Hi Everyone - we just had our Neolith Calcacutta counters in silk finish installed in our kitchen. I DO NOT recommend going with this product unless you are okay with a number of downsides. We utilized a certified Neolith fabricator who has lot of experience in working with this material. We did the mitered edges so that they were not white as well. Not only was this by far the most expensive product, but it was disappointing as well. You can see the white edges where it was mitered and there are defects from the moment of installation from which I was told are "normal" and acceptable. My seams (only two, that is nice) are VERY obvious and not what I would have expected. The material itself marks up when ANYTHING touches it basically. Put a cookie sheet on it and you have horrible black / gray marks everywhere that do not come out. I have been told you have to be willing to scrub it for that to happen and they recommended using acetone to get them out. Um....so now i am left with counters that cost me over $13k that I am not happy with from how they look (they look great from afar) and that mark up when anything touches it and I have to use a special something to try and get them out and that is not easy. If I could do it again, I would go with quartz or quartzite. These are not worth the pain and suffering along with the high cost and disappointing outcome. I went to some friend's house over the weekend where they had their new quartz counters installed, by the same fabricators we used and they look far superior to ours and they do not have the same issues. I read the reviews on here and chose it anyway and am devastated I did. I wish I had taken these reviews to heart and not listened to the fabricator's comments that these were one off experiences.

As others have pointed out, you have a couple of fairly big functional issues - the island prep sink location and the DW in the way of the workspace b/w the sink and range coupled with the trash pullout too far from the range. If you're open to major rearranging of cabinets to include adding 3" to the length of the island and 3" to the length of the sink counter run... This is your current layout with base and wall cabinets labeled Here's a re-arrangement of the cabinets. The most changes are to the base cabs, including switching the 36" cabinet to the left of the sink with the 33" cabinet in the island, thus making the island 3" longer and making up for 3 of the 6 inches added to the sink run when switching the DW & trash but leaving the sink where it currently is. Because the sink cannot move, I added a 6" filler pullout b/w the trash pullout and the blind corner cabinet (another issue, but less important) to fill the 6" leftover from the 24" space originally there for the DW. Filler pullouts do not require a cabinet - they install b/w two cabinets. The pullout is attached to the wall of the cabinets on either side. It can be used for spices, oils, etc. or might be a pegboard for holding utensils or lids to pans. I've linked to Rev-A-Shelf so you can see some examples. Note that I also switched the 30" upper cabinet to the left of the sink with the 33" one to the right of the range. This adds the extra 3" to the upper cabs to match the extra 3" in the base cabs. I actually think you might be better off with the narrower cab over that short run of counter to the right of the range b/c it appears to be very close to a door and it's nice to give the door trim some "breathing space" b/w it and cabinets next to it, especially upper cabinets b/c they're more visible/noticeable. It will also look less crowded. Plus, since the upper cabinet does not extend to the end of the counter on the left, I don't think it will be an issue that it doesn't extend to the end of the counter run on the right. So, why did I say the blind corner cabinet was an issue? Because these types of cabinets are generally used only as a last resort when corner susans (or corner drawers) cannot be used b/c there's not enough space on one side of the corner. In your case, you have 12" b/w the range and corner cabinet - the exact amount of room needed for a corner susan. Blind corner cabinets are difficult to access, even with some of the half-moon & similar pullout inserts. I won't go into the pros & cons here since you cannot change the corner - but keep it in mind if you ever remodel again. Here is a link that might be useful: Rev-A-Shelf Base Filler Pullouts

Our kitchen isn't done yet, but I can tell what I think will be the sink usage: I will use the prep sink probably 75% - 85% of the time My DH will use the cleanup/main sink 75% - 85% of the time...I cook, he cleans up (kids are usually doing homework b/c of our crazy schedule!) I have to admit though, that neither sink will face the wall...the main sink is in front of a window to the backyard; the prep sink is in the corner of the peninsula facing the DR. In our old kitchen, the only sink faced a wall and we didn't really have a problem with it. As with Lascatx, when I'm prepping I'm watching what I'm doing rather closely since it usually involves knives or peelers. My DH, OTOH, watches TV while he does dishes. The main reason we put the sink where it is is that I loved Fothia's bay window sink and wanted to do the same in my kitchen. The other reason is that I wanted a "real" vent over my cooktop but not in the window and (1) there wasn't enough room on either side of the window to give me decent work space on both sides if I put it on either side of the window, (2) I like the more balanced/symmetrical look of the cooktop centered on the wall, and (3) there wasn't enough counter room for both on the back wall (it's what I had before and hated it!)

Thought I'd update the information posted here over the past year. Here's the scoop on the Reliabilt products Lowes sells. The Reliabilt name is an exclusive name Lowes puts on their inhouse items sold in certain areas. The Reliabilt products are made by different manufacturers across the nation depending on the market you live in. Here in the Upper Midwest & across the Northern U.S. the Reliabilt doors & windows are built by Jeld-Wen. Lowes has specific guidelines manufacturers must follow when making products carrying the Reliabilt name. No matter where you live in the U.S. the different product manufacturers are suppose to build them all the same way. Just like everything else we buy it's just some make their products better than others. It all differs from market to market. The problems Johnny faced with his new door coming in the wrong size was probably related to a bad measure of the existing opening. One of the biggest problems in todays market is replacing an existing entry door with a Therma-Tru replacement. The standard door opening height since the cave days (just being funny) has been 82". Over the past few years some of the manufacturers out there, including Therma-Tru, decided they should change it to 82-1/2". This works fine for a new construction application but creates huge issues in the replacement industry. If you don't specify a unit height of 81-1/2", you'll be getting the 82". Some modifications will be in the cards on the day of installation. So make sure you specify your unit size or rough opening size when ordering replacement doors. As for French Styled Hinged Doors, I'm sold on Pellas new style just recently put on the market. Both doors operate and lock by using their individual levered handles. Both doors have 3-point locking functions and come from the factory ready to go. There's no field drilling for manual flushbolts in the head or sill because there's no manual flushbolts anymore. The doors have mounting plates pre-applied already set to the right locking position just by a slight lift of the handle. This makes the installation much easier on the installer when they can latch the doors shut from the start. The old doors had to be set in place and then drilled for bolts afterwards. This was always a royal pain in the rear making sure you drilled properly for each bolt to work without binding. Then you had to make sure both doors sealed when closed. This could always be very frustrating at times during the process. The new doors make it much easier to install & even offer the normal DIY'er the ability to install them with ease. If you haven't seen them check them out. They are a little more expensive than the competitors. It's just the nature of the beast. You can always negotiate your pricing no matter where you buy your wares. So always take the time to chisel the price down.