wilson853, the delay was mainly because I wanted to wait until my husband was in town and could supervise. We didn't discover it until later, but they didn't leave a big enough gap for the stove, and they put silicone between one of the doors and the counter so the door wouldn't open. This time they sent different subcontractors and I was much happier.

Green tile. Excellent. Putting a seam there is normal but putting the faucet where you didn't want it might not be. If you have it written into you contract that it goes somewhere else, and you care, you should have it redone with the faucet where you contracted. (If it wasn't written down anywhere "official", you might be stuck.) Again, great tile. Nobody's gonna be looking at your counters. :)

Skip the mixed high and low matetials. It never looks right. Get plain jane DIY laminate blanks, off the shelf from the box store, not special order high def. You could by a cheap granite for what it costs. Skip the farm sink and go for a large single basin sink with a wide rim that can be dual mounted as a top mount now, or under mounted later after you save enough to afford 12K of counters.

"Joseph, from what i have gathered different companies have a differing amount of quartz to resin impacting the look and durability. but does that really make one better over the other and justify such a price difference?" They tinker with their formulas, but it's essentially the same thing, however, Cambria does not tinker with its prices. They have seen that there is no business to be had competing against Vietnam and China on price and they aren't going to play their game. Cambria is successfully building a brand. They've got very good service, stay on top of quality control, and lead the industry with designs and colors. If that's worth something to you, pay up. As a businessperson, I admire this strategy.