Thanks for heading me in the quartz direction. I was just thinking I should stay with granite, but I like the idea of quartz now that I think more about it....I've had quartz in previous homes, and I find it much easier to care for. I think the Blue Pearl totally clashes with the BR. I don't have a good eye for "what goes" so maybe it's just me. Seems to me the warm tones of the BR compete with the cool of the BP. Also, the Blue Pearl is polished and is a nightmare to keep looking good. I've put together a little story board of some ideas using quartz. The background is a picture of our current Bianco Romano and I think it's a pretty good representation color wise. I've copied the quartz colors directly from their websites, so hoping it's close to reality. I think I'm down to figuring out if I should go with the grey tones, beige tones, or ??? I've included a pic of the cabinets. They aren't as yellow as the picture shows, more reddish. Hard to get an accurate picture. Sure hoping I get a consensus. Thanks so much.

Cal Dreamer, lucky you! Wasn't Stone West filled to the brim with stone eye candy? We originally wanted BR, but when we were shopping the slabs that were available were two toned. Although it would have been awsome for our island, our perimeter runs have some odd angles, so matching up the two colors would have been too difficult (aka expensive for extra slabs to make that happen!). The BR slabs at Stone West when I was there in the spring WERE resined, and they told us that the BR they carry is pretty much always resined. Are you sure yours isn't? The resin won't be detectable on the surface, but you'll see darker edges on the slabs, often with an amber tone. Take a peak at the picture linked below of the BR slab we passed up. Was the edge of your slab dark like that? If so it's resined. You can also see what I mean by two toned: on one side of the black vein it's beige, and on the other very white. Here is a link that might be useful:

Oh my so many suggestions, thanks everyone!! So I agree with the consensus not to paint the cabinets and work on the surroundings. @blfenton and ellendi6161… Sorry for posting in both forums, I thought this forum was a little quiet, but I guess not!!. @lisa_a….I love the Bianco Romano too, was just lucky that it came with the house. The blue backsplash will definitely highlight the countertops. @Amber…I didn’t even notice the hardware, but yes, I agree will look for something. That will be a cheaper upgrade then painting the cabinets. The bar stools I have currently are similar to these. I am planning to use these if they are the right height. I don’t think I want completely white kitchen. @Carrie B….I might look into blue shades, not sure if they are removable, will check. My current décor is a warm mix of orange, browns, red and teal. I have a brown leather sofa, red rug, lampshades, teal curtains etc…All of this is going into our basement. For the new plan, I was thinking pastel walls, cream/baby blue/yellow sofa/sectional with pastel accessories. A natural colored rug/runner. Something like this:

I too would always choose a granite - personal taste. Having said that, Bianco Romano that you mentioned is one of the most absorptive, stain-prone granites there is, almost like a marble. There are so many other choices in light-colored granites. Johnsoro25's Alaska White just mentioned for example. I have a friend with that Alaska White granite. Not only is it beautiful, but she has 2 teenage boys and the granite takes their lack of care and even abuse no problem, and continues to look lovely. BTW, granites have interchangeable names sometimes. Alaska White is similar to Bianco Antico, Bianco Delicatus, White Delicatus, White Springs, Cold Springs, and Lennon. All are lovely with slight variations in appearance - some have more black chunks, some less, some are more taupe in feel, some have more pattern, some less. Stoneyards aren't that careful with how they name their granite slabs. Because of the variations, you really must go to different stoneyards to see what they have, and choose the slab that fits what you prefer.