Thanks. I don't comment on fixtures often, but I do have to say I think the Memoirs is a lovely sink. The sink itself is large, the wide rim I absolutely love, and it has a good-sized bowl. It is indeed a nice sink. We had the same feelings over the backsplash. We went back and forth between painted wood or teak. I thought the teak backsplash would make the Memoirs pop more due to contrast, but my wife didn't want too much wood grain in the room. So we did painted wood which I topped with a teak cap. If my wife ever did want teak, I told her I'd simply glue a teak veneer over the painted wood. It's still painted. That run of cabinetry changed a couple of times during the design process. It was originally going to be a spacious 2-sink vanity. My wife really insisted on one sink! So that freed up space for the floor-to-ceiling storage closet on the left and what we call the "toilet pantry" on the right. The design has worked quite well for us over the years, I built it around 15 years ago. My daughter, who was 7 or 8 years old at the time, designed the profile for the toe kick cutouts. That was quite a bit of fun "working" with her. If you go in another direction, no worries. Choose what works best for you.

You may have figured this out by now from the contracter, but countertop people should do plywood underlayer. It has to be to guarantee the right fit to the quartz - too many things can go wrong if someone else does it. They screw the plywood into the cabinet. They use a epoxy-like cement between the quartz and plywood - they will float the slab on a large amount of gooey glue, then while the glue starts to cure, they adjust the height with wood screws from below to level precisely. Then the glue sets within 10-20 minutes or so, then it's done.

I should have posted under the subject: How do I deal with the back splash of the range with the "island trim kit"?

When people say that quartz looks like "fake" stone it always makes me scratch my head. For me, I love it because it is clean and uniform--if I wanted "real" stone with the variability that comes with real stone, I'd choose granite or marble. Saying it looks like fake stone is like saying that cork looks like fake wood. Two very different materials, two very different looks. Neither one is better--it's what style you prefer. Exactly! But I have found that many people try to sell quartz counters saying they look like granite but are better/easier/tougher (which I think has already been addressed above). Some of their colours do appear to be in fact imitating the look of real stone. I don't think they do well at that, but I totally agree with you that it's a great choice if you want a uniform or clean look or their vibrant colours.