I would strongly recommend AGAINST buying ANY CounterBalance product... they will completely hose the homeowner / DYI consumer. Just compare the price for the brackets between http://counterbalanceshop.com and http://www.chemical-concepts.com/counterbalance.php The same product will cost you $114 at the first site and $81 at the second. Really??? THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME VENDOR. I tried to place an order based upon the info on the Chemical site (didn't even know about the counterbalance site) and they wouldn't honor the price posted. Don't do business with this vendor who isn't interested in doing business with you. Vendor's words: "I could care less about" selling to consumers. STAY AWAY !!! Find a local machine shop who is interested in doing business at a fair price/profit. The product is a VERY simple job for any machine shop to produce. Chemical concepts doesn't even make the product -- they sell glue. For the person who wanted to know where they could get metal support bars, here is an option: http://metalworking.mscdirect.com/CGI/MWSRCH?N=32003649 I don't have any experience with them, so I don't know if their prices/policies are good or bad. I just found them from doing a bit of searching.

I think butcher block on the island with quartz on perimeter will look and function better. If you use waterlox for it, you cannot cut on it. But it will give it a nice protective furniture finish. If you want to cut on it you need to use mineral oil, which is less permanent but repairable. If you cut on it, you will see marks on it, but you can sand it and re-oil over time. You can also use an oil based finish for the more natural look but not cut on it. That what I would do. If you search here you will see discussions of waterlox versus oil versus other products like osmo for wood island tops. Breezygirl highly recommends an osmo product that I am going to use on my wood island counter once it's installed.

You're going to have to find and sit in on the spot to be sure it's comfortable for you.

Search for some of @KarinMT's posts - she is a geologist and has written quite a bit about quartzites vs. marbles and Super White in particular. Here is one of her published articles " What about Super White? Super White is one of the stones that is frequently caught in the quartzite vs. marble mystery. Most commonly, Super White is dolomitic marble. That means it won’t scratch glass and it will etch with acids. Some Super White has minor amounts of quartz mixed in with the marble. But the rock is still marble and will act like marble. When doing the glass test with Super White, be sure to test a few different areas to get a sense for the overall rock. Is it all the same? Or are there some parts that are harder or softer?" Be absolutely sure to test several areas of the slab(s) in question and understand you have a marble.