Hi, I have been looking to find a thread like this. I wonder if anyone can help me. I am definitely losing sleep over this issue. We live in a ranch and are redoing our kitchen as well as continuing the wood flooring of the kitchen into a fireplace/ den room which connects to a living room as well as into the dining room. We are getting painted white/cream cabinets with Delicatus white granite. I love the look together. My question is whether to go with a whitewashed, handscaped white oak floor or a dark taupe color wood floor (both look great with the cabinets and granite and both have no yellow or red which would not go with the colors in the room). I know both would look great. I kind of always pictured the floor of the kitchen as light, and the light handscraped/ whitewashed floor is kind of ranch-like. But, I am hoping that I will be able to create enough interest with different textures and some darker harmonious tones in the room, because I don't want the room to look too monotone. Also, I know that the dark wood would probably pop more and look more sophisticated. I am not sure, but I think the dark would may give the house a higher resale value in the future, because it is trendy and sophisticated. We have not picked out most of our furniture yet, so that will be decided once the floor is decided. Helppp Pleasee if you can!! : )

Kevin, Stop it, your making me blush... Stacys, I would recommend that you find an installer first. Also known as a fabricator. Ask friends, neighbors, relatives and even ask on GW for suggestions in your area of the country. You want a true artist to install your counters. You want the best because stone is heavy and this is not something you can fix if a bad installer damages it. Often the installer has their own slab yard and access to slabs yards or even stone mines all over the world. They can often help you find a specific color, pattern, or stone. And a reputable installer will work with you. They want you as a customer. Templating is after your space is measured and a paper cut out (template) is made of your counter shape. Maybe a sink cut out here, a tiny curve here... And a good installer will work with you so that you can have a seam at this location or this location. Keep in mind they are experts. The stone guys/gals know stone better than they know their families so this means they will recommend what will work best. And yes you can be Cleopatra Prices? The price of stones, granite, marble... is kind of like the price of a diamond. It is going to vary. Yes, there is a mark up and there really is not a standard price. For the most part Kevin and other granite experts can give advice but depending on where you are will depend on the price of your stone. If you live in Italy you could get marble cheaper than here. If you lived in Brazil you could get Blue Bahia granite far cheaper. The stones do not have to travel across the ocean to arrive to your neighborhood. A stone in Boston might be cheaper than a stone in Kansas City. But it depends on the stone and the availabilty. Rocks are unique, like a diamond. A diamond starts out as a shiny rock that has to be cut and shaped. So too does your granite counter. There will be no other exactly like it which can run the price up. Is there are price advantage to buying your stone slab separately? Not really and in fact it might be hard to find a quality installer who will work with your bought separately slab. Is this fair? Well the granite guys need to be paid for their work and it is a big process not just the sale of a diamond. It is the buying, (Often from another country) transporting, by ship or truck, the templating, (precise measurements that a surgeon would do) cutting, delivering and installing to perfection. You want beautiful edges, no seams so that when you run your hand across your counter it feels smooth. You want the gorgeous honed or polished rock to shine in your kitchen a a true piece of art. Installers need to know where the stone came from, the quality, the source or the availability. Get the stone through them it is safer and to your advantage. The check list below is a great way to start. Good luck. ~boxer Here is a link that might be useful: GW Grantie Checklist

If I didn't know the back story, I wouldn't know! It looks GREAT! I so understand the frustration you are feeling. We just finished up a couple of months ago (haven't posted finish pics yet because of KITCHEN FATIGUE) but when things go wrong in the moment, it just seems so awful. I know that you had a grand master plan and were meticulous and other people's careless errors are almost unforgivable, *but* it's going to be okay. I promise. On my remodel, my kd talked me into creamy white instead of bright white cabs. Deep down inside I hate the creamy cabs, but still, I realize they look good (if I don't think about their creaminess). The guys installing my cabs, who were great all around...well, I don't think they ever worked with painteds before and did lots of dings, scratches and nicks during install. I needed to take many many deep breaths there. The counter reveal around my farm sink is off on one side, despite me pointing out to the templater that the sink was installed, not going any where and was off an 1/8th of an inch and he would have to correct that with the templating. I don't have the overhang I wanted and spent years thinking about on the countertop because I had morningsickness when the templater was here and just couldn't deal/be bothered. Some tiles are crooked. I hate the paint color on my walls but it went up so quickly there was no time to contemplate it. I was supposed to have marble for a table top. They didn't have enough material. I picked out a slab of granite. It got cracked as it was being loaded to deliver. I picked out another slab from what was available. It has brown in it. I hate brown in stone. I have more, but why bore you. My advice about your beautiful beautiful counters is to take a little vacation, visit some friends' houses (chances are their kitchen will not come close to function and glamour as yours) and come back to your house. You will love your kitchen more than ever and probably have forgotten about the countertop thing. Okay, maybe my advice sucks. But I do want to say I feel your pain and I *promise* you will feel at least 60% better about it in a month or so. IT LOOKS GREAT!

Our slabs of lapidus looked much more busy when they were installed. At the yard it seemed like the granite would go with our slate floor. However, once installed the 2 elements are "fighting" each other. It's also making pick a backsplash very hard. Don't get me wrong, I love my granite counters (golden lapidus which looks similar to your slab) but they don't go with much else in the kitchen. What was supposed to be a minor redo has turned into a major project as now we are replacing all the appliances (from 5 yr. old white to ss as the white just didn't go with the granite counters), a new "quiet" kitchen floor, and backsplash yet to be finalized. Pretty sure fire & ice quartz will be going up on the range wall. DH also had to tear out and rebuild 2 walls to accommodate the changes! He is not a happy camper!! Love your choice of granite and love your backsplash. They are both very strong colors/patterns which could look great together or could end up "fighting" each other. In the end, you need to go with what you love and what "speaks" to you even though a nice cream colored backsplash to match the light cream in your slab may be more tame. You live and work in this space so my final advice is to do what YOU want. Good luck and keep us posted as to what you do.