When we went looking for countertop material, we saw a display counter in one of the showrooms of seafoam green and really loved it. Unfortunately, their available slabs were a more yellowish/grayish faded sort of color. Not what we wanted. We searched about 6 other stoneyards and did not like any of the material we saw, so we started looking for alternates. We had decided that we wanted to go with a green material if we could find one we liked. We found some lovely slabs of seafoam at the last place we looked. What almost all of the suppliers told us was that the seafoam green material now coming out of the quarry is not as good as it used to be. Other materials we looked at were tropical green, rainforest green, minsk green, costa esmerelda, neptune bordeaux (sort of grayish/blue/greenish). The pictures I found of the Iron green look interesting. You told us what your cabinets and floors are like, but not the style of the cabinets and what type of feel you want your kitchen to have: traditional, modern, cozy, etc? That would help the people here give you suggestions. Pictures of the space would help too. For the perimiter countertops, you could pick a countertop in a quartz or other material that is light or picks up one of the colors in your island stone. The type of backsplash will really depend on the style of kitchen you want to have. Good luck with your kitchen project.

We did concrete for our kitchen and large island. We poured in place. Ours we left rustic because it fit our style but concrete can be finished in many different looks. The edge forms we used were the square edge but there were other options available. I love ours. We just got our CO today so haven't "used" them yet but they sealed very nicely and any liquid just beads up.

I would strongly recommend AGAINST buying ANY CounterBalance product... they will completely hose the homeowner / DYI consumer. Just compare the price for the brackets between http://counterbalanceshop.com and http://www.chemical-concepts.com/counterbalance.php The same product will cost you $114 at the first site and $81 at the second. Really??? THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME VENDOR. I tried to place an order based upon the info on the Chemical site (didn't even know about the counterbalance site) and they wouldn't honor the price posted. Don't do business with this vendor who isn't interested in doing business with you. Vendor's words: "I could care less about" selling to consumers. STAY AWAY !!! Find a local machine shop who is interested in doing business at a fair price/profit. The product is a VERY simple job for any machine shop to produce. Chemical concepts doesn't even make the product -- they sell glue. For the person who wanted to know where they could get metal support bars, here is an option: http://metalworking.mscdirect.com/CGI/MWSRCH?N=32003649 I don't have any experience with them, so I don't know if their prices/policies are good or bad. I just found them from doing a bit of searching.

I, too, am pondering the same! Soapstone and marble are on my wish list. We have maple cabinets with a cherry stain, & I wonder if the soapstone would be too dark on the perimeter, yet that is where it would work best functionally, i.e., wouldn't have to worry about staining, can put hot items directly on counter, etc. Yet would it be too dark? Perhaps a lot of under cabinet lighting would help, along with a light backsplash. A designer friend told me soapstone is too dark for my space; would work fine if I had white cabinets (which I can't justify since our current ones are in great shape). Yet I still pine for soapstone; I want to find a place for it (right now I have a soapstone spoon rest :). The soapstone on just the island could work, then marble or quartzite on the perimeter. I just don't know, and today I have soapstone samples on the counters trying to imagine it. I may look for a dark sheet or tablecloth to put on the counters to try and get a better feel for the look. I love the brown marbles, but I've read that etching is more noticeable with darker marbles, so something to consider. For now, I am hunting for a remnant to put on the small island; then I could figure out the perimeters later. Not ideal, but that would be a good "test" for us on the marble/soapstone. If it didn't work, we would repurpose it for vanity counters. With white cabinets, you have more options. I will be following this thread with much interest! Good luck! wags