Thanks, Linelle. I do love the kitchen. Here is my favorite thing of all: At night I turn the dimmer on the sconce over the sink just so and I have the halogen lights in the VentAHood on low, I have all my little night lights on, and it is magical. I am transported to the very best place as I do my dishes in the sink. Making a little magic, isn't that what it is all about? As to where I have been. Well my kitty who has a lot of health issues was diagnosed with diabetes when we were just finishing our kitchen . I've been trying to figure it all out. Most important to me is giving him a good quality life. I think I've been down the rabbit hole long enough... there are ALWAYS more questions.

Joseph Corlett - please note that there are some granites than have extremely low absorption rates and therefore will not stain. My granite counters have been in place for 10 years, and look like the day they were installed. I have used spices like turmeric on the counters, spilled lemon juice, wine, tomato sauce, and nothing shows. In fact, I was cleaning silver the other day, and spilled silver polish (an abrasive) on the counter, didn't notice, and it stayed there for several hours. Wiped up, counter showed nothing, because it did not absorb. While there are many stone counters that will show stains, it would be ignorant and misleading to say that all the thousands of granites are that way. As Crl_ said, I would like to see what happens to your favorite solid surface counters when toilet bowl cleaner is left on them. I once left a bit of mustard on my mother's Corian counter; I think she still hasn't forgiven me. If the OP is interested in granite, s/he should go to a stone yard, and ask the people there which granites have low absorption rates, and then bring home samples of those and test them with home spices to see what happens.

My kids are 6, 4, and 2 and we opted to have quartzite countertops installed. I know a lot of people with young children who have quartz or granite countertops and they all seem to be doing fine, but i also understand the other POV that it’s crazy to spend a lot of money on something that the kids are going to beat up anyway.... but I’m not willing to wait 15 years to have a kitchen that i love. As an aside, my grandmother has always had a beautiful house. She favors very fancy decor with a lot of antiques, but was never fussy with her home and it was very well used. With 14 grandchildren and now 4 greats, she has always felt that the reason to make a house beautiful is for the people you love to enjoy it.... and I agree!!!!!

If you want something calming, I would immediately eliminate the darkest, busy option on the right in your lighting photo. I would also eliminate the left-most of the three smaller pieces in the center - it's far too warm with your white cabs to my eye. After that it's a question of whether you want a mostly-white counter or a mostly-grey counter. The remaining two whites are similar, but I prefer the smaller piece with more prominent marbling. BTW, where have you gone to look at granite/other countertop materials? With granite, there is so much variation from slab to slab, it can be really eye-opening to go to a yard and look at what's available. Something you may not have liked as a small sample may really appeal to you in a larger format.