I think you have a sealer issue going on... Which would cause anyone to be frustrated. I am hoping our Granite experts chime in to help you. I make my own counter cleaner. 1 part rubbing alcohol and 1 part water. Sometimes I had just one tiny drop of scented oil. Just a tiny little eye dropper of sandlewood or cinnamon. (Cinnamon is perfect for the holidays)This works great for me. I don't use windex. I did not like the way the counter looked after. Perhaps it is because my counter is honed but the windex just felt like a waste of money and energy. Best of luck on this. ~boxerpups

Love it! As many other people have said, the counter tops are great, and I also like the backsplash. It's almost exactly the layout we're going to have, right down to many of the same type of cabinet in the same locations, so I'd like to ask a couple very picky questions: - What're your overall dimensions? What's the length of the counter run with the range? - I see you have the dishwasher on the right of the sink; we were thinking of the left. Any thoughts on this? Would it make any difference? - I see that your peninsula is not extra-deep -- just a standard 24" like the other cabinets? I ask because it seems that most people go deeper ... but then, we're not planning seating on that side of the peninsula. - Upper corner near the range: You have a standard cabinet, which must have a blind spot all the way to the wall, and a pull-out ... we were thinking of an easy-reach L-shaped upper in this corner. Since you're living with it already, what are your thoughts on the two choices? Thanks for any thoughts you may have on the above!

Thank you, everyone, for this post. I read all of it. My kitchen is still in the state of being renovated but mostly finished. I did my homework on granite before I okay'ed it (Joseph..I about fell out of my seat when I read your message about the "man of the house". That has been my issue with my guy giving the ok 😂). Anywho...I'm having both problems here. Parts of my counter are darker where items have been sitting and vice-versa. I didn't take the granite guys word on anything except to seal it monthly (they were the subcontractors for the local kitchen remodel company). The company my guy hired SUCKS!! I've had to fix many F-ups of theirs and F-ups on the granite, too. I went ahead and bought a kit (StonePro) to resurface my granite. This is the second time I'm doing it when I ran across the dark spot. I am thinking it was the original sealant as it is kinda far back and I'm kinda short so I may have not gotten it properly the first time. My random orbital kinda gets "stuck" where the dark place is. I'm going to go over it again and if that doesn't work...I have 20 and 30 vol. developers I'll give a whirl. 🤞

The space past the cooktop peninsula is open hallway allowing for a walking area between the kitchen, entryway, backdoor off the kitchen and dining room on the other side of that hallway. As you stand at the peninsula, you can see the dining room. We were looking at a downdraft ventilation system for the cooktop as I do not like the large vents above the cooktop. I do get what you are saying though with the walkway being in the path of the kitchen triangle. Short of moving the window, is there any other viable place you can think of moving the cooktop to? I think I would be okay with a vent above the cooktop if the cooktop was right against a wall and not in the peninsula. Thank you!