These are my pics of my countertops placed Friday June 22, 2018. I cried looking at these seams. It looks so cheap. Fabricator explains that's the way it comes. I explained that I shouldn't be able to see the seams so clearly. It looks so unprofessional. They ended up taking them back to their warehouse. In hopes they say if it is quality control will try and fix it just to make it look better. Otherwise I will have to pay an additional fee for them to come out again to install. I just don't know what to do and if still looks the same. This is the first time I've replaced my counters in 24 years. I don't and can't live with it. looking at this for another 24 years. It looks so cheap and it really was not it's a lot of money to me. I hope fingers crossed that they will fix this problem. They never told me that there would be such seams. I thought the edges were done by a machine and it would be all one piece. I have read up on this and now understand there are seams. But now I do know that they should not look like this. If they are good fabricator you shouldn't be able to see them so clearly. I will find out next week what happens.

The island pattern match looks good. Most people would be very happy if they got a match up that good. Center of the island is as good as anywhere to seam it. With the variation in color of the stone, no one color for the seam adhesive is going to disappear. If the perimeter is going to be redone, the fabricators we work with will NOT under any circumstance put a seam near a sink or over an open area (such as dishwasher, undercounter ice maker or undercounter frig/wine cooler). Some fabricators will and swear that it's okay. I would work with them to find a way to seam in another location that is less noticeable and receives less daily use.

i wouldn't be too worried about seam strength, frankly. if it's in the corner, the cabinet edges will help support it, and similar would be true for the sink. i would think about what you would find noticable/irritating. myself, i'd want the seam in the corner. i'd find it less noticable there.

I am a fabricator.... and I don't do work for a big box store because the only way to make money at the rate they are willing to pay requires unacceptable (to me) shortcuts in fabrication and installation. Note your sink is a drop-in; that means the cutout could have been completed after the countertop was set much like cooktop cutouts are done. This means there would have been no issue about breakage. It's very likely the job was done that way to minimize the amount of material required. If those seams in the photo are "finished" then you have a legitimate complaint as they're not flush and they should be.