In my search for AB leathered granite, I encountered a variety of options ranging very dark, very textured to grey-ish with tiny texture marks - maybe more like a brushed finish. Some of these showed oily prints if not sealed. Finally found a lovely slab of Milky Way leathered granite that is the perfect deep black with great texture, with a bit of sheen that does not show prints. This was a search that I thought would be easy but proved to be a bit trickier. Good luck - it can be a beautiful material! (Mine will be installed in few weeks so I don't have good input about use yet).

I have honed dark granite right now and it stains like crazy esp anything remotely oily. Tried everything to seal it and nothing worked. It was in the house when we bought it and we are now remodeling the kitchen and it it will be gone. Replacing with polished Sea Pearl quartzite if the quote is right (fingers crossed). It's been a process because this kitchen has extremely high end (previous owner installed) cabinets with a high gloss finish in teal blue - gorgeous but challenging and way to expensive to replace. Very sleek and modern. Thanks to the oven forum we chose the Miele Master Chef oven (wanted that rotisserie) and warming drawer and after reading on the Refrigerator Forum we chose the Thermador Freedom Towers for the fridge and freezer. LOL we inquired about getting panels for them to match the cabinets and yikes, the cost was more than the appliances cost. So stainless fronts it is. Everyone here is so helpful - certainly appreciate this site and the forums.

Hello Kwscook, As much as I love the look of the quartz textured surfaces...It has some considerations. This is the deal...With textured surfaces on quartz products, the slabs come with the texturing to the fabricator, meaning the edge treatment (ogee, pencil round etc..) is very difficult or impossible to reflect the pattern on the flat quartz surface. Recommend granite with a leathered finish... Or just be ready for the edge not to look exactly like the flat surface... If you live near a Cosentino showroom (Silestone Importer) you can view these slabs yourself! Good Luck Linda Berg Here is a link that might be useful: acwkitchens.com

I am new to this forum. We're in the final stages of building a new house (only wish I knew about you guys sooner!) and I love seeing all of your awesome work! We put in espresso stained rift oak slab front cabinets (not too far off of celticmoon's awesome refinishing of her 20 year old oak cabinets!). Our paint we chose is BM Timothy Straw (2149-40) which is a goldish-lime green color. It is bright, but not too bright for our taste. I think we'll love it in our Seattle November weather! We also chose it (over 15 other test paints ranging from tan to gold to sage and even some blues) because it goes really well with the yellow-orange tones of the VG fir woodwork and Red Birch floors in the attached great room. I am SO happy every time I see it!!! Our backsplash will be a blend of 2x12 glass sticks, laid horizontally in a random brick/stick pattern, from Statements Flow Glass line (link below). It's mostly a blend of Glacier, Pepper and Ivory with 5% Mint and Chocolate added for little pops of color. Countertops are my next decision...I know I want light, but am not sure if I'll go for natural stone or quartz yet. I lost my camera battery charger this weekend, but will take some pics of the house once I have my new one and am charged up! :) Deb in Seattle Here is a link that might be useful: Statements Flow Glass line