I am picky too and understand your concern. I am not an expert on granite and had it installed for the first time in March. The seam was a big concern for me as well. My granite is bianco romano. I do not know if seams look better with certain types of stone. I am pleased with my seam as its not very noticeable. I also don't catch my nail on it all. I placed a penny to the left of the seam. From your photo, it appears your seam is kind of eye catching. Sorry. =( But then it might be the lighting. Here is a photo of my seam.

If you can bump out the window (make it bow or bay casement) then definitely do it. I think a bow window would look less different from other windows outside. Also, if you can make it wider than the sink do it. Extra width would avoid splashing on side frames. We have a double casement window over the sink, about 45 x 45 in., with stained wood frame. It's not bumped out. I so wish it was! I could definitely use the extra space behind the sink. We have 2 3/4 inches between the faucet and the wall and 2 inches between countertop and the bottom of the window frame. The frame is 4 inches thick (bottom to where the glass starts), very detailed, multi-level (multiple thin vertical and horizontal surfaces). And there is a 4 inch wide frame separating the 2 casement windows, in the middle, behind the faucet. Each window has a handle on the bottom for opening it. The handle does stick out and I need to move the dishwashing soap bottle every time I want to open the window. We also have a screen in one of the windows. The window is behind the 25 inch deep countertop, so we never had a problem bumping it with anything - it's just too far away. But is does get splashed - water, grease, etc. every time we wash anything. The sink is only 6 1/2 inches deep, so if you get a deeper sink you might have less splashing. The glass is easy to clean, but the screen and all that multi-level wood trim get sticky and are not easy to clean. As we plan our remodel we cannot change this window, bump it out, or move it higher over the countertop. The designer suggested we remove part of the bottom frame (actually a separate trim piece, maybe 2 inches thick) and add a ledge, a thin shelf, between the faucet and the window. I like wood trim and I don't think it would look as good with the bottom one "missing". I do like the idea of having a ledge though. All the windows in the house are Pella casement, 26 years old, and are fine. I am going to add a 2nd window to the kitchen to get more natural light, across from this window, that will be over prep countertop. It will also be Pella and match well, except now they make the handles hide flat when not used, which is very nice. Unfortunately these handles cannot replace the ones in the old windows. If I had a chance to change that window I would bump it out. I would not suggest you do a not bumped out counterheight window wood frame unless you will wipe it clean daily. Also, you will need to be very exact on the height measurements. If you put tile or wood on the floor it will raise your base cabinet height. We will be replacing vinyl with tile and our 2 inches between countertop and the bottom of the window frame might become 1 1/4 inches. We have laminate now, both countertop and backsplash under the window, and I don't see any problems with seams. Now I just need to figure out what sink and faucet to get, how tile backsplash and undermounted sink will affect the distances, where to place the faucet, and how to make a ledge that will protect the wood, look good, and be practical, not be bumped by hands operating the faucet or the window handles... I hope reading about my problems will help you figure out how to avoid them!

Not my story, but that of a college friend. She has an island (more like a continent) of marble painstakingly matched from adjacent slabs. Her husband, an engineer who was very involved in the templating, was home watching the toddler and 4 yo during the install while she picked me up from the airport. We walked in the door to find the 4 yo running back and forth from the open fridge getting food for the toddler in the pack-and-play to throw against the wall, her husband fast asleep on the couch, and the stone mistakenly rotated 90 degrees so the veining and overhang were disoriented. I ran after the installers in the driveway, she ran after her daughter who had a jar of anchovies in hand. The owner/fabricator showed up a few minutes later hoping to inspect the finished installation. You know the term "cusses like a sailor?" They should change it to "cusses like a fabricator." That poor man's face was crimson. He kept swearing at the installers and looking at the kids and saying, "I'm sorry ma'am." There is a happy ending. My friends are still married, the island (I call it Australia) is gorgeous, and the anchovies remained in the jar. All's well that ends well...

Our leathered Calacatta Gold countertops were installed pre-Thanksgiving, and we’re working with our fabricator to find a good (both oil and water repellant) impregnating sealer. We brought home a sample treated with Tenax ProSeal, and we were surprised that: 1) it has a glossy appearance (much like in your photo), and 2) it feels like a semi-gloss paint would. Paraphrasing a pro from another forum: impregnating sealers such as ProSeal should not change the color or feel of the stone. It sounds like the sealer is just sitting on top of the stone. The fabricator’s crew likely applied the sealer too thick and/or didn’t properly wipe up the excess. Remedy: apply another light coat (of the same sealer), which will active the sealer sitting on the surface; then wipe off any extra product so that none is left on the stone. Any idea what type of sealer your installer used? Streaks and splotches may be an indicator that your stone was dense enough not to need sealing. Do you by chance have a sample of your stone unsealed, such that you could test for water and oil absorbency? If not, perhaps you could ask for a remnant piece for testing purposes. If you decide your tops don't need sealing, acetone should strip what's on there now (shouldn't affect the leathering which is achieved by a mechanical, not chemical, process). BTW, might as well wait on the Sharpie trick as acetone will likely also remove the black ink. However, if you decide your tops do need sealing, but perhaps the sheen is a result of the excess sealer not being properly removed, I'd go with the advice from the pro above. BTW, that's not the first time I've read about this process of 'reactivating' the cured sealer by applying a new/wet coat...makes sense.