We also looked into concrete done by a fabricator, but found the cost to be exorbitant and took it out of the running for our countertop choices. It was more expensive than granite, quartizte, marble or engineered stone(quartz). We have narrowed it down to caesarstone quartz (after many many samples and testing of the aforementioned) for both island and perimeter. I strongly suggest you carefully look into the cost as well as the staining that can occur with concrete before you go any further.

Jillius: hiya! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the time you put in to pulling together those inspiration photos and the collages/mood boards (what do you call those?) While I'm not going to use Bianco Drift, London Grey is very similar to it in colour so your collages are really helpful for getting me started on visualizing what I want for the backsplash. I really like Faith's kitchen. It feels fresh, airy, contemporary, calm, and has a lovely natural feel to it too. She's got gorgeous marble on the counters and backsplash too. It's going into my favourite kitchens folder! Totally agree about the island - it would have looked so great had she kept it wood; but I gotta give her credit for being brave enough to bring in a pop of colour there. I do like having a warm-looking kitchen but I feel like going too warm leads me towards a more traditional look, which isn't what I'd like. The way Faith pulled it off suits me. Love the analysis you did comparing my Shitake collage to the Saint Paul Craftsman photo. I'm getting a better understanding of colour now. Still very mind boggling but I follow when you all help to spell it out for me! Ha ha... You might be expecting too much from the counter selection SO TRUE! I think that's why it's been so challenging. I realize now that I don't really want the counter to shine. It's the backsplash that I'd prefer to stand out. Many months ago, I wrote in my Sweeby Test: "The perfect backsplash will complement the cabinets and work harmoniously with the cabinets to create one well put together look, like they belong together. And possibly provide a pop of colour or visual interest in one section of it. The perfect countertop will be really easy and unfussy. Low maintenance. Just like backsplash, it will complement the cabinets and help connect and tie everything together" I think London Grey will be the right choice to help pull everything together. I do like the Craftsman colour scheme, but not for this kitchen or house. It is too dark and traditional for my 90s home. I was REALLY drawn to the light aqua subway tiles on the bottom right of that collage and the ones that have different shades ranging from light grey to bluey-grey. That just might be how I get in my pop of colour! I'm surprised that blues and greens can look warm - is it because they contrast well with my oak and the floors? I really want to stay away from orange and yellow tones for this reno simply because I don't want it to end up looking too similar to what I currently have.

Well every seller and flipper anywhere near me paints cabinets white..:) or so it seems And sometimes makes no sense whatsoever, given architecture, style, other materials..irritating. Don't get me wrong..i would never pass on the house I love because of that..even if they would be completely wrong for the space (in my place they were completely wrong-color wise, style-wise, everything.. yet we still bought the house lol. well, eighty percent of interior finishes was wrong for the house so..) things like that -I don't see them as making or breaking the deal. Location, bones, layout, amount of rooms you need to accommodate your family-yes. Well price of course. As much as I loved several houses-they were too small, or were not in a neighborhood that'd work for us, or were simply too expensive So no, I wouldn't pass on a house because of the cabinets, whatever color they would be..and especially if they were right for the space:) I like grays but not cold grays for example. And I prefer warm whites to bright whites. Yet when it makes allover sense, it's easier to look past it, and make do, for a time being, or maybe for years even. And in some cases-you look past it even if it doesn't make any sense. But it's better if it does. It's rarely a question of one color..even though colors do have huge influence over us. it's a question of how everything comes together. Same as with everything. Take a face you like-many times, a nose could be better, and teeth could be straighter, and whatnot. Yet you don't look at it separately...you do of course, but you don't care because it's more than just the sum of elements. PS I read the funniest description in one listing recently. It went: "This house is classic and timeless, yet trendy and current". It looks like they've read all the blogosphere on the subject of design and decor, and decided to construct that sentence, so as not to miss anything...))))

"Yes, I have appropriate funeral attire. But more and more funeral notices these days request "please wear colourful attire". I just think (apart from being ageing) black and white is more "waitstaff" or "uniform"." I agree with Colleenoz 100% ! ! The last funeral I attended was for one of my best friends, who passed at age 98. There was little to no black or other somber colors in the congregation, her family and closest friends wore some shade of purple, because that was her favorite color. The only black or dark color at my husbands funeral were some of the men's suits. "What others think doesn't concern me. I;m there to pay my respects to my friend/relative." Again. I'm in 100% agreement! Black and white, or just black, can be very dramatic, striking, neat, etc., if you can pull it off, have the right body, the right coloring, etc. I don't. Plus, I just plain don't like it! Rusty