where they are.
Depending on what you've in mind for your backsplash, you could consider adjusting their placement. I had to do this with a couple. My electrician was a bonehead, about not listening to me on where the outlets were to be placed, so he had to move them and the contractor had to repair the drywall. It was a few hours of minor work.
I had several that had to be moved, but the worst was the outlet that was placed smack-dab in the middle of the beautiful face of the island. The contractor kept insisting that it had to be there, but I persisted until he moved it to a place where it's not even noticeable.

Thanks circuspeanut! I'm happy with the kitchen for the most part so far other than the window issue (which is a fairly major one!). Depending on what the contractor says about trim for the windows, there is a very good chance that I'll make them move them. As for instructions to the electrician, that's the problem - I don't think he had any, so basically just put them wherever (stating that code required them on each side of the range within a specific number of feet, etc.). I wasn't even here when he installed them and of course my husband didn't think about the issue of how they would look or even the placement near the windows. If the contractor can't make the trim look acceptable, then they will just have to be moved.

debsan - maybe we had the same electrician - haha! I can't believe that anyone would insist on placing an outlet in the middle of the island top - that's ridiculous!!!! It's so funny how many contractors seem to think that the homeowner's wishes are irrelevant. As if we aren't paying them and they are working for free so can do whatever they want rather than what WE want.

traci - Thanks for empathizing. Sorry the windows are not what you wanted - but you do have lots of windows! I agree that the electrical boxes can and should be moved - that is not a big deal. The kitchen is going to be gorgeous - I saw another post with more info and it sounds spectacular.

caryscott and circuspeanut - I do still love the pistachio pearl and I really wanted to use it. I think - hope - I am just being too much of a perfectionist as my dh says ;-) I will take pictures tomorrow morning.

Circuspeanut - thanks for the chuckle!

Still in progress - missing some appliance faces and a couple cabinets but nearly there.

Colors in the backsplash do not photograph well - it is lighter in person - the idea was the irrid. pearl and pale green -you can't see the pale green at all - are the same as the MOP and green glass in the ice stone. It all looked great when I put the samples together - not quite as cohesive in place.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen pics

Gldn, I thought I would give this a bump in case others were not checking it.

I think you have a really happy color palette working in your kitchen. The problem, which I guess you are seeing, is that the green of the perimeter counter and the ice stone of the island looks like a near miss, at least in the photo. I bet it looks a lot better in person, since the perimeter counters are picking up the chips in the ice stone, which we can't see. But a near miss is the impression the photos give, at least to me.

Well, this is one of those small disappointments in life, and if you don't want to or can't spend the money to fix it right now, I guess you will have to get your mind around it. Really, it's not a disaster, and certainly doesn't rank with the stress of marriage troubles or a sick child. So try to keep things in perspective, though I imagine that after all the work you have poured into your house, you will need to brood a bit that this didn't go your way.

From the choices you have made you strike me as a fun, happy person who doesn't always try to please the crowd or play it safe. Yeah, you could have hired a designer who would have given you a nice, safe kitchen that wouldn't wow or offend anybody-- but what fun is that? I think you are going to have lots of happy, convivial times in your kitchen.

If it's any comfort, I do the same as you-- I follow my instincts in interior design, sometimes with good results, sometimes not. Oh, well, for better or worse, my home is uniquely my own!

You might want to bring in an interior designer now, though, to see if she can suggest a way to tie the two counters together more, perhaps with window treatments, decor, or art.

Anyway, good luck! I hope you make peace with the fact the everything did not turn out just the way you envisioned. You will dwell on this more than anyone else-- remember, it's just counters!