Just to piggy-back on this discussion...
We're looking for honed as well, we really don't like the shinyness of polished. We're not looking for something in black, probably tan, brown and/or reddish. We haven't seen much, if any, honed granite in the yard. What are the issues with having the fabricator hone the already polished granite? What kind of cost would we be looking at? Has anyone had any success getting samples honed?

I posted a while ago on this topic and responses were very helpful. Sorry, but I couldn't find the post.

There's another alternative, not sure if you have considered antiqued/brushed/leathered finish? There's a great stone called Nordic Black and Cambrian Black, both can be done in antiqued finish which gives a matte-like appearance but doesn't have the fingerprint issues of honed. So I'm told.

There's also a satin finish, which is between honed and polished but less antiqued than antique (does that make sense?). I think it's a relatively new finish and I'm delighted to have discovered it.

My designer recommended sealing and enhancing the granite. They had a sample of sealed and enhanced honed butterfly blue granite at the PDX Home & Garden show. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people walked by their booth touching the granite top. They set food and drinks on it. They were so busy, they barely had time to clean it but after 5 days, it still looked great. No finger prints, no stains. That sold me!

We are getting granite for the perimeter counters as well as the island in an antique finish (Cambrian Black and Persian Pearl). We decided on that finish due to not liking a really shiny finish and hearing from others that they were very low maintenance (several people on the forum appear to have Cambrian Black and all seem to love it). The slabs we saw have a slight texture to them, which looked more interesting than honed.

As far as price, you do tend to pay a premium for the specialty finishes. When we were first looking, we considered Bianco Romano, however could only find it in a polished finish. The supplier offered to hone it, however were going to charge approx. $5/sq ft more, so didn't really make sense to do it. And since we couldn't see it in a honed finish, we weren't sure how it would look. It really may depend on where you are as to whether a supplier has many examples of special finishes. When we were first looking toward the end of last year, most places were telling us that due to so much inventory and the economy, they weren't ordering much new stuff. I would bet that hasn't changed much now. We had a really hard time finding the Cambrian Black and finally found a place with just 2 slabs - the problem was that they were from entirely different batches so looked very different. We finally realized though that it appeared as if one had already had sealer applied for some reason (it was prettier and much darker). We got the salesperson to break off a little piece of the other slab and put sealer on it and we couldn't tell the difference, so decided to go with them! Hopefully it will turn out OK - they are supposed to be installed next week!

For any of the granite experts: How small a piece can be honed as a sample?

Hi thereddogruby,

I just installed honed Jet Mist a grey black color
with white mist movement.

I can tell you it is like a flat paint. If you like
the soft calm look of flat paint honed might be for you.
If you love the polished look of shiny glossy surfaces
than honed might be disappointing.
My DH wanted the leather look. It made me think of
pleather. Or a car dashboard. Everyone is different and
apologies to those who love leather. My DH is one of them.

I was expecting smudge marks and issues with the HOned.
NOne. NOthing.
I am amazed how clean my counters look for a busy
active family.

~boxerpups

Here is a link that discussed this topic
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg04134135898.html

Here is a link that might be useful: to beat a dead horse- follow up Q on dk honed granite v. soapston

Thanks! I'll make sure to read the post. I've heard nothing but great things about Jet/Virginia Mist. Seems like the right granite to be honed and sort of has the look I want. I preferred something more veined, but that looks pretty interesting too and have to take into account that we WILL be using and abusing our kitchen, and it could possibly be a future rental property. I am very set on Honed. I looked at some counters yesterday and have come to the realization glossy is definitely not for me. Do you think you could post a pic of your lovely counters? It would be great to see them!

Also, my kitchen guy suggested, if I hone my counter, I should get a glossy/shiny backsplash, whether it be tile or marble. Do you find this to be true? What did you use for yours?

Hi Thereddogruby,

The link below can take you right to my pics.
I just had them installed. Please excuse the mess.
The reno is not complete yet.

Best of luck searching for the right granite.
~boxerpups

Here is a link that might be useful: Hi Ebse, granite pics for you