Wow, someone on GW NEEDS that! I've never heard of that brand. But, I had never heard of LaCanche until I stumbled upon GW, which is responsible for me buying it sight unseen, and an unREAL amount of things that I learned HAD to be incorporated in a kitchen remodel. DH loves all the information accrued, but could strangle me for insisting on things unplanned for and not thought of, thus the 10' trench in my kitchen slab as we speak. ALAs.....

I have found it difficult to compare brands and prices. Some companies do not have very detailed construction info on their websites. Also, cabinet shops are slow to get you a price and its a very time consuming process. I also have found that your decision regarding cabinet door style, glazed or unglazed, maple vs. cherry, etc. have a large impact on the price. I learned corbels can be $500 each (my designer had 6 in my plan). You need to watch what is on the design because the KD's won't give you a detailed list of what's included or how much each individual component costs. When comparing prices, be sure to include the accessories you want and the delivery charges so you can compare a bottom line price. If I was to start over, I would hire a KD to draw a good plan - or do it myself with input from GW- and shop that exact layout to various shops. Otherwise, you spend time at each shop going over layout details and small variations make it difficult to compare apples to apples. My best bang for the buck price was Jim Bishop cabinets. Also, there have been several recent threads about cabinet brands. See: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0912254112656.html?13 and http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0915500123556.html?18 and http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg091333033070.html?25

I think Caesarstone charcoal looks a lot like Silestone's Ebony Pearl. Black countertops are difficult. I know that I really want black also but I know it will show dust & dirt...I'm torn b/w the look of black and the look of black w/dust & fingerprints! :-) Have you looked at Stellar Night? We were considering this when we were planning on quartz. It has some speckles in it so it may hide the dust, but I don't know about fingerprints--it might though since it's not black-black like Absolute Black granite or Black Anubis Silestone. I don't know what Stellar Night would like in the "leather" finish, but it might work out fine...

. Joseph Corlett, LLC, I wish I read your post sooner, but I read your post too late. I've been so busy with the reno I didn't see you comment until 'after' we put HALF $$ DOWN on a countertop, we didn't know any better.... it is with a fabricator we found who was recommended by 3 people we know, but this fabricator has several bad reviews online so I guess as it turns out we did sort of go with "the best of the worst" as you said. As I write this our quartz is coming in to their shop tomorrow so they say, and then will be fabricated & installed in our kitchen soon. I am nervous because the fabricator had initially suggested & wrote down on our contract an edge profile which I didn't want. I thought about it after ward because it didn't seem quite right when I looked at the example he pointed out which he had insisted was the most modern one, and we went back there and caught the problem before they fabricated thankfully. Turns out I had wanted a 'Polished edge' and the fabricator wrote down and told me 'eased edge' was most modern, even after I told him I wanted the most modern edge available, which to me means a 'polished edge' which is the most square. The one he pointed out & told me was the "Most modern edge available" was eased. So now we have changed the order to 'Polished edge'. This same fabricator also has fabricated two marble floor transitions for our kitchen doorways and they have been delivered to us already, & right after the men left I noticed that the two transitions are not the same length in relation to how they fit into each doorway, so we are going back there to try to get that issue resolved. Unfortunately I already had to sign for the transitions when they delivered them & didn't catch the issue until after they left. My fear is if they possibly didn't get the simple little floor transitions right, what will they do to my countertops when they fabricate them??? Reno is a nerve wracking experience..... Keep your fingers crossed for me that my countertops come out correctly please! --Thanks!