I think they can go well together as the grey solid one picks up the meduim grey color color of the island stone. I can't comment on the appropriateness or not of your stone choices 'going together' because I don't know what your entire color scheme and style is. But I'm sure it will be stunning. I personally like the darker stones. Regarding your question as to the finish, I have lived with all types of stone countertops with a variety of finishes. And I've been doing quite a few different ones in my own remodel. Polished is generally the easiest to clean and will also show the most brilliant colors, and have the most contrast, against the same stone in honed or leathered. Look at the stone yard for ANY slab that has both a polished and a honed version (or polished and a leathered version).The most brilliant color will be the polished one. Also if there are any crystals (which I love having in a stone!), they will jump right out when polished and really blend in the background if honed or leathered. Polished will really emphasize all of the contrast of colors and textures. Polished is generally easy to keep clean but if a stone is softer and more of a marble than granite, and if prone to etching like classic marble is, a honed surface will be an easier care finish because it will hide the etch marks more than if polished. A sealer can protect from stains but etching is another problem. The honed surfaces, of marbles especially, will have a natural glow and soft sheen rather than a high gloss and might be more appropriate for a vintage look for example. Also the honed will not have the reflection that the polished will (see your picture and the light reflection difference), but that depends on where it will be located. Perimeter polished countertops for example will show the under counter lighting in the reflected surface for example and a honed or leathered will not. Sometimes people don't notice that and it does not bother them at all and sometimes it does. Or can be a trade off (like most things!). Some people love the classic polished. It all depends on what effect you want the entire room to have. Honed surfaces will soften colors and contrasts of the stone and have a less dramatic effect. Also the honed stone surfaces, to me, will be less cold to the touch than the polished (under the exact same conditions and temperatures), or I have thought so in my sample testing, if that is a consideration. Of course, you can always heat the edges if you like (see a recent GW post about that.) Using the thin (1/8" or so) mesh that is typically used for under tile flooring. The leathered finish add a physical texture to the stone and it has the other characteristics of the honed. It is typically more difficult to have a clean seam with leathered but since yours will be an island, you probably should not have a seam. The leathered will have an additional texture that will be seen with grazing light across the surface (think morning or evening light coming in across the counter through a window), but not as much with overhead light. The leathered is much more popular and more available than it used to be (and fabricators with the right equipment and talent can leather most any slab). There are quite a few that are available right from the slab yards. I have seen several striking ones recently that I would have thought would not have looked good, but it was striking. From what I mentioned earlier about a softer look and the matte vs gloss finish, the leathered (or honed for that matter) can have an enhancing sealer applied that will darken it. You may or may not want it that way so BE SURE to know what the sealer the fabricator uses or know what you want it to be, and tell them. Be very cautious on this step. Sealers are an afterthought to many fabricators and some just get on auto pilot and do what they always do, and if its different from what you want, you can get disappointed. (Just look at some recent GW threads). So be sure to know which you want. See if you can find any place that has the same stone in two different finishes. Look at the DIFFERENCES in the stone in texture, color and details. It does not matter if you like the stone or color. For just looks alone, which finish gives you the look you want? Most sealers can help with stain resistance issues (and some stones don't need sealing at all). And if you like the texture and clarity, but want it darker, an enhancing sealer can be applied. And by the way, most enhancing sealers just darken and do not add a shiny finish, do always ask them to do a small sample to show you for approval. And get that in writing too. If you're not sure if you would like it darker or you want to see how dark it would get, just wet with water. It will get that color. This is an important question and don't feel rushed. What is a little extra time in the big scheme of things? Have them wait till you do a little more research. I'm not sure if I've directly answered your question but I hope I've given you some things to check on and some information to help make your decision. Please share your progress.

We have Kashmir White and River White--both are similar to the Cottage Cream depending on the slabs/lots. There can be a world of difference between them. The ones in our master bath look vastly different from the one in the laundry room. As far as staining goes, the granite needs to be sealed well. Spills should be cleaned up as they happen when at all possible. Any that sit and have penetrated the granite can be remedied with a poultice made of original blue Dawn dishwashing detergent and flour. We've been in our house 16 months and we're not the neatest people when cooking, we have kids so they are not the neatest when eating and I would not say we baby our granite or treat it any differently than we did our old laminate (other than the lesson learned from pie crusts-story below). I think just about everything has been spilled on the granite and the only problems we've had have been Crisco penetrating the granite (Note to self: Don't roll out 5 double pie crusts in row directly on the granite), and an incident with a Wal-Mart bag that was set down in a puddle of condensation from a glass and sat for a day or two. The water mixed with the blue dye from the logo penetrated the granite and left a blue circle about the diameter of a glass. We applied the poultice and it came right out. Hope this helps!

kelleg69, I really like that quartz! I just looked it up and of course the nearest distributor is 3 hours away in Dallas (same as the Quartzmasters). I guess I'm going to just have to make another trip. I don't know if the Chinese produced quartz uses the Breton technology everyone seems to talk about on this website. So I don't know what happens if they don't. Here is the link to the pendants, I ordered them a few weeks ago when they were 30% off and free shipping! http://www.horchow.com/Regina-Andrew-Design-Camden-Five-Light-Lantern-Pendants/cprod105150007_cat23930743__/p.prod?icid=&searchType=EndecaDrivenCat&rte=%252Fcategory.jsp%253FitemId%253Dcat23930743%2526pageSize%253D120%2526No%253D0%2526refinements%253D&eItemId=cprod105150007&cmCat=product

@kel_kat5 - It is a mistake to think that Dayana’s situation is representative of granite counters. Most importantly, the Bahamas White granite she pictured looks like it’s in the family of the Imperial White or Kashmir granites, which is notorious for behaving more like marble and staining easily because it is more absorptive than other granites, I.e. porous. If one is looking for a granite with a white background, check out the granites in the family of Alaska White, White Springs, Bianco Delicatus, and Lennon, which are pretty bullet-proof. I’ve had different granites in different homes, and none even needed sealing, and were carefree, and we didn’t baby them. There are a thousand granites out there, and they should not all be lumped under the same umbrella. Quartz is a great choice if you want a more uniform appearance to your counters. There are stories on this forum of Quartz staining, scorching and chipping, and having resin pools. I actually think Quartz is a wonderful choice for counters. But get it for its appearance and beauty, not because you think it is more durable than granite.