Thank you soooo very much! The slabs at Mondial are truly beautiful. Actually, they all look nice and deserve a look. I agree that photos do not do these slabs justice. I have not gone to these places. The Bianco Antico that I posted above was from New Age Stone on Creditstone (I think) - it runs parallel to Jane. You are absolutely correct in saying that we are both pining away from the same thing. For me, it's just this gut feeling. Unfortunatley, with the many delays that we have had with this kitchen, I have been out to look at granite along Jane Street a few times over the last 4 months and my tastes have changed considerably. I started off loving granite with extreme movement, then moved onto the gold tones - Ghibli gold, Madura gold, etc. I finally took my teens out with me and they absolutely hated the golds = too orangey for them and old-fashioned. As a result of all of their input, I think that I have just learned to suppress any excitement about granite. But I have this nagging feeling that the right Bianco Antico might be perfect - elegant, quiet, understated, but still beautiful especially on light cabinets. This would look especially good in my kitchen since we want Antique Brown on a chocolate stained island, so it would end up being light on light and dark on dark. Thanks for the names of the granite places - I am packing up the entire family and we will go on Saturday. Or better yet, I will drag them out one at a time as they finish exams this week and have some time off. I can't wait to go.

You cannot match the color flexibIlity of choosing a manmade bacjsplash (ex. Ceramic) over the inflexibility of natural stone (marble). Even if you see a sample of the thassos, the lots vary considerably. I went with a handmade ceramic with grey undertones which looks more interesting and varied than regular ceramic, but goes with my BA really well. Lots of people thought it was natural stone at first! Here is a link that might be useful: My Reno Blog

I too would always choose a granite - personal taste. Having said that, Bianco Romano that you mentioned is one of the most absorptive, stain-prone granites there is, almost like a marble. There are so many other choices in light-colored granites. Johnsoro25's Alaska White just mentioned for example. I have a friend with that Alaska White granite. Not only is it beautiful, but she has 2 teenage boys and the granite takes their lack of care and even abuse no problem, and continues to look lovely. BTW, granites have interchangeable names sometimes. Alaska White is similar to Bianco Antico, Bianco Delicatus, White Delicatus, White Springs, Cold Springs, and Lennon. All are lovely with slight variations in appearance - some have more black chunks, some less, some are more taupe in feel, some have more pattern, some less. Stoneyards aren't that careful with how they name their granite slabs. Because of the variations, you really must go to different stoneyards to see what they have, and choose the slab that fits what you prefer.

1/8 will give it a more contemporary/modern appearance. 1/4 is more rounded in appearance making it appear more classic and traditional. If it has a large amount of mica, the 1/8 may be best. The last thing you want is for the mica to crumble off. No sealant on this planet will keep that from happening. I hope this helps.