You bring up a good point about the hood - when we initially bought the house my plan was to do exactly what you recommend. Unfortunately, once we moved in we realized what terrible condition the existing granite is in. I priced out having it resurfaced and grouted, and it's thousands of dollars. For that amount, we're leaning toward replacing and updating.

The window trim gets painted next week :) We're definitely thinking along the same lines!

I’m not familiar with anything that’s as pretty as Sea pearl and also less expensive. I’ll be following the this thread to see what folks can recommend. Your kitchen is lovely and switching to a lighter counter will really brighten it up. Good luck!

Have you went to a stone yard & looked at stones? Take a cabinet door or drawer front with you. You will find some ideas of what looks good with your cabinet colors.

I have gone to the stone yard, which is how we landed at Sea Pearl - not realizing quite how high the pricing would be! The slab you picture is gorgeous, I haven't seen anything in the Northwest by that name. I'll call around to a few yards and see if they have it listed under another name. Thank you!

I was thinking more about your kitchen and I wonder if Fantasy Brown might work. It’s gorgeous. I know my prefab granite yard carries it, so might be a less expensive quartzite? There is debate on if it’s an actual quartzite or marble, but if you like it this thread talks about that with testing on staining. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2607689/calling-all-fantasy-brown-owners?n=492