I have Carrera in my upstairs bath. It is breathtakingly beautiful and so soft looking. It makes me sigh when I look at it as it just surprises me how beautiful it is. However, I must say that I do worry about it. I am not one of the easy going types who could live with etching. The reason is because it is just so beautiful it would be like the young Brad Pitt with acne. It would be a shame, a tragedy!!! I know I could never live with that in the kitchen. As much as I drool over it I would have a cow if it didn't always look as it did on day one. Call me shallow, superficial, I don't care! It's too expensive to think of it not holding up to the look it had on the first day. I have been looking at some of the white granites and find they vary so much. I love some of the Bianco Romano slabs but others are just plain and unexciting and so nothing for me. If you could find the right slabs it would be a contender. I don't mind the yellow in them, it's the ones that don't have any veins or character and are just speckles that I don't like. I am having to replace my kitchen granite since we had a sink failure and also the granite I have is all pitted and chunks of quartz or mica whatever are falling out. The guy who sold it to me is out of business and the fabricator who agrees it has "issues" and probably was not resined and has too many cracks and pits has offered to give me a great deal on replacement which turns out not to be so great, it's still in the $4K range, but it would be closer to 6K if full price. I'm sick about it. But that is why I am still in the market for granite. For some reason I have had such bad luck with everything we have done in our reno. I am not happy with any of it. I should have used a KD and not tried to do this on my own. But back to slabs, it's hard to not love the quartzite and marble but I just know I couldn't live with it and not obsess. I admire those of you who can!

omg -- I am so embarrassed. I can't believe it's been almost three years. I know it's ridiculous, veevs, but I still have not put in a backsplash! I collected so many sample tiles (all of which are still sitting on my laundry room counter), and then I just got overwhelmed! And then tired. And then bored. And then we moved on to other major house projects (front entry, portico, landscaping, etc.) and other decorating (window treatments, etc.). And then I just became very zen about the whole thing and decided not to stress about it, to enjoy the paint for now, and to just pick out other kitchen things first (eg, got the bamboo shades budge suggested). In fact, it's funny that you're reviving this thread now, as I await delivery of the chandelier that I finally chose for over the island. I'm hoping that getting that up next week will provide a sudden epiphany re the backsplash. I hope to return to that project this fall/winter. Of course, I'm still happy to hear suggestions and welcome any photos! Sorry the thread was such a tease...but there will be a happy ending one day! In the meantime ... enjoy your kitchen and the many delicious meals you will share with your family ... and tell them all just to be zen :)

If you're questioning whether you'll get sick of two different granites, my guess is you will. Some people like that look, which seems to be popular, but some people don't (ahem,.... me. no one get mad! :)) Since the SW is outside your budget, stop considering it! In addition to budget concerns, I don't think the tones work in your space. (I think SW is gorgeous, but just not in this application. Also, if you had two different countertops and two different stains, I think it would be way too much.) Because your floor and cabinets have two different stain colors, I think a solid black would look good. biochem gave a good example and rtwilliams has a gorgeous kitchen with solid black counters. Did you throw out Cambrian black as a choice because of price? I will say that I have that counter in a leathered finish and, after 2 years, it is flawless. I don't know how Labrador compares. Is Labrador strictly black/gray or are there other colors? I thought it had variation, but I don't remember... I also think the newer choices, BA and others with some brown in them, would look very good. I agree they tie everything together. With that said, what do your inspiration photos or kitchens show? Have you saved particular kitchens you really love? If you saved 34 kitchen photos with black counters, do not be swayed to get BA! If your inspiration kitchens had a mix of counters, then that's another story. :)

Thanks for all your responses. What do you think of Brazilian Arabescato granite? Ive also seen it labeled as quartzite but the person at the granite yard said this Brazilian Arabescato slab is granite. pic below what do you think? too dark for dark cabinets? As far as the KCMA cabinets, What do the tests entail? I saw a KCMA cabinets at a warehouse and they had pressed wood on the walls which concerned me. They just didn't seem as good of quality as these Chinese ones that I chose, yet the Chinese ones were a couple thousand dollars cheaper. The Chinese ones felt more sturdy and had plywood build all around, also they were soft close with drawers that seemed more solid. Have you heard of that Chinese brand Maywood cabinets? Do they have a bad rep or something? This post was edited by yorkiemiki on Tue, Dec 24, 13 at 13:59