I have Carrera in my upstairs bath. It is breathtakingly beautiful and so soft looking. It makes me sigh when I look at it as it just surprises me how beautiful it is. However, I must say that I do worry about it. I am not one of the easy going types who could live with etching. The reason is because it is just so beautiful it would be like the young Brad Pitt with acne. It would be a shame, a tragedy!!! I know I could never live with that in the kitchen. As much as I drool over it I would have a cow if it didn't always look as it did on day one. Call me shallow, superficial, I don't care! It's too expensive to think of it not holding up to the look it had on the first day. I have been looking at some of the white granites and find they vary so much. I love some of the Bianco Romano slabs but others are just plain and unexciting and so nothing for me. If you could find the right slabs it would be a contender. I don't mind the yellow in them, it's the ones that don't have any veins or character and are just speckles that I don't like. I am having to replace my kitchen granite since we had a sink failure and also the granite I have is all pitted and chunks of quartz or mica whatever are falling out. The guy who sold it to me is out of business and the fabricator who agrees it has "issues" and probably was not resined and has too many cracks and pits has offered to give me a great deal on replacement which turns out not to be so great, it's still in the $4K range, but it would be closer to 6K if full price. I'm sick about it. But that is why I am still in the market for granite. For some reason I have had such bad luck with everything we have done in our reno. I am not happy with any of it. I should have used a KD and not tried to do this on my own. But back to slabs, it's hard to not love the quartzite and marble but I just know I couldn't live with it and not obsess. I admire those of you who can!

Yes, we have the upgraded sealer but it was free with a promotion. I bought a cleaner that says it's a cleaner sealer so I use that to clean it with and so far so good. I've had spaghetti sauce, coffee, all sorts of stuff and so far no stains. I was thinking maybe you could get them to throw in that sealer for you. I don't know if this is true for your fabricator or not but they usually put some kind of sealer on and then want extra for the lifetime or in our case it was called a 15 year sealer. It's a money making thing for them. You could do it yourself for less. The sealers are available online. I don't think I would let that deter you too much but that is only in my opinion!!! I have Carrera in an upstairs bath and that is the one that is really worrying me! It's so pretty right now and I didn't put the upgraded sealer on it and have yet to do the sealer myself. It was helpful to read on GW that the sealer did not change the color and that was what I was afraid of. Good luck with your decision!! It's hard...

Here are some images maybe they can help you on your search for ideas. KK1 Google images Gages Granite Countertops Stone Backsplash Harrison Loft Penthouse Home and Garden Webshots http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2826362530087622519TGEryT?vhost=home-and-garden Kitchen lab Chicago Bianco Romano New Venetian gold similar in colors to what you are looking for.

I am not an aqua or light green type person. I am into earth tones. The kitchen was pale yellow, it reminded me of a baby's room and my bedroom was light green. Just not me. The basement bathroom was bright blue - gone. Basement bedroom was orange - gone. Spare bedroom spruce green - gone. I like my color in my accents, not on my walls. I may be boring, but I like browns, greys, sage, creams, burgundy. Pastels are not my thing and brights don't suite me either. I want calm and relaxing when I get home. I'll change up my pillow, throws, light shades etc. But I am so sick of light oak I cannot even tell you! They are dull and are a bit worn. If I don't paint or restain them, they will need to have the doors and drawers refinished. My last home had oak floors and cabinets. Painting the kitchen....the wall that the columns are on lead to the dining room. Don't you think it would look odd to have that one wall a different color than the rest? I am concerned about painting the cabinets and having to touch them up, but I don't think I like them with the color of the counter. And I have already bought my slab. So I a committed at this point. I can't wait to get rid of my country backsplash! It is the ugliest thing! Can you see the random houses set in the tile? I have been waiting to tear that out since I moved in 4 years ago!!