That's a beautiful stone, and your cabs are equally as visually pleasing. I think they'll make a nice pairing. As to the cost, it's really your decision. I can say that I overspent in my kitchen for my neighborhood for both appliances and counters. I live in modest neighborhood where most kitchens are still the original late 60's-early 70's, with some having gotten new laminate or painted their dark cabs lighter over the years. This is my forever house. I cook every meal, every day. I really enjoy cooking, baking, and experimenting with new foods. For me, all of that added up to buying the best cooking equipment (appliances) I could afford with the features I want for better function. For form, I opted for expensive Carrara counters. They are stunning, IMHO. Everyday I love to stare and them and run my hands over them. Breaking the cost down over 30+ years makes it totally worth it to me. I'd do exactly the same thing again if given the chance. HTH!

This is my bid for a 3 feet by 6 feet walnut edge grain butcher block: $595.35 The edges will be simple eased edges. I believe this quote is for 1 3/4 inch thick. 2" thick is proportionally more. Truck shipping to from Ohio to NJ will cost $159.00 for a total $754.35. The wood top will arrive unfinished. I will have to do a light finish sanding with a 220 or 320 grit sandpaper and then oil or polyurethane all surfaces. That works out to about 33 dollars a square foot. I haven't asked for a price quote from Grothouse yet. But I plan to. I suspect that the price goes up significantly if there is a detailed ogee edge treatment and if it comes prefinished. The Grothous finish is supposed to be excellent. But now that I've seen the informative youtube video posted on GW I don't think I mind finishing the wood myself.

macfrodge- long, low window backsplash - that sounds amazing! Don't suppose you have any pictures to share? And a Karbon too - I have a feeling I'm going to love your kitchen. Just had a friend over tonight about to buy a Karbon, they were test driving mine. Apparently Preston Hardware carries them now - no one had them in Ottawa last fall when I was buying, I had to rely on the recommendations of the garden web folks. They didn't steer me wrong. Do you love yours? Re: the bianca, you sound very patience, a virtue I'm sadly not known for - but I'm sure your MDF is spectacular in the meantime. Have you considered marble? rococo - I've always loved catmom's kitchen and been tempted by her backsplash. My fear of a "too sleek" kitchen is probably silly. I'll get some samples. Glad to hear that you're a backsplash junkie - I'll call on your help! I'll probably re-post next week with my updated mostly finished (save backsplash and island) kitchen and see what people think. Thanks again. firsthouse - still no decision - so embarrassing! I wanted to live with nothing for a few months and see how I felt about the space. I think I need more than nothing, but probably not the fabulous patterned tiles I was originally considering. Summer has me spending more time in the garden than the kitchen, but I really want to figure out the backsplash over the next month or so. Fingers crossed.

Dani Shugart Spending money on foundations rather than cosmetic updates -- I've been there. I've lived in my house for nearly 5 years and still haven't updated the kitchen like we were so sure we would. And at this point, we might move in a few years so it might not be worth it. Funny thing, that kitchen has really grown on me as-is. If you think you might not get a good ROI with 8K countertops, then honestly, it looks fantastic right now. You did a terrific job, enjoy it!