How about beadboard or subway tiles (we did subways).

I just had to post here...OMG...the lady that wrote Laminate and luxurious in the same sentence.."NO". I hope I never have to meet someone like you in my lifetime. What a bunch of snobby, snarky..people! I am sorry..I think you can have a beautiful, luxurious kitchen without paying for granite, quartz, soapstone...etc. My goodness. I am building a house now and get to hear from our subs about all of the snooty women that they have to deal with...literally walking out of a house because the closets aren't big enough... What kind of country have we become? I say..if you want to buy high end appliances...beautiful cabinets..and put it all in a laminate kitchen. I think it can be stunning! Don't listen to all of these snooty fruities.....do what YOU want..and the people that matter...won't walk into your kitchen and take a mental note of your laminate..I would think it was beautiful! And for those of you who think that I must be some low life...my husband is a doctor! There....rant over! :-)

Thanks for your responses :) hpny2.. Thanks for the up vote on the oak cabinets. I decided that as soon as I went white that the trend would change and I would wish I hadn't. They go well with the rest of the house & I'm happy with them. I'm also glad to hear you still like laminate. One reason they appeal to me is their durability. I can in the summer and don't want to have to worry when I spill some tomato juice on the counter. Because of the way laminate counters are made, with the particle board under the surface, if you mount a sink undercount or surface mount it will very likely be damaged with the first bit of moisture that eventually gets through any caulk along the sides. There are very few top mounted, or drop in, farm sinks available. I did find a few more online but for their price I would probably be better off with a solid surface countertop. We were able to find a couple of samples of the 180fx in town today & my husband was with me .. I was glad he got to see how different the sample piece looks than a full counter as it really makes a difference in what you think of them. We found a display with a small bit of the golden mascarella and thought we liked that but managed to get large printed samples of that and the antique and I think we will have to wait to get the drink station cabinets to see which color works best with it. May flowers.. I didn't know they made frameless counters. I will have to look into them, but I doubt we will spend the $$. I have a vision of making a pocket door for the kitchen aid since the garage is on the wall behind the stove. With a door and a cabinet behind it, I could have hubby build me a drawer on wheels to pull it out when I want to use it. With the metal backsplash, I might even be able to hide it pretty well. Part of my clutter on the counter is because I just bought a new set of bakeware that needs to find a permanent home :) -------- Lowes had one of the options for the drop in laminate farm house sink made by Kohler. It's a little more modern looking than I had envisioned, & stainless, but Hubby seems to think that w/our drink station being a little more modern that it wouldn't hurt if the sink boring a touch of that in too. I have to admit that I'm a little bummed that we are leaning away from concrete. Hubby is mostly concerned about the weight of it on the floor than our ability. I was looking forward to getting all crafty/creative. Oh well, we have another kitchen we will eventually be doing for a rental that is on a concrete slab foundation and that might have to be my chance to play with that idea.

There should be 1/8" gap between CT and BS. This allows the silicone to fill and seal this area. With just a "band" on the wall, they might have set it flush. If so, they should have put a bead of caulk between the two to seal it together. If it is...and they didn't, there is little to hold the surface silicone in place and you'll probably have to periodically replace the caulking.