I have spent the last 5 hours going through an enormous pile of British shelter magazines for my clipping files. Of course, that meant totally re-reading them once more! I was struck at how often slate was used for kitchen countertops. I just Googled slate and liked what I saw! <http://www.countertopguides.com/guides/pros-and-cons-of-slate-countertops.html> I have no idea where they are price-wise, but if I wanted a dark countertop in a honed finish, this would be my choice.

I installed a Delta widespread lav faucet in the 1980s. With a few repairs, it still works fine. However, I think all the single-handle Deltas I've worked with since have been lemons. One started leaking from the spout within a year after installation. Rebuilds last less than a year, too. Maybe it's the hard water around here. I'd switch to Moen, but their single-handle faucets don't open and close smoothly for me. That lever-lifting-a-cylinder design sticks every time. It runs against my grain and my better judgment, but I'm starting to think that the easiest answer is to buy the cheap and cheerful Chinese house-brand faucets in the big box stores, and not bother to fix them when they start leaking -- just junk them and replace with new cheapies.

Fenix laminate. I have samples, and absolutely love them. This stuff does NOT show fingerprints. I couldn't get fingerprints to show, even when I tried. When I finally poured oil over my finger tips and rubbed it on the surface, the oil just ran off when I held the sample under the running water. No soap needed. It was really odd! In comparison, I had to wash my hands for quite a long time and reach repeatedly for more soap to get the the stickyness off the fingers. And the surface looks absolutely gorgeous, and somehow feels soft to the touch. Unique! To get a really good looking kitchen, you will have to find a professional who knows how to apply laminate the European way, no visible edges etc. That's going to be difficult, and I'd think will be very expensive. Go look at laminate fronts at a European cabinetry showroom. The doors look totally different than anything US made, I've ever seen. I belief they miter the laminate edges for smooth invisible corner joints. Rehau carries it in the US. https://www.rehau.com/us-en/furniture/surfaces/matte/about?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkoeOrKmE4gIVxbrACh34XQAcEAAYASAAEgKDA_D_BwE Good luck with your project.

There are four basic types of faucet finish: Physical Vapor Deposition Electroplating Powder Coating, and Lacquered, in the order of their durability. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) is almost science fiction. Load a chamber with unfinished faucets, then remove all the air and add back a carefully calculated mix of nitrogen and reactive gases. Add a chunk of the metal to be used for the coating, usually in the form of a rod. Heat that rod to a temperature so high that the rod dissolves into individual atoms. The atoms mix with the various reactive gases to get the color and finish effects you want and are then deposited in a very thin layer — 2 to 5 microns (.00008-.0002") — on the faucets. Although very thin, it is a very hard finish, by some estimates 10-20 times more resistant to scratches than the old standard: electroplated chrome. Electroplating or electro-chemical deposition is the old standard. This involves immersing the faucet and the metal to be used as plating in an acid bath, then applying an electrical charge to both objects so metallic ions are drawn from the plating metal to the faucet. If the faucet is left in the solution longer or electroplated several times, the plating is thicker. For thin plating, the immersion lasts just a few minutes. Thick plating takes longer, up to several hours and may be repeated several times. It is a durable finish lasting for decades with reasonable care, but it is not as scratch- or mar-resistant as PVD. Vola KV-1 pull-out kitchen faucet in a rainbow of powder-coated colors. Lacquer and Powder Coating are considered a semi-durable finishes, about the same durability as the finish on your car.The difference between the two is that powder coatings are applied dry,then baked to melt and harden. Lacquer is applied wet just like paint. Faucets can be finished in most colors of the rainbow using paint and powder coatings. Paint and powder coatings do not bond to the underlying metal at the molecular level like the metallic finishes. They can be scratched and marred with relative ease, and require more care and maintenance than metallic finishes. Unless you disclose when you bought the faucet and the model number, it is not possible to figure out what type of finish was used on your faucet. Safe to say it is probably not PVD, but it could be electroplated or powder coating, If a soft metal was used to electroplate the faucet, it could wear off over time. If you bought the faucet on or after April 1, 2013 you have a lifetime warranty on the finish and Vigo should replace the faucet provided the finish is not a "living finish" which is intended to wear over time, the wear is not due to "ordinary wear and tear", and the wear was not caused by overzealous cleaning. Contact Vigo customer support at 866 591 7792. You will need your original receipt. If you don't have it, and your bought the faucet directly from Vigo, customer support can probably find it. If you bought it somewhere else you may be out of luck unless you can show that the faucet was not sold b Vigo prior to April 1, 2013. The next time you buy a faucet, contact customer support before the purchase to find out the type of finish used on the faucet. If you want long term durability with minimal maintenance, choose a PVD finish. Many companies sell faucets in matte black PVD. For more information about faucet finishes, see Faucet Finishes.