I really don't like granite. It's too speckeldy, too pretentious, too cold, too ostentatious, too expensive. And maybe it's just me, but doesn't most of it just look like rust stains? I also researched all the other countertop choices. Throughout our homebuilding we've tried to remain focused on our twin goals, Durable and Low Maintenance. And so we've come back to granite. What I found out is that granite showrooms only have a tiny selection of slabs onsite for you to look at. And most of those are ugly speckled rust stains. BUT, when you've found a company you want to work with, they'll hook you up with the huge granite yards where you go to pick out a slab and they send it to the installer. In our case it's a two hour drive to a huge city where there are a half dozen granite yards and acres of slabs of granite to choose from. You walk around for a couple of hours dragging your husband (who really doesn't want to be there and doesn't like anything unless it's cobalt blue) and your kids (who are fighting over a piece of gravel they picked up in the parking lot) and suddenly you turn a corner and find The Perfect Slab. And you hear a heavenly chorus that swells to drown out the sound of the kids squabbling and the perky salesperson who doesn't have a clue what you're really looking for (you couldn't tell her because you weren't really sure either.) And tears of relief and joy spring to your eyes, your husband drops to his knees in shock when he hears the price, and then you're done. Then you get to choose a backsplash!

What are good wall colors for this combination? I'm installing a Calacatta Novo countertop with white high-gloss IKEA upper cabinets and Voxtorp walnut look base cabinets. Using simple 3x6 white subway tiles for backsplash with gray grout and Rawtech white tiled floor (looks like light concrete). I'm thinking of introducing some greige to shake things up instead of a more typical white like Simply White or Cloud Nine (which looks great in the pictures above!) - Worn Leather Shoe, Upper West Side, or Quicksand looked interesting in the Benjamin Moore online program. Any tips?

Anyone who has put the Calacatta Vicenza, any regrets? I’m leaning towards that for my kitchen but I want my counter tops to be mostly white with just little specks of gray here and there. In some pictures I find Kitchens who have huge chunks of gray and very busy. Any opinions? I was also thinking about cashmere Carrara? Any help is appreciated

@duffwny - if you really want to see what Cloe tile looks like, I suggest ordering a box from Lowe’s or Amazon (Walmart might also have it - I bought a different color of Cloe tile through Walmart last year because the return policy allowed me to take it back to a brick and mortar Walmart store - even though it was shipped to me directly from Bedrosian). Both have free shipping and free returns. Also, when I purchased it - and placed a bunch of tiles out on my kitchen island, it looked like it had less color variation - but when I took a photo of it with my phone, the variation looked the same as in other photos I’d seen posted on Houzz and on Bedrosian’s IG page. The price of Cloe tile has dramatically increased since I purchased it for my kitchen + bathroom two years ago - I think it was about $6.99 sf! Lowe’s has a 90 day return policy (can return to actual store and save shipping cost): Amazon has free shipping and free returns for 30 days (fyi - I have seen the price fluctuate quite a bit on Amazon): This says ”Free 30 day returns” - but then has 90 days when clicked. When I purcjased, I called and was told I could return to a Walmart store within 90 days.