hi needsometips - The golden beaches is beautiful and I can't imagine tiring of looking at that each day. Whoever put those cabinet doors next to the granite will have a nice combo. It would be helpful to see YOUR doors next to it. (will you have two different finishes on your cabinets?) I know what you're going through. We started with quartz and several months later switched to granite because we saw the granite in a mock kitchen and kept wishing we had picked that. A month or two after we picked it, I started worrying that it would have a pinkish hue to it and started to entertain thoughts of changing it. I was still holding my breath on how it would look up until the moment they put the first piece on top of the cabinets. Whew - I was relieved to see it was beautiful - no pink hue. Not once since the granite was installed did I wish we had gone with the quartz. So, at some point you have to trust your decision - especially if both of you agreed on the granite choice. And, there is no limit on your "free passes" to change your mind. This is your project and you should be able to change your mind until you're satisfied. However,keep in mind that sometimes changing your mind late in the game will cost you more. My experience has been that the contractors and other businesses had no problems with a change when it involved an upgrade from the previous choice. (Ouchh - the wallet takes another hit!)

I don't know how people deal with five to six month winters. Having a garden room attached to the house would be a necessity for me, to keep from going nuts. I wish I knew where I saw the pictures of a working greenhouse in really frigid climates, growing veggies like zuccini in the winter, and tomatos as well, and only a step through a doorway to reach it. They built a good foundation, of course, and oriented it properly to keep it from baking in the warmer weather, brief though it might be. I'm still a big fan of heavy duty shade cloth, much more useful in south Alabama than it would be up north. I'm once again thinking about shading my poor blueberry plants from the searing heat of this drought. The picture you show of the sunroom and the wrought iron lace chair and table remind me of old southern style. I found such a table and chairs at a salvage yard, and for now it is up in Massachusetts waiting to move south later this year. Let me see if I can find a picture of it for you. Your picture of the Sarah Richardson style kitchen is always an inspiration. For my kitchen, I've copied the way she has cabs built above the French door fridge, but not full height cabs on either side. Just low ones. I want windows on either side if at all possible. But we'll see how much storage space we have. About looking skinny, my MoccasinLanding kitchen was 11 x 17. I kept it from looking skinny by eliminating wall cabs on the long dimension, and having wall cabs on the narrow ends. I had a rolling small m/wave cart as an island with a pot rack overit, on a pulley to raise out of the way as needed, and I put a short bar in an L-shape near the cook top, enough room for 2 stools, the bar was regular counter height not the 42" height, and had no backsplash at all. I also installed on the long walls open shelving which let me store things there, but did not close in the walls as solid wall cabs would do. Those photos from 2003-4 are on another computer I believe, unless I run across the CD I transferred them to. That was the biggest kitchen I ever had, and it had its problems but I liked it.

I think the seam matching is really good. The slabs are beautiful and you make an excellent choice. Crema Bordeaux is a beautiful granite and is one of our top choices. I prefer the way you have it laid out rather than the more busy upper section. What color cabinets is this stone going on and what backsplash will you use?

I use American Express for all major purchases because they are so good at resolving disputes in favor of the consumer. If you really want to try to get out of the contract, then you should write a nice but firm letter to the company today. Do it today, because some states allow you to rescind a home improvement related contract within a certain time period (it could be 72 hours or less, if your state has such a law). Send it via both fax and certified mail so you have proof of how soon after you ordered the product you canceled it. (The fax guarantees they receive it today, but the formality of certified mail sometimes carries more weight.) I would use language like the following: "Dear _______: As you know from our conversation in your store this morning, I am very concerned that the Kashmir White granite I ordered from your company will be too susceptible to staining to use as kitchen counters. I appreciate that you gave me a sample of sealed Kashmir White to take home to test. I took the sample home and promptly tested it with food samples. Unfortunately, certain food products stained the sample easily; therefore, the product is not suitable for my stated intended use as kitchen counters. As I told you this morning, I would like to cancel the contract for Kashmir White counters and request that you reverse the charge for my $________ deposit. Because I am canceling within 48 hours [change time period if necessary] and before any templating or other work has been performed, I believe you should return my entire deposit." If you have to dispute the charge with Mastercard, the letter and proof of when it was mailed and faxed may help your case. The letter establishes that you promptly notified the merchant that the product would not be suitable for your intended use before the merchant did any work, and you had the slab on reserve for a very short period of time, so the merchant is not harmed by your cancellation. There is no guarantee this will work, but it is what I would do. Good luck.