Your kitchen looks amazing!! I am currently building a Farmhouse. I have the cabinets picked out they are Brookhaven by Woodmode. The color is antique white. I have my heart set on honed absolute black countertops. I have read so many things about them and how hard they are to deal with. Do you like yours? Would you use it again? My other option is Cambria either cambrian black or sussex. The cambria is actually cheaper for me. Also, what size are your pendants? I bought the "harmon pendant" through Restoration Hardware and I couldn't decide what size to get. I got the 15 inch. However my cabinets havn't even been installed yet. My island is 7'3 by 3'7. Thanks for your help.

Polished, Honed, Leathered, Brushed, Matte, Flat, shiny... What do you really like? Get what you love and you will enjoy cleaning, cooking and using your counters. I happen to love the clear, shiny, polished elegant counters in my sisters house. In my home a soft matte honed look with my white cabinets is what works for me. Sometimes people look at the surrounding elements. Do you have a craftman kitchen ? A more polished contemporary look? Or maybe a french bistro kind of feel? If you have lots of shiny surfaces maybe a matte leather will be a good balance or maybe the shiny is what you crave. If you have lots of flat plain matte surfaces a polished look could be amazing too. ~boxerpups A bunch of white kitchens with different black counters. From polished or honed. All look beautiful. Craftman Kitchen A soft flat matte look to these counters. Take a look at this lovely shiny surface on the perimeter counters. This is a blue based counter but it looks lovely with the leather look NorthShore White kitchens Has a leather look Polished in this Gart Kitchen More Shiny in this beautiful space MP Haverhill Images of hood and tile A flat matte surface

I, too, am pondering the same! Soapstone and marble are on my wish list. We have maple cabinets with a cherry stain, & I wonder if the soapstone would be too dark on the perimeter, yet that is where it would work best functionally, i.e., wouldn't have to worry about staining, can put hot items directly on counter, etc. Yet would it be too dark? Perhaps a lot of under cabinet lighting would help, along with a light backsplash. A designer friend told me soapstone is too dark for my space; would work fine if I had white cabinets (which I can't justify since our current ones are in great shape). Yet I still pine for soapstone; I want to find a place for it (right now I have a soapstone spoon rest :). The soapstone on just the island could work, then marble or quartzite on the perimeter. I just don't know, and today I have soapstone samples on the counters trying to imagine it. I may look for a dark sheet or tablecloth to put on the counters to try and get a better feel for the look. I love the brown marbles, but I've read that etching is more noticeable with darker marbles, so something to consider. For now, I am hunting for a remnant to put on the small island; then I could figure out the perimeters later. Not ideal, but that would be a good "test" for us on the marble/soapstone. If it didn't work, we would repurpose it for vanity counters. With white cabinets, you have more options. I will be following this thread with much interest! Good luck! wags

I agree with only using Brittanica on the island. I also like that MSI Quartz and had not seen that! If we did go with Brittanica for the island what cabinet paint color would you recommend instead? I am nervous about the yellow, but can't seem to find a good color match. Thanks! If we did two different counters I will do the island white as well.