Following up with a few more details.. Counter edge is Eased 1.5 inch thick. Quartz thickness was 2cm. Fabricators built up the edge to 1.5 inches with mitred corners. The mitre cut hides the seam totally. In CA this is a standard process. 2cm Ceasarstone will not properly cover the 5/8 inch plywood rough top the cabinet maker installs. I almost went with an ogee edge since the house and kitchen is traditional style. But I thought it might be too busy for shaker. The eased edge works well with shaker style. I chose ogee for the bath vanity where the cabinets and crown are more detailed. It fits perfectly in the bath. Or if you have a center island ogee is a nice choice on the island with eased edge on the perimeter. Alot of people opt for that... The floor color is Natural Timber glazed chestnut. I used a dark brown grout but should have gone 1 darker to espresso or possibly black. The grout lines wound up lighter than the tile even though it looked like a good match before install. I went with 1/16th on the spacing, however the box recommends no closer than 1/8th. 1/8th grout lines are wide and the floor will look less like hardwood but I'm not sure if ignoring the directions will compromise my floor in any way down the road. I had the installer avoid "stair step" install method and tried to achieve random length install to mimic hardwood. Essentially when he got to a wall and had to cut a piece I had him start on the other side with the cut piece to achieve a random look. It worked for the most part but this process is tricky. It is better to be there the entire time they are installing so you can make the decisions. I much prefer real wood. The white oak with dark stain pictured all over houzz are the most beautiful kitchen floors but with a 3 yr old it doesn't seem practical, I think it would have gotten destroyed. The wood plank tile is a nice alternative and the cleanup is very easy. Alot of people have actually mistaken it for solid wood. The finish is a matte. Every crumb shows but I'm assuming this is the case with any dark brown floor. One of the keys is finding the tile that is 48 in long, this is the same size a lot of solid wood planks come in. The tile that is 24 in long leaves too many grout lines all over the floor and compromises the wood look. The long plank tiles create some issues with install though, it is wise to have someone who has installed these before. The 24 inch pieces are easier to install. This post was edited by LondonGray on Mon, Jun 16, 14 at 13:25

I just found this thread and it is very helpful to what I am working on now but first and foremost, I would like to share my condolences on the loss of your husband. I lost a husband many years ago and still recall how difficult it was. It is a journey, with ups and downs, but you will find a new normal life for you and your family. I am working on a condo kitchen reno and was trying to decide if I should recommend Dekton vs Silestone to the client. They really like the new Silestone - Ethereal Glow that has some warm gold veining in it. HOWEVER, she is not the best housekeeper and I wonder about stains and they also had a counter for 25+ years in their old house that was heat proof (can't recall what it was but it was not concrete). Based on this conversation I took a quick look at Dekton REM and it might be a better solution. What is the recommended edge for Dekton? The only other kitchen/bath reno I have done is a kitchen with a Cambria - Berwyn counter.

UPDATE: Thanks to you guys here (and mostly thanks to Joseph Corlett's link regarding Silestone slab sizes), they agreed to do away with one of the seams. They kept insisting that they would not do a stretch of stone more than 110", and when I insisted that my color of Silestone comes in jumbo slabs of 128", they "did some research" and conceded that I was correct, and there is no need for two seams in my 150" stretch of counter. I'm updating here for anyone who may have the same questions and issues that I did. I spent countless hours researching and digging and arguing, so hopefully I can save someone else the hassle. You can check the Silestone website for the slab sizes in your color. There is no need for a seam to "prevent cracks"; Silestone is (allegedly) 4x bendier than granite, and if you wanted to put the whole damn slab down you could. Keep in mind though - if your Silestone DOES crack or chip at some point (and it will...it's notorious for chipping despite the durability claims) - you're on the hook for it. Their "warranty" does not cover cracks or chips. Hundreds of consumers have told their stories about bumping a water glass against the edge and it chips, with no damage to the glass, and Cosentino denies the claims, citing abuse of the counter or something. Same with random cracks, etc. Just be aware - these are issues that you will have to call Joseph Corlett to come fix, out of your own pocket. I love the look of mine so I'm willing to deal with those issues, but buyer beware.

@nanj, your Fusion is fantastic. @Sophie Wheeler, I DO like blues. One of the reasons I like this one so much is that my colors are always greens and blues, and I thought it would be a wonderful starting point to design my whole downstairs around. Maybe it doesn't show very well, but there are a lot of blues and greens in this one. The cabs I'm holding up are Showplace Hale Navy and either Heron Plume or Gun Smoke, I don't remember which. My plan has always been to pick the rock first and go from there. Anyway, to answer other questions, Mrs Pete, the kitchen is very important to me (and to the house) but I'm not trying to go nuts here. This is a new build lake home which we'll live in permanently in about five years and which we do not plan to leave until we are carried out drooling. That said, it's designed so we can live on only one floor of it, and we will have very nice bedroom suites in which theoretically a caregiver could live eventually. Also, to clarify - the fabricator is local, it's the slabs that are four hours away, but they're at a regular supplier to the fabricator. The prices above do include fabrication. I went to a warehouse in Brooklyn where I believe all the rocks land after they come off the boat, and they get disseminated from there. That guy said I could buy slabs from him and then pay only for fabrication, but I didn't even consider that. It seemed like it would be asking for trouble. Rita, I won't have marble and DH will not have soapstone. I like ss and had a box of samples from M Teix in NJ and I set about scratching and dinging them with a fork and my husband was horrified. He doesn't usually have opinions so when he has a strong one, I tend to listen. I've looked at hundreds of granites, quartzites, quartz products in Brooklyn, Albany, Ithaca, Syracuse, and in CT (I live downstate, the new house is upstate.) I may have to talk myself into liking one of them but I think I have a talent for unknowingly going for expensive ones. When we finished our basement several years ago, the contractor took me to a granite yard and I went right to one slab. He laughed and said, "You can't have that one; it's the most expensive one here." I picked another and he said, "And that's the second." This went on awhile, LOL. It would help a lot if slab prices were listed ON THE STONE. In Brooklyn I was looking at an amazing piece of labradorite (sp) and the guy said, "Trust me, you don't need that." Then he showed me blue eyes granite. Now that was actually useful. Unfortunately, I didn't like the granite. Thank you, everyone.