See here's the deal as I see it: Everything they wrote in true. Stone is natural. It has fissures...inclusions...it comes in varying thicknesses. Those things in and of themselves are not flaws in natural stone... ...until that stone is made into a countertop. Then they become flaws. Inclusions and fissures weaken slabs. That's why you see quite a few "flawed" slabs being resined. Granites are usually filled with epoxy resins, marbles with polyesters. The resin fills the fissures, can fill the inclusions, and the process turns a flawed weak slab into a less porous, stronger material. I think I'm getting off track though, so back to your clause. The part that really irks me is "...pieces may not match seam to seam due to movement of color and thickness of material. Also that material thickness can vary up to 1/4"." If they put a period after "...due to movement of color" and left it at that I'd still be suspect, but I'd be okay with it. Sort of. Pieces may not match seam-to-seam due to movement...yeah, I can see that a little. But you'll have that a bit under control by seeing the slabs yourself. Pieces may not match seam-to-seam due to thickness...followed by: Material thickness can vary by up to 1/4 inch...they are essentially asking you to approve an installation that could possibly have a 1/4" height differential. I have to say that marble, I really don't think it difficult to work with. While I've sized slabs and done simple edging on marble slabs, I've never had a problem working or installing the material. And I've done master baths in near 100% marble. If you want marble, go with marble. Make them install what you want. The fact that they tanked your first install seems more due to careless worksmanship than due to flawed material. If you were willing to go to the added expense of having someone repair your flawed deck, consider having the company you're now involved with provide you with replacement slabs of marble, but you hire a new fabricator to do the new fabrication and installation.

I didn't find your post over on the decorating side, so I will post my response here: Improve your lighting!!! Ceiling fan lighting is the pits. You need lighting from a variety of sources throughout the room - table lamps, a torchiere, some accent lights, maybe a light over a painting, track lighting, pot lights, whatever you can afford. Do this before making any further decisions on paint: go to Target and buy something like this set of 4 lamps for $65. Put the highest wattage in each lamp that the lamp can take. Personally, I like the set of three brushed nickel lamps for $99, but I don't know what would fit your room or pocketbook better. http://www.target.com/Brushed-Nickel-Lamp-3-pc-Set/dp/B001870XDI/ref=sc_ri_1 Here is a link that might be useful: Target lamps

Have you decided on your counter material? Think about how your faucet will look against it. I don't generally like dark finish faucets (exceptions to everything, but generally), so my tendency would be towards any silver tone for the faucet. Nickel would be warmer and more consistent with your light fixtures, and that would probably be the way most folks would go. If you like chrome or have a reason to feel it is better with your counter and splash it will be right next to, or even if you don't see enough difference to pay extra for (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot), you don't have to use nickel. Most people would, but like I said -- I wanted chrome against my marble and white tile. Chrome was better than the warmer nickel for me. I like the style of the pulls and think you did a good job on that. I honestly don't know what finish I would pick. My first thought would be a silver tone and probably a brushed finish, but I might develop an itch if I felt things were getting too matchy. But I worry about getting the dalmatian look if I go to dark against white cabinets. So I might do the polished. Or look into the idea of an aged brass or warmer tone (mentioned above and a finish family that is coming back) and tie in with the contrasting details on your fixtures. Or play with the idea of using brass screws on the pulls -- might not get too spotty if you have knobs above on everything at eye level. You'll figure it out.

Lovely! I like the classic white tile and porcelain and how you used furniture pieces in the bathroom. I love that the storage at the end of the tub has pull-outs that can be reached from the toilet. Your custom sink and backsplash and counter are unique and beautiful. Yours may be the first bathroom sink I have seen in which a small or medium dog could be washed! That is a good thing! I showed your pictures to my DH because I am thinking of classic tiled walls with a chair rail for when we redo our bath in a couple of years. He liked it! I was expecting him to say, "too old fashioned." He did not, he said it looked nice. From him, nice is a compliment. He even liked your rows of listello. I was just at the Tile Shop's site the other day looking at the Hampton tiles because someone was selling some on Craigslist. I am hoping to do as you did and get what I can cheaper there, and fill in the rest from the store. I can see that you worked very hard to secure all of your materials - and then cut the floor tiles to size and culled the Hampton tiles, too! You succeeded very well in getting the look you wanted while saving money along the way. Congratulations, and thank you for the pictures and great detail and supply list.