Threeapples I haven't done anything yet. Just in the early stages of planning a remodel and only know I want white cabs and a whitish stone that isn't marble.Love it, but too afraid of the etching and staining. The Macabus is looking promising, but not sure I want something that linear. Will check out the crosscut. Never seen Danbury in person; yours looks beautiful. Gigi, what is your stone? Also love that and Shanghai's.

Glad: There's many different types of sealers that are out there on the market - the best advice I can give you is to - first - find out EXACTLY which brand and type your stone has been sealed with, then look up the reccomended maintainence methods that YOUR sealer company suggests... If YOU applied the sealer, check the label on the container it came in - many companies have websites that can give you what you are looking for... IF your Fabricator applied the sealer - get with him and get the name and the type that was used - maybe he'll have a partial container that he can give you with the info on it.... maybe / maybe not, but it's worth a try.... It's been MY experience over the last 30 years, that many silicone based sealers (which are pretty much the majority of sealers these days - that I run into anyways) can be affected by acetone, alchohol or MEK solution exposure (all snotty solvents) - Again, I am NOT a Chemist dude.. I am a Fabricator, and I like happy customers, so I prefer products that do not let me down, and perform well for MY customers - after all: "Call backs - AIN'T always GREEN BACKS" Anyways......... As for cleaning, many salers work well with a simple solution of warm water and a drop of dish soap if needed... But AGAIN - consult the company info that was provided by the sealer that YOU have on YOUR counters to play it safe. hope that helps ya kevin Kevin M. Padden Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry www.azschoolofrock.com www.naturalstone101.com

Granite in a kitchen in a house valued at $100,000? NOPE, that's a waste of money. You won't begin to recoup what you spend for it. And everyone is changing out their tile countertops, at least from what I see on this site. (It's that grout, who wants to clean the cooking dreck out of the grout?) I would consider NOT buying a house with tiled countertops in the kitchen, all other things being equal. Some people really prefer stained cabinets over painted. I can like the look of either, but unless you get a true pro to do the job ($$$), it's going to look cheapened. Those cabinets look fine to me, and would not dissuade me from making an offer. It's the curb appeal (driveway) you may want to be focusing on. Oh, and see if you can bleach the floor tile grout in the shower as white as possible - or see if there is a way to make it all look like it's supposed to be one light sand or gray color of grout...

I agree with M Miller. 18" is standard and manufacturers of small appliances use that standard to design their appliances. Another thing to factor in -- light rail. If you plan light rail, you might want to consider 18" + the height of your light rail. That way, taller small appliances will still fit. I wish we had done that. We planned for 18", not realizing the light rail would take away from our usable height. (No, our KD did not mention it.) My KA stand mixer (bowl lift) actually brushes the light rail when I slide it in/out from under the cabinets. I have a cover for it and I have to take the cover off b/f I can slide it past the light rail.