lol...i totally want carerra. i would get soapstone if i could. in my last house we remodeled and i got cobra soapstone which was great. i would recommend it to anyone and everyone. our last house was in PA. now we are in florida. i am going to get a cobra sink made and shipped down here but soapstone down here would cost us too much for counters....over $100 more a sq ft than carerra. but carerra is my #2 choice and i love how it looks. but...i cook for reals and i know "patina" is my destiny. but still...i don't know if i am prepared for "the big one!" like an 8" turmeric stain or whatever. on the plus size..the cost here is about $44 a sq ft. it's beautiful. it's natural. it doesn't contain any toxic resins or formaldehyde or radon. i can live with some wabi sabi and if we sell 20 years from now and it looks like crap, i guess we will have to replace it w/new marble to get it ready for the market. who knows! i just want to see some pics ;)

It may be that the person installing the counters is worried about a good tight fit against all the walls where counters will run. If your walls are not flat and straight, the installers can cover a pretty good sized gap with that thick strip of countertop material laid a few inches up the wall ( the older style installations). But with good modern templating, you should expect a good fit even if your walls are a little bit off, then the tile can come right down to the counter and still meet with a small caulk joint at the change of plane. Perhaps you can ask them if they're worried about uneven walls, or you can take a yardstick to them yourself to see how they look. If it were my kitchen I'd certainly want the newer style installation.

have finished the 4th remodel (wow 2 yrs since earlier post on this thread!). Used all white (no patterns speckles or veining) in MasterBath, Butlers Pantry Wet Bar, and as BACKSPLASH in Kitchen whose counters are Stainless Steel. (the rest of kitchen is all white cabinetry with brushed metal pulls). No qu that the white is stunning, crisp, pleasant. MasterBath is fine. Butlers Pantry: the white counter is unforgiving and shows everything. So on a second bathroom we chose white with a little gray veining and that has been excellent / easier. Kitchen all white backsplash with white cabs above below has been great and VERY easy clean (we cook a lot and use spices that stain too). But the all white in kitchen would have been intolerable as a counter for us. Stainless steel is not for everyone but 3 kitchen renos later, (2 remain actively in use) we love its cleanliness and the patina and very, very low maintenance. It looks surprisingly good with Cesarstone / Quartzite type stone products

Looks like a high quality polished vein cut travertine. With all of travertine’s drawbacks.