@ raehelen, Thank you, and YES, I am soooo happy that the granite/BS search is behind me!! LOL @ jancy, the cabinet color that I chose was Coffee Clutch. The code for the color is D1-7. I have read of many others using Bittersweet Chocolate by BM and Black Bean by SW. But, the Coffee Clutch looked great to me at Ace, so I chose it. I did have to sand the cabinets to rough them up, and I primed them with a tinted primer first. I think I used Zinser 123. The cabinet and trim paint goes on really nice. I just brushed it on and it went on nice and smooth. Almost smooths itself out. Just use long strokes and plan on 2 coats. It dries hard and shiny. I did not have to poly over it. I painted them over a year ago and they've held up beautifully! The other nice thing was that the wood grain still shows through. It came out really well. Don't be afraid... go for it!! :)

I'm wondering the same thing, too, about the granite backsplash. In terms of 3 cm versus 2 cm, I think I would go with the slab that spoke to you. Unless you can find a 2 cm one that has similar coloration to the one that you already like and with all the variations in natural stone that might be difficult to match. I was told that it's easier to fabricate with 3 cm slabs because you don't have to use plywood on top of the cabinets or do any special edge banding to hide the plywood. It appears that it's normal on the east coast to use 3 cm slabs whereas in California we seem to have more 2 cm slabs readily available. I think the trend will most likely be for 3 cm in the future due to fabrication costs.

Mpagmom, that is a gorgeous kitchen you posted. What makes the stripe of granite BS really work in that kitchen in the careful planning the designer or someone did. The height of the granite BS is the same height as the range vent, the bottom of the window sills and the bottom of the cabinets around the range, so there is one clean, black line that goes around the entire space. We are planning a mix of BS styles. Our range wall and sink/window wall are separated by a patio door. The range wall is a focal wall and will have tile or a sheet of glass from the countertops to the bottoms of the cabinets and up behind the hood. Our sink run of cabinets is 10' long with a 6' wide bay window in the center. There is about 6" between the countertop and the window, so we will use a granite BS to bridge that gap. Above will just be paint. I wanted to just paint that wall to the counter, but my designer has convinced me I don�t want painted drywall down to the counter. I also really like the little 2" stone back splashes.

Granite is not necessarily the greatest cost. Ceramic tiles can be extremely costly. Granite can also be used to frame ceramic focal points. You need to decide whether your granite is to be the "Star" or one of a few stars or not a star. Proceed from there. One place to look for photos of kitchens with granite backsplashes and counter tops is a book called Design Master Class. The designers have a definite viewpoint, so you can decide whether you agree or not. Their style is "quiet," meaning not too many stars. Their backsplashes are usually either the same stone as the counter tops or a simple tile. Not everyone subscribes to this view, though.