I have a Carrera herringbone tile backsplash with a Silestone Lagoon counter. Love the marble! There are some seriously spectacular combos in this site, maybe do a search for kitchen reveal and the marble of choice. But one of my (many) all-time favorites is @ratrem's stunning Taj Mahal quartzite w/ honed marble subways. Here is a link that might be useful: Ratrem's beautupiful kitchen reveal

I think it's best to focus on getting a quartz that is either very solid and/or in a contrasting color to your marble (a distinct shape like herringbone also helps). If they are too close in pattern, the faux finish will stick out, imho. Regarding the backsplash behind the stove -- some people have had problems, especially those that fry a lot. I've been diligent with sealing and wiping up after use. (As aside, we have pure white quartz in one kitchen and gloss black granite in another -- both show crumbs and smears, for different reasons. The grey quartz shows the least).

@Beth H. - thank you for your comments. I don't think we want to have dark counter tops. The kitchen is open to our family room. The minimal wall space in the kitchen will be painted a light blue color, as will the walls in the family room. We were thinking about: a) white cabinets and island b) the Calacatta gold marble 3" x 6" tiles for the back splash c) light(ish) counter tops on the perimeter and island (perhaps with some grey coming through d) medium brown hardwood floors We thought about using walnut for the island surface, but decided against it due to maintenance issues. If we didn't want to have dark counter tops, are there any other options? Thanks!

Hi there! I do indeed have updated photos. We ended up choosing Pental Quartz’s Carrara (a quartz imitation of Carrara marble). When I saw larger images of Venatino, it looked rather like someone had splatted a bunch of black threads on a white countertop—not quite what I was going for! If you google for images, you may see more examples. - Countertop: Pental Quartz’s Carrara - Tile: Riad Tile’s 2x6 Zellige in Snow - Cabinets: SW Pure White - Walls: SW Zurich White - Butcherblock and Shelving: some combo of Mahogany stain with a darkening (mildly graying) water-based stain, with Rubio’s 2C Pure. There also might have been some Provence stain? Not totally sure. The shelving and beam had a higher proportion of the water-based stain to maje them darker. Any relevant details I am missing?