I realize this is an old thread, but thought I'd my two cents in case anyone else like me reads through this and partially bases his/her choice on all the comments about how indestructible Blue Pearl granite is. I wish I had taken joyce_6333's comment more seriously. We have had our Blue Pearl for a little over one month and I am so sad about it. During the daytime it looks great. At night with the lights on it does not. Scratches and divots can be seen when the light hits it right. The first night after installation we noticed what looked like something smeared and dried on. Two of the fabrication/installation techs came back out and took a razor blades to it to scrape it off. Then I noticed some scratches and a divot. Another tech came out and filled the divot (beautifully, I might add!), but said the scratches are too shallow to fill -- we'd have to have the stone repolished, which is a big job and $$$. In the days after, we noticed even more scratches. Like I said, they show only in certain light. And I have three big dish drying mats and three cutting boards with rubber corner backing protection placed strategically where we'd set anything down. The biggest scratch is almost a (curved) foot long. The other ones are straight and "only" about two inches long each. I am SUPER careful, use Weiman's granite cleaner and clean microfiber clothes, don't let any water drops sit on it, don't even prep anything on it -- I'm using a card table for that because I am afraid to further ruin the granite. Hubby hates it because I barely let him touch it either. We were told, don't cut things on the bare counter -- not because you'll damage the counter, but because you could dull your knives! So how, when we've babied this counter, is it scratched already? And has holes (only two very tiny ones, but still). Husband isn't upset; I am. It's two huge slabs with one seam down the center, which is barely noticeable -- they did such a great job with that. He said if I had seen how hard it was for the five guys to get it in the house and in place, I would understand how it could have been scratched in the process. But, geez, I at least expected it to look brand new on day one. And they sealed it and told us to reseal every 6-12 months even though now I'm reading pretty much everywhere else not to seal Blue Pearl. ??? I will say that the two smaller areas (stove and coffee bar areas) have no visible scratches or divots -- they look really nice. And, oh! The fingerprints!!! I've tried to cover every surface where my husband might put his hands, but sometimes as soon as I move the cloth he'll touch the granite and bam! Fingerprints! I guess this is the downside of having a polished surface. Let's see what happens when we can start having family/friends/guests over again one of these years. I promised hubby I would let it go (or see a therapist about my "obsession" and "emotional attachment" to the countertop). So, this is my way of getting it out, "grieving" the loss of my expectations, and moving on. Hope it helps someone else. [It does look lightyears better than the 40-year-old cracked white tile we had before (already cracked when we moved in). And I am loving that we had the countertop made into one level surface rather than retaining the dysfunctional raised bar area behind the sink. Our job entailed two 3cm slabs @ 124" x 74" (63.72 sq ft). We went with the demi-bullnose edge.]

THanks so much, Willow. Yes, the marble is polished. The slab came that way, and I thought it was going to get honed, but it didn't. I decided to try it out like that, partly because it's so pretty, and partly because I thought the kitchen needed a little bling -- muted colors, matte soapstone, brushed stainless, why not try something polished? I do not baby it. I haven't left red wine on it all night or anything, but it doesn't seem to stain at all. I do not know what sealer they used; I will contact the fabricator and find out. It was in a big jug with no label, just sharpie pen "marble sealant" or something like that. I imagine they just refill from larger containers. Yes, there are etches. I pay little attention to them, they certainly don't jump out. There is so much going on in there, that frankly I don't think they are very noticeable. I get a lot of natural light, so there are trees reflected in it. And there are tons of different colors and shadows already, maybe you can see from the pic of the slab. Not only white and gray and gold but black and rust and beige and pale pale gray, etc. So maybe it's different than having something a little less active. Or maybe I just don't see things that others do. But so far, it's been wonderful!

Hey, barncatz: Every word of consolation and support helps. I'm trying not to rush the BS decision, but I know I'll feel much better about the countertop experience once I'm not staring at these sliver add-ons. One of my very early inspirations was Majra's kitchen. She, just like pipdog, used the mosaics for a lovely effect. And this is why I spent so much time last year looking at mosaics. But the mosaics seem a bit too busy (for me) up close. The rest of my kitchen is a work in progress. Lotsa 9-1/2' walls that will need to be painted again (probably a cool white -- the next challenge!), and a ton of natural light coming in. Baseboards, pantry door and trim are all semi-gloss white, and ceiling is white. Kitchen is open to the family room: taupe walls with a white fireplace/mantel -- white trim throughout the entire house. pippiep: Matching grout it is, then! One decision down. :) I've marked out the areas that will require BS tile. As you can see, it's not very expansive, and each one not very large. So, I need to find the correct scale/dimension tile that will look right in these spaces. I think using larger (3x6) tiles in a herringbone pattern will leave me with a bunch of chopped up squares in the bartop and cutout window areas. At least with the newest elongated hex pattern, most of the hexes will be retained.

We have a rustic slate bathroom which I love and am extremely happy with. That said many of the comments made here about it are legitimate thoughts to consider. The tiles are uneven, and if a tiler without a lot of experience laying slate does the job, you could have bumps in areas of the flooring that won't appeal to your feet. It can run cold, but that has not been an issue for us even in sub zero weather, it's just not something we care about. It's very hard and can be hard on one's legs if you're standing for a long period of time. The pro's are that it's very low maintenance though, seldom shows dirt and super easy to clean when it does which was important to me. I don't agree with Lakeeffect in that you don't have to get Vermont Slate. If you research it at all, you'll find there are lots of different types of slate that will work fine. We didn't get Vermont slate. I did however take the suggestion of a pro in the bathroom forum and soaked some tiles in a bucket of water for several days to see if they would break down. It didn't and it's done amazingly well in all areas including the shower. These are old pictures from our remodel just after the install and sealant. It's called Indian Autumn and the pictures don't really do it justice. We wanted everything we've upgraded with to be of natural materials and earthy, so we didn't go with a porcelain, but if it's not something you care about, I think that the Daltile would be a good alternative.