Finally - After a long day of gathering information and looking into some options, I went by the design studio and got the pictures of ALL the granite (that was medium to neutral or above, didn't take a picture of any of the darks). From Level 1 to Level 3. First off, after talking to the lady at the design studio I was expressing that I didn't like not having the ability to not have a backsplash at all since i'd like to see how my granite turned out before pairing a backsplash with it. She actually informed me that another option may be available. She emailed me back shortly after I gathered all the pictures and left and said "Yes you can do NO SHEETROCK for $200.00 , but we will add paint and texture " .. a little confused, and never owning/building a home before, I basically responded like so: "Is there a difference between sheet rock and dry wall? I assumed they were the same but when you said no sheet rock i began imagining cabinets screwed to the studs but then realized it probably wouldn't pass final inspection like that lol... So if you could elaborate on the difference of those two or what exactly no 'sheetrock' would entail id appreciate it" Her response said: "No there is no difference, but we will paint and texture to pass code ilo (I think she meant in lieu ) of leaving just the drywall showing. Sorry for the dialogue posted it just seemed easier. So with that said I seem to understand, but why are they calling it "No sheetrock?" when in fact there still is sheetrock/drywall, and it's just painted and textured? Can someone give me some more input on this? Or stray me from this all together if it's a terrible idea? To me it sounds like the best route that I can just add whatever backsplash I want to later...I also wonder if they're going to have to put a little 2-4" lip going horizontal at a 90* of the granite against the wall...hmm I don't want that. Also andreak100 - I'm very aware of the time/cost ratio. Time is money, if I spent 5 hours researching a good granite company and contractor, and I could be making my company $50-100/hr, I've now lost $250-500, and thats just in the research. Now down to the fun part! The granite choices. Remember, my cabinets are dark (espresso), and thats our style of what we're going to go with, so the granite should go with that. I think we'd prefer maybe something that was a little more "warm" then in comparison to the "White Tiger" See the attachment, if its not clear enough I'll upload a higher resolution link somewhere.

I like the granite on the left and the newest knob shown best. I don't know if the knob would be great if the whole kitchen were done with it. I'd use it in a few key spots, if that were possible, with something simpler but complementary. Maybe a nice pull for everything but the top drawers... Or, just use this fancy knob on the upper cabs. I don't get the impression that the picture of the granite came out as nice as it would be IRL because the lighting is dark.

This is a beautiful slab. As far as the material itself, everything I've read indicates that granite is a better choice for a kitchen counter than marble. Granite is harder and denser and can take more of the abuse a kitchen counter gets with less chance of staining than marble. That's why marble is recommended more for bathrooms than kitchens. Its difficult to tell from this picture, but are there mostly greys or browns in this? If your cabinets are to be creamy warm beige tones, I'd caution against counters that are mostly cool grey tones (of course thats just IMO).

It may help you to visualize the pieces together by orienting them in their correct planes. Lay the countertop sample down horizontally, then the backsplash tile should stand vertically behind the back edge of the counter sample with the cabinet sample to the side of the backsplash tile. These are the planes they will be in your kitchen. Backsplash tile looks quite different laying flat. Hopefully you can do this in your own kitchen so the light will be realistic, and not fluorescent lights in the store. I think the grayer or off white tiles might look nicer. White cabinets can be difficult to match to white tile, but you may find a good match that will be your preference. Take a good picture of your samples in your kitchen and let us weigh in! It's going to be beautiful!