Thank you for all the feedback! I just didn't know what to expect since I was getting this conflicting information. I have to admit that my gut is that I will get a better end product if there are no countertops in place when the templating is done, and that is how fabricator number two (my preferred one)operates. Good suggestions on asking why it takes so long after the templating is done to get the counters installed, especially since the material is right here in town already, and the fabricator only needs to go over to the yard to pick it up. I can more easily see living for three weeks without countertops than the sink (and as my husband said, if there is no sink there is also no dishwasher!). Since we plan to reuse our sink, I think I am going to talk to them about the possiblity of leaving the sink in as someone else here did. I appreciate the personal stories and the advice.

Pllog, Well, we are in both in CA, as some would say! ;) I do agree with your comment about granite being the standard because of its perception as being a luxury item. FrmrsDghtr, WOW!!! Love what you were able to do!!! RosySunnyGal, Our counters are Floating Blue which is a mostly turquoise in white cement matrix color. We were able to pick our slabs at the factory when it was still here in the Bay Area years ago. We have several KDs in our area that had samples of Vetrazzo, Icestone and Fuez to look over. IF you are looking for the wow factor, these will do it. With that in mind, I do recommend that you really like your countertop color because it is a very prominent part of your kitchen. They also aren't cheap and I highly recommend that your installer be someone who knows how to work with this material. Our installation fabricators claimed they did and we had multiple problems with them that we finally had to hire a second company to fix. We looked at all of the green countertop materials, and this was the one that my DH and I were able to agree on despite the price. BTW, I don't include quartz or C-stone in this category. I do recommend that you do an online search for recycled glass companies because there are several others besides the three I mention above. The ones that I have ran across are: Gilasi in the Chicago area, Urbanslabs in SoCal, Vetrazzo is now in the Atlanta area, and more that I have seen around the US. I do recommend if you can using one that is near you because of the weight and shipping cost of the slabs. If you are interested in knowing more or seeing some pictures of my counters, please, PM me.

It looks like it's already installed? Did you see this done elsewhere or read that it was safe? Has your contractor assured you that it would be supported properly? I would be concerned that the weight would cause it to pull away from the wall creating a crack along the edge, or crack the wall itself - but I'm certainly no expert. I assume they will brace/bracket into studs? I think legs would look fine, but you are probably going for a more contemporary/modern/minimalist vibe and legs would probably lend a more traditional look.

I would call your $/sf very pricey. In Des Moines Iowa, its around $133/sf, I believe according to a quick look on the internet. National average is $175/sf. Anyway, I have marble in my bathroom and have been happy with it. Its not subjected to intense chemicals. No nail polish. Just toothpaste, hairspray, and soap. I love the marble. I have it honed. I also have a medicine cabinet that I think is terrific. Though I don't use it as much as I thought I would. I have drawers in the vanity for most things. I do love the large mirror. The history of my medicine cabinet is that I aquired the mirror for free back in the early 90's, before I knew what I had. I thought it was a lower cabinet door for a fancy home bar. So when I was redoing my one bathroom 4 years ago, I noticed mirrors in the show room that reminded me of the mirror I had stored in the basement. It was a Robern fairly large mirrored medicine cabinet mirror. So I had my wonderful carpenter make me a cabinet to go with the trim and cabinetry in the bathroom. I love it, and I think it's pretty.