I'm about to repeat in a new house what worked well in prior one: After the tile was delivered, I outlined a paper grid slightly larger than the floor surface, to identify how many tiles would be needed where, identifying overlaps where cuts would be made. Then I got my artist son-in-law to lay out the tiles in another room, in the format matching the paper grid. Took him awhile--he gave it his full attention. Then I taped a label on top of each tile, identifying row and column matching the paper grid: A1, A2, A3...B1, B2,B3...etc. Then I taped the labeled paper grid to the wall in the room to be tiled, pointed the experienced tile guys to that paper map and to the tiles in the other room now stacked into row A, B, etc. I was surprised how happy they were to have layout decisions already made. They asked no questions during installation, though I saw them repeatedly refer to the map on the wall to answer their own questions. All agreed the result brought a oddly narrow room to life--greatly exceeding my highest hopes. So what worked well for me was outsourcing the aesthetic decisions to an artist; my contribution was turning his layout into unambiguous, simple directions to the tile people who could then focus on laying the tile perfectly.

So looking at it from an angle(into the light) you can see the featured look on the face of the stone. Probably filled at the source maybe they could have done a smoother fill.You should know that most fills can be replaced or should they get dislodged be repaired in most cases. Sea Pearl is true quartzite and I think your fabricator is correct. Hard , dense and acid resistant you made a great choice.You purchased a stone that will be easy to maintain.

@typeandrun, thank you for the response and feedback. Just out of curiosity, was honing an option when you were making your decision. This gives it the matte look but without the texture. We are going with a dark greenisland and warm white perimeter cabinets and I really like the Taj Mahal. I just want to make sure I get slabs that are more cream than beige. That's the toughest part b/c they look so different in the warehouses than they will in real life.

Thank you, @cpartist. That is just what I needed to be reminded of - to choose one center, focal point and not to have multiple ones competing with each other. I like how you phrase it as "quieter." I am going to make the drive to the fabricator tomorrow and work on balancing pieces so they are in harmony, like you achieved. @Jeff Grenz - Excellent advice and I completely agree. We chose these slabs without pressure and knowing the risks. I went to every slab yard in our area back in November of last year, "just to look" and get a sense of what was out there. (It's a bit like saying you will go to the animal shelter "just to look" - ha! Get ready to fall in love with something.) Currently, if one is not doing a white or grey toned kitchen, the slab selections are less abundant and so I wanted to research what I could expect for options. These slabs found me and spoke to me and while I was deciding whether or not to take the leap (and take on some risk securing them so early), two other couples who came in while I was standing there wanted to buy them! They are definitely unique and nothing else out there was like them. The slab yard is a highly respected one and the sales person was one of the most professional vendors I have come across in the whole build. This luckily wasn't a high pressure sales job, just pressure applied by yours truly to want to get something special that I dearly loved. I did check on the amount needed for the layout of our kitchen before committing. They were gracious enough to hold the slabs for me since November. You are spot on, though, that anyone looking should be ready with all the information they need to make an informed decision and to have their antennae up for anything that feels like high pressure tactics.