I have large expanses of countertop and all of mine looks the same. I remember the granite guy saying that they had to be careful picking slabs that were very close to looking the same. The slabs vary in look. My cousin has the same granite as mine, but it looks totally different because the quartz pieces are much larger in her slabs. So my guess is that maybe there wasn't enough attention paid to slab choice by the granite shop. It's always a good idea to tell the shop that when the slabs arrive, you want to approve them before they start making the tops, just to be sure the slabs are close matches.

i'm not sure about advertising here. but, i know that people are sometimes looking for custom cabinet sources. is there a link to a website to show a portfolio? for sure we all love looking at inspirational kitchens here.

Anywhere you could create a window? I was in a heavily restored house that had an ornamental plaster and frescoed ceiling that was beyond repair (except with great expense) and they created a small square "window" in the new ceiling that exposed a ornamental corner detail, like a bit of archeology.

Egad, again, I managed to put my foot in my mouth and "annoy" someone.... What I really meant to imply was NOT that GWer's do not have "expensive" kitchens.... What I wanted to convey was that if one is worth hundreds of millions AND has homes that are worth tens of millions, one does not often do one's own shopping.... Peacock kitchens are bought by people that have homes that are worth many or tens of mil. They "hire" the people to execute what they want. Seattle is full of these people (but not even remotely close to the number in NY). There are many companies that cater to these wealthy people. You should be able to find someone that should click with you. Igloochic, If you want to embark on a project that is less hands-on, the most imporant part of the work is to find a designer/architect that you trust. Many of my friends/colleagues builds houses/remodels with architects/designers without being very hands on. They end up with very beautiful kitchens/houses. The way they go about it was to have the architects/designers present them with a "few" options on much of the finish work and they just "picked" from those options; door handles, cabinets, appliances etc. Obviously, if they felt strongly about something, then that stays in the design. Sometimes, they go shopping for what they want with the designers. Often, they don't worry if the project cost them 50k or 100k or 200k more than what they thought that it would cost. They just pay the bill and move on. If you are comfortable with this type of arrangement, then you can build with much less hands-on involvement, leaving you time to get on with life. Money can give you the luxury of time if you don't care whether or not you spent 100k more than you needed/planned or not because having someone take care of the details were worth it to you. The end product can be and often are quite well done, "IF" you pick the right architect/designer. To do this, you have to trust the person you are working with AND let them do the work for you. This is not necessarily something that "control freaks" like me can let happen. As I am getting older and my budget is getting "more" comfortable, I am tyring to figure out a good balance of when to call in the calvary and when to trust my own design sense. There is an amazing designer/artist that works near where I live. His projects are all over US. He has been written up in many art magazines. Rococogurl may find his work intriguing. I WISH I could afford to have his work. But at 20k for a simple couch, mere mortals cannot afford his work. http://domesticarchitecture.com/ I asked one of my friends who spent probably about 2mil for their remodel, if she talked to him. It is the type of architecture that would interest her. She said even she could not afford him. What I am trying to say is that like everything else in life, there are people working at many different price points. Design/architecture is no different. You have to find good people at your own price point. Here are a few other contruction companies in Seattle that do good work. http://www.schuchartdow.com/ http://www.dovetailinc.net/ http://www.loganshammer.com/ Luxe interior magazines for Pacific NW also feature nice homes that are multi mil in price point. They often list architects/construction companies. You can get the magazine at Barns and Noble in Seattle (?Port Towsend). I wish you the best.