I think IÂm agreeing with your KD, even though I love wood island tops. Wood on top of wood is probably too much. The honed marble would be beautiful, and sounds like you know what you would be getting into with marble.

Would the white color of the marble be too "cool" of a white with the ivory (warm white) countertops? That's a question that comes to mind. I think the idea of something light-colored is a good idea, though, to contrast with the dark soapstone and dark wood of the island body and bar top.

A golden wood or bamboo would be a very nice visual element. However, if you end up agreeing with the KD that a wood island top would be too "heavy" - have you considered something a little outside the box like paperstone or richlite? They have a soft warm appearance but wear well.

I believe the counter in this photo is Richlite or something similar:

lleet and jan s,

Thank you so much for your input. It's so nice to bounce these ideas off of people who take an interest in this sort of thing! I had not considered the richlite or paperstone. I have yet to see those products in person, but my countertop people said they do have samples to look at so I'll ask them.

lleet, thanks for the vote for the marble. Soonermagic, from these forums, has my "inspiration" kitchena and I love her big marble island. Her kitchen is definitely the feel I'm after. I keep trying to envision it with wood on her island--these are the times I wish I knew something about photoshop software (isn't that the one people manipulate photos with?!)

I'll keep agonizing, debating, losing sleep over it, and then eventually I'll feel good with a decision!

Many thanks again for your input!

Good luck with the decision making. Post pics when you can and you may get a bit more feedback...

Could you tell us what color you plan for the floor? If it is dark, I think you should have a light colored counter for your island. I think a color similar to the ivory perimeter cabinets would look great. You could consider a quartz, if you are worried about maintenance. If you are worried about etching, it is much less if you go with a honed surface on your marble. If you do a search, someone showed a great picture of etching on marble on this forum. Basically, it is a matte area which is quite visible on a shiny counter but much less so on a honed one. I don't have a marble countertop, but I've read a lot of the posts, and a good sealer seems to eliminate most stains, and poultices work for most of the ones that still occur. Consider buying a marble TILE and put lemon juice/vinegar/acid on it; you will see what etching looks like. Or see if a marble place will give you a piece to play with.

I have a butcher block counter in my kitchen. I use a cutting board and try to protect it, but it still looks shabby. There are stains I cannot get out if. Wood countertops do not seem to be a durable choice for a kitchen.

I would go with the marble (but then I LOVE marble) or you could consider Quartzite. Here is one I almost chose for my kitchen. It is harder than marble or granite.

astridh, That's a great idea about getting a marble tile and "playing" with it. I will definitely do that before making any finaly decisions!

mustbnuts, I LOVE the look of that quartzite. I have heard others discussing it and using it in the kitchen forums but I've never seen a photograph of a slab, and it's beautiful. Might be a good in between for me. I wonder if they can do a honed finish on it like marble. I'm assuming it would have the same properties of honed granite. Just curious, where did you find this slab? I live near Asheville, NC (western NC) and if it's somewhere in the southeast, I'd love to see it in person if I can't find it elsewhere. Definitely going to mention it to my countertop people though and show them this photograph.

The slab I found in two different yards. They had more than one slab in each of the yards. They were located in Fresno, California. Sorry it wasn't closer to you. Check there may be some yard with it near you. It is very pretty. Some quartzite is harder and some is soft. You will need to test it and check it out.