I had edge grain rock maple BB in my last kitchen & I chose it again for my new kitchen, the main reason being the functionality of cutting on it. I use cutting boards for meat, but basically, I think they're a PITA & one more thing to clean. I oil my counters 1-2 times a year & I don't find that they look overly scarred or beat up; a serrated knife will chew up BB & I avoid those. I suspect that dark species of wood like walnut would tend to look faded & dry more than a light wood, but I'm guessing. IMO old cutting boards look particularily bad because of water damage caused by submerging or soaking them or putting them in the DW - all things that shouldn't be a problem with a counter top that's reasonably cared for. Of course, if you want a countertop that looks like fine furniture with an unblemished finish & exquisite grain, cutting on it would not be the way to go.

Thanks for all these responses--very helpful! I'm looking at Cambria Torquay online now, and it looks like we have a few local Cambria dealers. I'll also check out Caesarstone and the others mentioned. Deeageaux, tks for explaining the difference between Corian and quartz. I'm at the very beginning of my research on this, so having only touched one man-made sample (Corian) I assumed they all felt like plastic. Good to know there are so many options. BTW, my 3 cm Vermont Danby Olymipian White marble was reasonably priced than many other white marbles like Calacatta Gold (my Danby was about $85-90 sq ft installed) and I love it. Just had to give the Danby a plug. But I think the Camb ria or another quartz might be the answer for my parents' cottage, because my mom would hate to have to worry about etching, etc. Thanks again!!

Why Hamma? Because most Americans say they need humongous refrigerators/freezers. I hear people say they need to store the meat they killed on a hunt. They have very large parties every weekend. They cater large parties. They have many children who need many snacks all day long. Maybe they live many miles away from the nearest grocery store or supermarket. One of the posters above mentioned pizza boxes and soda/beer can boxes. (Not sure why you'd need to put a whole pizza or beverage box in the fridge.) Personally I have none of those issues. I do not like nor need a large hulking refrigerator. Counter depth is a cost-effective way to avoid the behemoth fridge look in the kitchen. Yes, they do protrude a few inches, but not as much as a conventional depth one. I have the same KA counter depth fridge (cost $2,000) as Anglophilia in my vacation rental home, and after 7 years it's still working fine, and looks great. In my primary residence we went for a 42" side by side built in Subzero, which protrudes only about 2", but is much more expensive ($9,000 retail). Fully integrated Subzeros are totally flush with the cabinets, and require expert installers.

Whatever they sell at Costco and you can return it if it fails. My mom researched and bought one with good reviews at another store. It stopped working. She dug up her receipt and the manufacturer warranty had expired the week before. They were inflexible about honoring it since it was a few days past. They just do not make things like they used to. I might also pick a model by the convenience buttons that worked for how I use it such as add a minute or 30 seconds.