I vote for the busy one, but then I like very busy granite too. If a busy pattern gets tiresome, I will be in BIG trouble!! lol!!

I vote for the second one. I think both are beautiful with the other choices you have made. Should be very pretty when it is done. Hope you show us more pictures as you progress.

I think both would work equally well. I'd go for #2 myself, though.

I like the subtle one. I think the veining will be more obvious and have enough character when it's in a big piece. It'll be nice to look at close-up, as you're working. You don't have to see everything from the next room. I think you have other things going on in your kitchen and the marble itself makes a nice and elegant statement without being busy. I also think the softer veins go better with your cabinet color.

I can't wait to see your kitchen. Your selections are amazing and not like most we see here.

One last thought, though. You referred to the first marble as 'safe.' I'm not sure that's a compliment. If you really love the 2nd one, maybe that's what you want and you're only looking for support? If that's the case, maybe you should ignore what I say. :-)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your mixture of colors and materials. I think the overall feel of your kitchen will be warm and cozy and gorgeous. I vote for the subtle marble. I can't really tell you why, but I love the smoothness and coolness of it. It just seems so soothing...

Thanks so much for the feedback.....I appreciate everyone's POV, I'm still really on the fence. One day I love the muted b/c of the overall sense it gives and the next day I fall in love with the busier/stronger one.

I have worked hard throughout this remodel to make this addition "fit" the rest of our house and maintain a historic feel, so I really need to see a large slab of the muted marble to get a better sense of how it might fit in the overall scheme. I am a bit worried that the heavy veined piece may be too strong and overpower the rest of the kitchen.....decisions, decisions.....thank you so much for your feedback. I will keep you posted!

I think the quieter marble works best with the cabs. But the door sample is reading very blue on my monitor and I think that's influencing my choice. If the cabs read mostly grey in your kitchen then I think I'd like the higher contrast marble better.

Looks like I would love your kitchen. :-) I would think about what works with the rest of the house and what the feel you want in the kitchen is.

At first blush, I thought about the second one becaue everything else is softer and you could have a bit of drama in the marble. Then I read you were trying to maintain the historic feel, and somehow that makes the softer one seem more right to me. Like the distressed cabinets, it seems softer and more aged. Nothing wrong of having the walk up and touch me kind of appeal instead of the Wow from the next room kind of appeal.

Definitely look at the full slab before you make your choice, and also consider things like your hardware, fixtures and splash choices.

I like the more dramatic marble. Since the soapstone has a bit of pattern to it I like the scale of the second marble more.

I like the busier one, but these are SUCH small samples. If there is one lesson I have learned, and cannot emphasize enough, is that you MUST GO SEE THE SLABS. Really. I know you have seen one of them, although even that marble may be entirely different if you go back to the granite yard and look at another slab of that same marble. You may find a slab of the busier one which isn't so busy over the entire slab, or a slab of the quieter one that may have large veins in it that aren't in the sample. So don't make a choice until you see several slabs of these marbles, and then just choose by which slab you like. BTW, don't forget to bring your cabinet samples and soapstone samples to the granite yard with you.

I am in the softer #1 sample camp based on what you state you are trying to achieve but also have to agree--make sure you see your slab.

OT-are you painting your cabinets yourself? If so, could you let us know the paint color? Thanks--the kitchen sounds like its going to be beautiful!

I vote for #1. More calming. Has a rounded soft feeling versus the sharpness of 2.

I vote for #1 also. #2 would distract from the rest of the kitchen, imo, meaning you notice "it" when you walk in the room and not all the other lovely choices. As you said "overpowering."

Your choices are similar (but different) than mine - I had a very busy granite in our last home and loved it, but in our current kitchen, a busy selection for the island.

Scroll down to French Gray Island Kitchen to see my pictures. You can click on them to enlarge.

Here is a link that might be useful: My kitchen photos

I would probably be inclined to go with the more muted marble since there are already several different elements at play here - the three different woods and the two countertops. I think it ties things together nicely.