I have silestone capri limestone, which is very light and very little pattern. Mine is not honed. Capri limestone does not show dirt or scratches and, most importantly to me, it looks ok without buffing every time you wipe it down. I had dark granite at my old house and it wasn't that it showed dirt so much as it showed wipe marks so you had to wait for it to dry totally (even after wiping it with a towel it wasn't dry enough) and then buff it or else it didn't look nice. I think that dark ES would be the same way. I chose capri limiestone because I wanted a counter that I could wipe down (when someone knocked on the door-LOL!) and then walk away, and capri limestone has been like that. As for honed, I know that some honed ES colors require more maintenance than others, but the manufacturers are pretty good about telling you which ones those are. I think capri limestone would look great honed. We have a medium dark heavily patterned silestone in a bathroom and it does not show anything.

I love your inspiration pictures, so go for it! Besides, I'm about to get rid of the last of the shiny brass in our house, so that means it will be coming back into mainstream style big time any day now!

I have Caesarstone Honed Pebble in my kitchen and one bathroom. I also have CS Raven in one bathroom. The Raven has been in for 6 mths, the Pebble for 4 mths. I love both. I will say the Raven shows water marks much more than the Pebble. Probably b/c it's a darker color?? Not sure. They wipe up easily but in a bathroom who wipes up the water spots all the time? Not us anyway. Oldryder is right, the honed finish does show fingerprints and oil compared to the polished finish of the Raven but they easily wipe away. Much easier than I expected them to when I tried on the samples I had. My guess is it's harder to wipe up on the small sample pieces as efficiently. A quick wipe with a sponge (which probably has some soap on it even if it's been wrung out) usually removes them, and if they are really greasy (probably 10% of the time) it might take a second wipe or some soap and a little scrubbing. Nothing over the top. And it's not like the fingerprints are glaringly obvious. I usually notice them if I look at the counter from an angle, or I sometimes catch them if the light is right. I kind of like that they show up, as it reminds me I should've wiped that section of counter. Fingerprints occur mainly on the edges of the island. Makes sense as people come in and lean on it all the time compared to the rest of the counter area. So if you like the feel and look of a honed finish, go for it. Don't be scared off by the "horror" stories of a honed finish. As for hot things, I had no idea about anything like toasters or coffee makers being a concern. I only knew about hot pans, which I use trivets for, or set on the stove. I've used the toaster almost every day and never had an issue. And I have an espresso machine on the counter at all times and no problem there. I know it's been fine b/c we've had to move it a few times as our kitchen isn't quite done and the counter under it looks pristine. As for chips, none so far, but I haven't had my counters that long.

We are using quartz for a tub surround and behind the toilet up to the vanity. I found that Cambria, Caesarstone and Silestone all provide some thin ones. There are likely other quartz companies that do it as well. It is around 1/2 inch or 13mm. We ordered Dreamy Marfil from Caesarstone. It's not in yet due to countless delays with our bathroom reno. But hopefully will be before the end of this month. Caesarstone only made about 10 of their patterns in the thin slabs. I think all of the Cambria ones could be ordered like that. I didn't check as far into Silestone, but I think maybe all of them are available in the thin version. I did get the impression some fabricators didn't feel comfortable working with the thin slabs so that may also have some bearing on what you do.