Thank you Phila_2009 for letting me know since one store told me that the area under the cabinets may never become the same color since I do not have a lot of light in my home office since my windows are only in the front of my office and are only opened at the top and bottom with the middle covered and really only the area in front of my desk gets natural sunlight. The rest of the room has chrome Fluorescent 300 wattage Torchiere Lamps with no other windows. All the cabinets (supply and file) are a light putty color). In the family room, I know the floor will look wonderful and get a lot of light with the 4 big windows that face the woods (but I usually keep the sheer horizontal blinds closed to let in light and have privacy and the room never gets hot so maybe I do not get a lot of sun there with all the big trees shading the area) and I plan to not have a carpet or rug in that room with just the beige sofa and recliner and glass end tables and coffee table. The Oak TV stand is on wheels so I can move it around. What I am worried about is the four 5-drawer 42" wide file cabinets that will be on the home office floors (my living room and dining room I made into my home office) & three 42" wide 2-drawer file cabinets and two 30" wide two drawer file cabinets in the two room home office that has also a desk, computer desk and a credenza. I also have two supply cabinets in the dining room part blocking another desk for a part-time worker. It is amazing how much furniture I have in the two room home office. Maybe I shouldn't worry and when I move, I will just have to explain to buyers why the floor is two different colors with more of the floor light that was covered than dark that was exposed? I don't plan on moving soon but life is full of surprises and if I meet someone and we want to move to a bigger place, I worry about the color change. For now I do love my townhouse that is the size I need and is in a great beautiful location. The Brazilian Cherry floors go so well with the different woods I have in my home especially the cherry office furniture and the cherry legs on the glass tables in the family room. My kitchen has oak cabinets open to the family room and my stair way has a walnut railing. My walls are all light and so are my blinds.

kausd--I guess I can't picture what you are referring to. brian--So to get this straight, the 1/4" or whatever of plywood would be under the stone. And, there wouldn't be a visible gap underneath because the counter overhang would conceal this. Correct? gr8day--So shims might be somewhat similar to what Brian is suggesting. And, it is good to hear that the pencil tile solution looks good in person. Thanks all!

Thanks all. Bill: 3cm = 1.2" thick curb? (Must look great!) That's 2.5x the thickness of mine! Still I should be ok? (I'm near Boston, MA: these Carrara curbs are common (in stock) at many tile shops near me and they are only 1/2" or 3/4" thick. I'm not going custom.) Seems it wouldn't be too costly if - worst case - it cracked and had to be replaced? (I.e., if I hired the tile guy to come back. The curb is $100. I'm in a very high labor cost area.) No shower glass to remove/replace. And I realize the edges by the existing tile - we're using 3x6 ceramic glossy subway tile American Olean Brights - might get messed up a bit and that's fine. We're using Bright White grout to minimize issues on the walls. (Dark gray on floor.)

Just had this done for the same reason wanted a taller look to our backsplash. Our tiler had no problem removing ours which is black granite and it looks great!