Hi @Tracy I used Sherwin Williams Pure White for my cabinets, and also used it on all of our trim, doors, and ceiling. The name 'pure white' is deceiving as the color is more of a soft/warm white versus a stark bright white, but it doesn't have a yellow tinge to it ... hopefully that makes sense? I must have watched a gazilion youtube vides comparing different tones of white before landing on 'pure white'! We used knotty alder wood for our stained lower cabinets. I LOVE white oak, but it was not in our budget as we also remodeled our primary bathroom, fireplace and outdoor area (I've attached a pic of our bathroom below - same color palette as the kitchen with agreeable grey on the wall and pure white for the trim and same stain as our kitchen cabinets). I showed our painter a sample of the post oak flooring and had him make up a few custom stain samples that would compliment it. We wanted to go with a more natural look, he ended up only adding a few drops of brown and white into a clear coat to land on the stain that we have. I wonder if you can ask your painter to try and do the same or go into a Sherwin Williams and see what they suggest. I wish it was a straight up answer for you ... unfortunately I don't know what color of brown or white he added to the clear coat or exactly how much of it. I hope this helps! There are so many stressful decisions.

Part of the problem with rinsing is that it takes away the food that the enzymes work on, so your dw detergent won't work as well. It's a different kind of detergent than years ago. But I still wouldn't know how to have a dw NOT near the sink. After all, the sink is a good catch area, and I like to be able to wash my hands periodically as I scrape or deal with drippy things. You are going to run into issues with things washed and stored at such great distances. But 2 dishwashers in different areas create different problems... I can pretty much guarantee that things will end up in the 'wrong' dishwasher, at least occasionally, because of trying to load both efficiently. --If you have one that's full but still have dirty dishes sitting in that area, and the other dw is only partly full, you're probably going to want to run the dishes over to the other one in order to get both in operation and get everything cleaned up. Or you have all big things in one area, and all small in another, and to load a dw to capacity, you do best with a mix of both... So some things go from point A to point B, and vice versa. ---Then, you want a utensil or a bowl, and where is it? You first check the storage spot and then you search both dishwashers. If they are next to each other, it's no big deal. If one is around the island and into the other little room, it's a pain. Been there, done it, and won't again. But again, I would allow in your particular case, that you might manage to fill a dishwasher with your baking items and might benefit from a dw in there... and could do it if you were strict with yourself about keeping the utensils and pans in that area and in that dishwasher. It MIGHT work. However, I'm pretty convinced you need a full dw or 2 dw drawers in the cleanup area to handle dishes and the cooking utensils from the stove. But I'm a little confused. Now are you considering leaving the counters at 35"? I don't think it'll be a huge deal with the range. Show us your plan again, so we can see your window issue.

I have white carrara marble dining table. High polish. When it came from the dealer it stained and etched. Small stains could be reduced at home by using rotary tool with jewelry paste to polish those off. I used Mellerud made in Germany. I cleaned top with warm water and dishwashing liquid. Polished off all small water stains and then sealed with this liquid several times. I use just a regular clean sponge and cover surface with Mellerud spread it around evenly let it soak and then apply more to remove the surface remains or move them around to create even coverage. Every time you add more liquid it will reactivate and move the excess liquid that has dried on top that will allow you to remove the unneeded excess of sealant. I repeated this about 4 times. Let it dry overnight and then repeated the same process in a few days. After about 7-8 coats the table become unstainable. Water just wipes off without leaving marks , same with oils or wine. Of course you don't let any spills sit on the surface for hours but 10-15 minutes of exposure will not harm my marble top anymore. I am sure I would have to repeat the sealing in a few years , but so far it has been liquid-proof. Do not ever assume that the marble you get from the store comes properly sealed- lesson I have learned the hard way. BTW, this sealant does not affect the color of my top at all, I have not noticed any shade or haze of different color.

I contacted the Marble Institute of America (I think--it's been awhile), about oiling honed black marble to enhance the color, rather than using a color enhancer or an impregnator (sealer). Someone emailed me that either would work, but to use mineral oil--not vegetable oil--to avoid the rancidity issues. I experimented on pieces of marble, but the oil seemed to evaporate very quickly, so I eventually used the impregnator on the black marble, and I am happy with the darker color. I use a marble polish containing silicone/dimethicone on the black marble when I want it to look especially smooth, silky, and pretty for company. My carrara marble is honed, hand-polished, and not sealed. I often roll pie crust, biscuit dough, puff pastry, etc. on one end, and have not noticed that it looks saturated. I've even kneaded bread dough by oiling the counter first. My carrara has a lot of gray in it, but the white area on that end is just as white as the rest of the top.