Sochi- I KNOW the old saying of: "If could-haves, would-haves, should-haves, if's and but's were CHIPS AND NUTS... the whole WORLD would NEVER STARVE" applies here, and I don't want to get a sore foot from kicking a dead horse..... but......... first of all - your fabricators should have used 2 slabs for the project to have gotten a showpiece result. Yes I know that Quartzite is more expensive per square foot that many other Granites - but the extra cost would have been worth it for the end result that you now do NOT have.... as far as seams go - from your description - IMHO your fabricator is a rank amateur.. Seams can be made to have NO GAP between the two halves of the stone - I TEACH this technique for cryin out loud!!!! IT CAN BE DONE BY HAND!!!! A "dual seam" at the cooktop - one at the left side and one at the right side - both front and back - might have stretched the stone to the right - (looking at the counters facing your cooktop) enough to have given you enough stone to have gotten the overhang dimension so you didn't have to do the walnut thingy (which is going to show wear WAY faster than the stone would have) A guy with more "pro level" experience would have "floated" that idea BEFORE fabrication started. This guy did not - which tells me he does NOT have a lot of jobs under his belt, or, he was clearly distracted by other things that held his attention more.. Did you have Boxerpups on the project ? - maybe he was captivated by her good taste and just couldn't focus on your counters, but then - IF Boxerpups would have been your designer - this clearly would NOT have happened...HA!!! Seriously - your fabricator is not up to a re-do if this is his "best effort" "coming out of the chute" - Tell me you have not paid in full for the job... IF you get another slab - I would look for a new Fabricator (with a Capitol "F") that CAN handle a project like this. Quartzite is NOT the easiest material to work - it is way harder that many Granites and can be frustrating for guys to hone and poilsh, but it can be done - you need to have a real "PRO" do the "re-do" - not a beginner..... hth kevin

Yes, the splashlette is 2cm thick. My counters are 4cm so they had to fabricate the spashlette from a different slab. The whole installation was unplanned anyway due to their error in cutting. In re-reading your OP, I noticed that a 6" splash will come up to the bottom of the window sill. Is that right? If you go that route, at least you'll be lining the stone strip up with an existing element in the room so it wouldn't look so out of place. With a window 6" above counter, a little 2" strip of stone would leave abbot 4" of drywall. Would you like a little strip of painted drywall showing like that? I'm not much help. Just pointing out some issues on which to ponder. :)

Thanks Lily Spider :) My inspiration photos all have marble counters lol!!! butI think I'm back on track again - I love classic and I wanted real stone so I think thats why I went the black granite route (though I guess this seems strange after considering marble!)… I've always liked honed black granite and I need to be somewhat practical re the kids - one of the reasons for the kitchen reno (besides the fact that we moved here a year ago and the current kitchen is awful) is to provide space for the kids to be able to 'eat in kitchen' at the peninsula during the younger years while they are still messy (i.e. dropping food everywhere) and to provide a place for them to color/hang out etc while I'm cooking…I don't want to be on top of them the whole time which is why I ruled out the stones that etched/stained/scratched - I think the black granite is a good compromise for me and usability for them and will work in well with the other components of the kitchen…thanks for getting me back on track Lily Spider (my husband almost had a heart attack when I said I was second guessing lol)

Hey, barncatz: Every word of consolation and support helps. I'm trying not to rush the BS decision, but I know I'll feel much better about the countertop experience once I'm not staring at these sliver add-ons. One of my very early inspirations was Majra's kitchen. She, just like pipdog, used the mosaics for a lovely effect. And this is why I spent so much time last year looking at mosaics. But the mosaics seem a bit too busy (for me) up close. The rest of my kitchen is a work in progress. Lotsa 9-1/2' walls that will need to be painted again (probably a cool white -- the next challenge!), and a ton of natural light coming in. Baseboards, pantry door and trim are all semi-gloss white, and ceiling is white. Kitchen is open to the family room: taupe walls with a white fireplace/mantel -- white trim throughout the entire house. pippiep: Matching grout it is, then! One decision down. :) I've marked out the areas that will require BS tile. As you can see, it's not very expansive, and each one not very large. So, I need to find the correct scale/dimension tile that will look right in these spaces. I think using larger (3x6) tiles in a herringbone pattern will leave me with a bunch of chopped up squares in the bartop and cutout window areas. At least with the newest elongated hex pattern, most of the hexes will be retained.