I didn't see one by Silestone. The Ceasarstone is o.k. If you only want the marble look on a small island, go with real marble.

I love all of your comments, thank you so much! You are all so much smarter than me at this. J I now have clarity on which direction to go. I completely agree—and hadn’t thought about—making the marble into a piece that is a non-permanent part of the house we can take with us. I may also try to incorporate it into at least one element in the house but will make that decision down the line. I am going to purchase a few of my favorite pieces now and worry about it later. I told my husband also that I would love a dining room table if we can get a large enough piece. Once this is all said and done I will definitely let you know what we did and post final-product pictures. (haha in a year or so I would think) And msmeowàI live in Tampa so take solace knowing that not all in/near Central Florida use a scorched-earth approach!

Yes, agree completely. Gray-blue tinted marble-like surface would work better. I am also beginning to think that white cabinets would be a no-go with this...would really want some color under the countertop to balance out the intensity of tile. The thing is that I was always obsessed with oriental tile patterns but I never thought that using them will also dictate a certain cabinet color. For instance, out of all the choices below (the last photo shows my chosen tile installed), I really think either blueish or gray-ish cabs will work. If I was really brave, I'd do navy blue, but I'm not. What cab color would you do? I also thought about doing different cabinet colors but I fear it would add to the overall busy-ness. Although my kitchen does have very clear zones (island, perimeter, breakfast nook flanked by glassfront towers) so different colors would not be illogical...Btw, I will be ordering painted doors from Scherr's, so COULD do different colors...decisions,decisions!

I don't usually weigh in on discussions like this, because mostly the finer points of decor are lost on me. In my world, kitchens are mostly about utility: how well can I cook there? And the first thing I thought when I saw that countertop was something utilitarian: "If I were changing the disc on my food mill and laid the hardware down on that counter, how would I ever find it again?" What's great about that counter is that you could cook on it for weeks and not bother to wipe it down. It would never look dirty. In all fairness, from a distance it actually looks kind of nice. And I agree that a more rational neutral backsplash would be a vast improvement, especially from that same distance. The idea of a black or very dark backsplash makes me feel slightly claustrophobic, but whatever. Up close, IMO busy just brushes the surface. I didn't know Mother Nature ever made granite like that, but if she did, she's probably down at her local pub right now, weeping quietly and muttering "I'm so, so sorry" again and again over her third bourbon. As for the backsplash itself, I just have no words beyond "wow." I think it might even surpass the 1970s fake brick on the backsplash in one of my rental houses. You are NOT out of your mind, IMO. Follow your instincts. PS - you needn't apologize for your English. It's way better than that of many native English speakers on the net. I wish I could write in other languages as well as you write in English.