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twobelles

Help. Please. So. Tired.

TwoBelles
7 years ago

So, in an effort to spare you all the details, I will summarize my predicament: we are in the process of making significant changes to my kitchen after just recently completing construction. Layout is wonderful for us, but due to cosmic circumstances, we are replacing appliances and countertops.

Today's issue at hand is specific to my countertops. We have a two-level island. After a shocking amount of research, I selected white Caesarstone quartz (Blizzard) for the upper island, which is used for prep and clean up, with two bar height stools at one end. The lower level is Black Galaxy granite and has a run of serving/storage space with seating for four at the opposite end. Here's an early pic taken during construction:


After multiple mishaps and four attempts at installation, we are left with this:

Slabs are different colors on the white end of the island. Obvious solution would be no seam, but the depth of the island is greater than a quartz slab size, so that is not an option.

Following the most recent installation issues, I met with the owner of the company to reach some resolution. He agreed to allow me to choose another material for the island since he could not guarantee that he could prevent the difference in slab coloration. And now I'm back to square one.

So, I'd like to keep the island in two colors, but I can't find anything I like well enough to use in place of the white quartz. Again, quartz is out because of the slab size.

1. I have the option to do Danby marble, which was my other final choice in the beginning, but it does not look good with the existing lower island in black. The slabs I would choose are Eureka leathered. Therefore, I would need to redo the entire island in Danby. AND I would lose the two tone effect.

2. A second option would be to choose a couple of slabs of Calacutta Gold Extra that they have in stock. These slabs look great with the Black Galaxy, but are polished, which would be lots of etching. I could also hone them, but then the top tier of the island would be honed and the bottom would be polished. Thoughts?

I could choose a white granite, but I haven't found anything I like that reads warm white and not grey. And, they are seem too busy for this space. So this option is pretty much out. And although I like soapstone, the slabs are also not big enough. So....I'm probably down to option #1 or #2. However, I am returning to the slab yard on Monday and want to know if I should be considering anything else.

If anyone is still reading this far, thank you. Really. My brain is tired and I'm a little beat down that we're back to a decision I thought I had made so long ago.


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