oh boxerpups, thanks so much! your photos make it so real to me!! the gustavian blue is coming from a giant aloe plant in my kd's showroom. the dark green with hints of blue and brown comes from a sample door. it's a custom place, naturally, and the door is eucalyptis--so very fine grained. the colour is so nice, i see different coloured highlights when i tilt it to the sun. that dark green base cab door sample next to the grey/blue/green dusky aloe frond is so perfect, but as soon as i pick the frond, the duskiness disappears-- i'm going to have to get an artist to come to the showroom with me to get it right! have no idea about backsplash, only that it needs to be solid behind the range, so no grout lines. floors will be dark wood or cork planks. the fireplace hearth will be painted light brick, with a couple of upholstered chairs in front of it. (blue toile and checks)? large rough textured wood beam for a mantel. (i'm dying to show you all the plans, but i cannot get to it atm).

Home4all6- Thank you for the picture and the link! I remember seeing this keeping room, when it was in the magazine...especially this picture :) From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures The yellow walls and the blue fabrics, look great with the wood furniture and those tile floors. That's almost the color of my brick fireplace. If they had some green plants and a bit of lavender, it would be perfect! LOL Did you notice though...how the kitchen looks a little colder than the keeping room. Love the tile (especially on the island) and the floors, but all that white is just too bright and new (IMHO) to go with the older/collected feel of the keeping room. I think antique (rather than shiny) brass would help...but some wood cabinets and maybe a warmer white would make a big difference. Thank you so much, again, for the pictures and it would be fun to be neighbors! (LOL) But, I don't think that would be enough land for my horses...they eat a lot and need a really big pasture. Mike- I'm glad you like the pictures! I really like that finish, too. It's not too glossy and does look more like a natural finish. My guess (and it's just that) is maybe they have a satin finish on them and aren't stained. A good finish should protect them...and again, guessing, but probably several coats, sanded in between. If you want to use these pictures, please feel free to post them and ask if anyone can give you more info. How goes your kitchen remodel and what did you decide to do with your hearth? Sorry, if I missed a post...but I've been wondering how you were doing. It's going to be such a great kitchen!

These are my pics of my countertops placed Friday June 22, 2018. I cried looking at these seams. It looks so cheap. Fabricator explains that's the way it comes. I explained that I shouldn't be able to see the seams so clearly. It looks so unprofessional. They ended up taking them back to their warehouse. In hopes they say if it is quality control will try and fix it just to make it look better. Otherwise I will have to pay an additional fee for them to come out again to install. I just don't know what to do and if still looks the same. This is the first time I've replaced my counters in 24 years. I don't and can't live with it. looking at this for another 24 years. It looks so cheap and it really was not it's a lot of money to me. I hope fingers crossed that they will fix this problem. They never told me that there would be such seams. I thought the edges were done by a machine and it would be all one piece. I have read up on this and now understand there are seams. But now I do know that they should not look like this. If they are good fabricator you shouldn't be able to see them so clearly. I will find out next week what happens.

@karin_mt question for you...we have decided that we won’t be able to live with the inevitable etching associated with marble, so think we are going to go with quartzite. We were given a sample of a white quartzite called bianco-namibia. It’s been characterized as a “soft quartzite” which I know from reading these groups means it’s a marble. I did the stain test and it didn’t etch at all from lemon juice left on it over night. There isn’t really a sharp end on the sample, but couldn’t really get it to cut a glass bottle with its side (more crumbly which once again leads me to believe it’s a marble). But if it’s a marble, why doesn’t it stain and etch?