tiger Congrats on your remodel - really looking good - backsplash is quite an individual choice - it's like a woman choosing 10 pair of shoes to go to a black tie - "honey do these look good" Honey really just wants to get in the car & go so basicaly says "yes" to all 10 - If you have a tile place nearby ask to take some sample boards home - live with the choices for a little while to decide - SImiliar to what you did with the 6 or so stone samples. If you are still undecided about counter stone - post some pics of your choices & if you don't like shiny - you are not suddenly going to like because it's on sale - plenty of stone dealers/fabricators out there that I'm sure would be willing to meet your needs at a reasonable price pt - especially on a black granite If you are going monochromatic I would say put in a carrara subway, then add pops of color with fabrics,pretty dishes and a nice kitchen aid stand up mixer - My personal choice would be to add some subtle warm color - as the palette is in the cool tones With your current palette, assuming wall color is done - You really have no limit as to what would work, so it's personal preference Here's a link to Daltile - great tile, reasonably priced - many options carried at home depot - this may give you some ideas http://daltileproducts.com/home.cfm Ck out the craigslist materials - you can get incredible deals - just be sure you know what you want - That Viking looks like mine is it a color or ss looks like stone - is it griddle in the middle? ' You are doing a fine job & in the home stretch - don't race to the finish line & regret your last choices - Good luck Here is a link that might be useful: CL

Last year when, out of kindness to my husband (he was afraid of my reaction if he "hurt" my dream white marble countertop), I was searching for a white marble look-alike I investigated the white quartzites. I'm in Colorado and HOLY COW were they expensive! Granted, I ended up with an exorbitantly expensive marble but the quartzites were even more than that. But that's in CO -- prices may be (and hopefully are) v. different wherever you are. I still want to add my two cents that we've been living with marble countertops / backsplash for four+ months and so far, so good! They're surprisingly easy and hide a multitude of sins. (I have a messy husband who is the primary cook and a four year-old and two year-old who like to "help" bake [which we do almost daily], so our countertop has had the opportunity to be fully tested! And oh yeah, we make a lot of homemade lemonade, so it really does get [and pass] the acid test.) Based on your beautiful inspiration picture, in which I think the countertop has a v. grey tone, I still think the Mystic could be terrific in your kitchen. That Pionite laminate looks great (looked at it myself to use in case we couldn't find the right marble for our kitchen in time), but it is, at the end of the day, laminate. If you live in a neighborhood where the expectation is for granite, then it doesn't matter how gorgeous your laminate is it just won't cut it. People are superficial (myself included -- it takes a lot of eye liner and mascara to get my eyes looking this pretty!), and they get that goofy misty-eyed face when they hear "stainless appliances / granite countertop." It doesn't matter to them if those pieces are in a crap ugly kitchen -- they'd rather have those bragging rights than a beautifully designed kitchen with equally beautiful laminate. Go figure.

I'm on my 3rd set of stainless counters. I put most hot stuff on them but I don't put hot cast iron or glass on them because I'm paranoid about my cooking vessel experiencing thermal shock and cracking. I do nothing to baby the counters. But I have large counters, and they are messy, so the pot of boiling goo doesn't always end up in the same place. I wouldn't worry about baking sheets and broiler pans in the same place over and over but heavier things might be a concern for you. Of course, I wouldn't care; that's just the spot where the hot pans go. Patina! (That said, it's easy to leave a trivet there if you always put stuff in the same place.) I would have done Corian in white because I love their integrated sinks, but they didn't have the sink model I wanted anymore (20 years too late). You could do a combo!

@Sophie, The more I look at Pyrolave, the more I think you're right. @Everyone, btw, in case anyone's wondering, this is Roger Ailes' home in Florida.. http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/real-estate/g9229692/roger-ailes-palm-beach-house/