Sidney, you did a fantastic job with your kitchen! We have a lot of similarities, the top of my hutch is like the top of your cabs over your range. My floors are on the red side, but do show up brown on the monitor. Right now I have braided rugs in front of the stove and sink which makes the floor look a lot better and not as busy. Here's what I have to keep on my countertops and I'll give the color of each item. Coffee pot - white Compost jar - Red Paper towel holder - Red....BUT...is there a better place to put it? We have the compost jar to the left of the sink for easy access. To the right of the sink I have a smallish cream wire basket wich holds Dawn, hand soap, lotion. I don't want to have to keep bending over getting those things out from under the sink. lol The do look good in their grouping. Graniteware Pitcher - Red. I use that thing several times a day. So that's five things that must stay. Oh, on the far right side of the counter is where I keep milkbones. I have a cabinet under the area for dog food, but I get tired of bending over a couple of times a day to pass out their treats. I keep putting them up, then I just leave the box on the counter. Lazy, I know. What is everyone else's must-haves for your countertops?

seams are indeed normal unless it is a mega bucks house however you want to see some of the work the fabicator has done..there are seams you can hardly see and then ones that look like they were done by an apprentic..........under counter mounted sinks are the thing to do...... just be sure that the large sink will hold your largest pans or cookie sheets or you will find yourself with water all over or soaking things in the bathtub or outdoor sink..otherwise you go to a farmhouse look that drops into the counter and projects out in front.there are alot of really nice ones.......other choices are small prep sinks and the large one.that of course depends on the space you have to work with....most important light is the undercounter.... over heads and you are always working in your shadow.... good luck

Mechanical support with sink support brackets, or some other custom metal support underneath, screwed into the wood sides, and not screwed into the countertop material anywhere. Then, the counter is not affected ever by any future adjustments happening underneath it. 2cm quartz doesn't need plywood underlay. You prefer flexibility and would like a sink installation that could be removed "without destroying the counter" and I guess that means also without cutting into the wood sides at all, not even to make room for a sink that might need a bit of shaving the wood down. Then, 28" width will be just right, and at that size, installing brackets only onto the sides will be a small challenge for whoeever does it. It IS a big sink already at 28", so you won't gain much by looking for a special sink one inch wider, and not at that price level. A wider sink would require the lip on one side to rest on a cabinet side, and then you have a small challenge putting spacers onto the other cabinet sides to match and raising your counter slightly. Not a lot gained.

FAUCET: Kohler K-596-VS Simplice single-hole pull-down kitchen faucet, with handle swung to front rather than on the right side, Vibrant Stainless finish. I did not use the supplied escutcheon, as this was optional. SINK: Blanco Silgranit Vision2U in truffle color. GRANITE: White Rose. BACKSPLASH: Hakatai Ice Iridescent. CABINETS: Maple, plywood construction. Unknown Chinese manufacture. PAINT: SICO Sketch Paper in Pearl finish - 6206-21 BUDGET: 18K, and I installed the backsplash myself to save $800. Edge of backsplash (I'm pointing it out because I did something a little different!). I build the edge up to the ceiling line.