The more I look at this, and the more pictures I see of it from various angles, the more I think I would live with it. Or if I redid it I would drop the waterfall, get finished cabinet ends and make sure the counter I did was properly supported.

It doesn't look perfect, it doesn't look like what you wanted but on the other hand it generally makes a good impression, really the top is what people see.

I am a perfectionist. I had a job at one point where I had to discern visually by 0.5 mm and my work was calibrated and quality controlled all over the place. Once you start differenting by millimeters, you can't really un-see them--it's a nightmare.

So generally when I design things, I avoid "statements" like this, because if you read in these forums, I don't think there are many fabricators who can get these things exactly right, and it's not really their fault--the materials aren't perfect either.

And I think these flawless matches we see posted all over the place are Photoshopped.

I actually like looking at real estate with older well-done kitchens and early uses of granite and stone from the 80s and such where "invisible" seams and perfect matches weren't even on the radar. And I kinda can't wait until the interior design and architecture pendulum swings back and is no longer a checklist of big statements.

It would bother me but knowing that is the reason I didn't choose heavy veining when we remodeled. Your kitchen is beautiful but I think the fact that you came on here and posted about it is enough to get it changed. Would you be open to doing a different island counter? Maybe something a bit more simple with the waterfall, and I do think it calls for the waterfall edge here and I never say that!! Gorgeous kitchen.

This is on your independent designer who should have made sure that everything was in writing and then checked and rechecked on site. As the designer I would have been very upset and embarrassed that this happened. But that's water under the bridge now after all the money you've spent on these 9 (!) slabs. See if you can get some consideration from the builder and move on. It looks fine, and as has been noted above, your kitchen is gorgeous.

Missy S:

You may have design problems that aren't showing up yet and won't for several years. Depending upon how the cantilever over the barstools is supported, gravity will make the middle sag. When it does, your waterfall edges will self-destruct. I've got pictures.

Yes yes yes as Diana above. Nobody likes mistakes, and yes I "scream" at big ones. The ones that vastly disappoint, and are tragically expensive to fix. The most un glamorous aspect of this business ? The check, double, triple, checks that go with every element and task related to any build, remodel ....anything.

In the thousands of counter top related posts on this site alone? Most were completely avoidable. Nine slabs? My heavens....... yes I consider that kin of waste tragic, and I don't care if you have alllll the resources in the world. Hate waste of any clients money$$$$$$$$$ : (

Again- I didn’t ask for opinions on who is to blame- please save that part. I also didn’t ask for opinions on whether 9 slabs is too many for my project. I’m not writing a dissertation on the timing of the contracts and slab ordering.

The question I posed wasn’t whether I should fire my designer, which is not happening or whether I should make my builder pay me,, which also isn’t happening. I simply asked for opinions on whether people thought it looked bad or off enough to warrant replacement.

No, but looks may not be the reason for replacement if you don't know how that cantilever is supported.

Joseph- if it’s under 16” with a waterfall- does it need support?

Given the pronounced veining of the material, I think they probably did the best they could do with the material they were given.

@Missy S, it's a bit hard to tell with the plastic on the top, but if you look at the two veins on the top that make the Y, the one on the right appears to run into the waterfall vein. Then, to the left of that vein, there is more diffuse veining on the edge that is adjacent to a similarly diffuse waterfall vein. On the left, the top edge vein does not line up with the waterfall, but the swoop of the top vein as I see it under the plastic, looks okay with the side vein, IMO. It doesn't look either bad or off to me.

Especially given the fact that this end faces the refrigerator, I'd accept this.

@Missy S, Before ripping anything out, is there any way to verify that your remaining slabs will result in a waterfall match that you can live with? I'd want to be sure that it could be better (not just different) before ripping anything out. p.s. your kitchen is beautiful.

So if the material you wanted to use does not come in book match how do you expect the veins to match up? The material has big veins and a lot of them.

^^^^^^ Exactly, would never happen even of you were able to buy 100 slabs.

"Joseph- if it’s under 16” with a waterfall- does it need support?"

With that much span, yes it does.

Missy-

You say you want to know,

"I simply asked for opinions on whether people thought it looked bad or off enough to warrant replacement."

Well, that is a matter of personal aesthetics.

Are you designing your kitchen by consensus?

No, that is not snark.

You got this far in your kitchen on your own taste with your kitchen designer who is presumable trained and certified helping you.

What is happening now?

I could live with it. I know I will be heckled as the unsophisticated, but why would anyone expect things in 2 different planes to match up? At horizontal seams of course... but this looks visually satisfying to me as my brain doesn't anticipate the match.

I have an extra long island with a seam. As we were planning the fabricator made it clear that with almost all quartz that the sean would be obvious, except for the limited selection of book matched. As we were going along with the selections, we consulted the fabricator and now have a beautiful quartzite/ dolomite island with an almost invisible seam. I think that your fabricator should have set your expectations and let you know what was going to happen. They are there for more than just cutting your material, you should get good advice from them also.

I think that I would live with it if waterfall is necessary for you to love your kitchen, nobody else is going to obsess over that corner. You could also just get rid of the walerfall effect all together and probably end up with more useful storage. Good luck and may this be your biggest problem. Enjoy your beautiful kitchen.

"why would anyone expect things in 2 different planes to match up?"

Mitered edges cause things in 2 different planes to match up.

The beauty of a waterfall design is to see the veining 'spill over' and match up over the waterfall. If it were my kitchen, I'd want it corrected, or remove the waterfall as others have suggested.

After reading all comments and looking at the photos again I’d be in the camp that suggested the wood ends. I think it will decrease the visual punch of the countertop material as it looks like you’ve selected a pretty dramatically patterned backsplash as well. It will also allow you to place the necessary outlets and not have them look as awkward as they do on a waterfall. I also think the wood ends will showcase the stain difference between the island and perimeter and will result in a more timeless looking kitchen. My 2 cents.

I agree with no waterfall in this kitchen. You have a beautiful timeless space with your selections and architecture - all except that quartz waterfall. These large fake veins have been trendy, but will seriously date your island, especially so badly done. Matching wood island end panels may be difficult to get in the future.

Your kitchen is going to be beautiful!! I love your large window, so elegant looking. I agree to ditch the waterfall counter since you can’t match the veining. Do a traditional countertop. Please post pictures of your completed kitchen!! Best of luck in your journey!

I agree with the above suggestions to eliminate the waterfall. Regardless of whether you want opinions or not, by posting here you’re going to get them. Both the large veined (plastic) quartz and the waterfall feature will look dated very quickly; sorry, but IMHO they already do. Less is more. Your wood cabinets and the whole kitchen are genuinely beautiful; the quartz, not so much. I completely understand the appeal of quartz, but I’m not a fan of the prominent veins.

@chinacatpeekin You’re entitled to your opinion. However, I love the countertops and veining. I don’t think they look dated or “plastic.” I selected the cabinet and floor color around the Cambria Brittanicca Gold counters that I wanted.

@Missy S I completely agree you should have what you love. Enjoy your gorgeous kitchen!

what a lovely kitchen, please show after pics when it is complete.

Beautiful, beautiful kitchen. It depends on your sensitivity to these things, but I would NOT be happy with the unmatched pieces. To my eyes, it’s VERY noticeable and would bother me every time I walked into the kitchen. It looks like a mistake. This is big, bold veining and there is no hiding the fact that things don’t match up. I would replace with whatever is available and suited my taste. Wouldn’t matter who is at fault…..I would get it fixed/changed no matter who pays (which is one aspect you’ll have to work out with all the parties involved). But first you will have to decide if this is something you can live with. I wouldn’t live with it.

There have been errors in my own build…some due to my ignorance, others due to poor choices on my part, and others were builder mistakes or errors from one of the trades. It’s always nice when someone else has to pay, but if not, I bit the bullet and forked over the cash to make the much needed change/fix.

There is a concept of wabi sabi from Japan derived from Buddhist philosophy.

In aesthetics it can be distilled down to the perfection of imperfection, or flawed beauty.

This is in contradistinction to the Western ideal of pure perfection.

You need to know to which camp you belong and about which things.

One might prefer perfection and scientific accuracy in appliances but a nature-like variation and imperfection in artistry, decor, etc.

One selects an artificial substance for a counter but has it made up with veining to appear real, and wants it to change planes maintaining the same veining pattern which is man-made, and it is debatable whether or not it is natural in its appearance ab initio.

Does one's philosophy towards art and artistry belong on this thread?

Dunno.

Back to Missy-

SInce you made it clear that it's not about the money for you-

Would you buy a patterned throw pillow with the patterns not matching at the seams?

A dress or skirt with the pattern not matching at the seams?

I wouldn't.

If you would, then maybe the un-matched veining won't bother you.

If you would get a patterned garment with unmatched seams, then maybe unmatched veins on a counter don't matter to you and keep it the way it is.

Imperfect rustic style pottery is attractive to me.

If I order Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica it had better be absolutely perfect.

@loobab- I like this. It’s an interesting perspective. I’m not sure which camp I’m in- I think it depends. Im probably somewhere in the middle. I’ll think about this and also see what options may be from the builder. Ultimately, I’m not sure I’m trying to make the counters look real or not real- I think the pattern is beautiful and love the colors. Just like I love mixed metals and materials generally.

Well then, explore the options, and play with a photo editing program.

Looking at how beautiful your kitchen looks with the wood and the counter material, I think the counter will look great with just the top being the quartz and the sides being the same wood as the cabinets, and you'll possibly get some very clever additional storage on the sides too. for that tray or bowl, pitcher, or books or whatever.

Even better than the waterfall which to me looks too matchy matchy if done perfectly and additionally too modern in a kitchen with the warm wood.

But that's my taste.

But you are the one that needs to feel good about your decision.

Just play and play with photo editing, and make print outs of large, very large pictures at a print shop and put them up on your wall and study for a while.

(Go to Office Depot and get the putty stuff they sell for putting up posters on the dormitory walls that won't make a mark.)

Even if you have to spend a $100 for large scale color prints.

This is too important a decision to make by crowd consensus or based on a tiny cell phone picture or even a small laptop screen depiction.

By the way, I know nothing about photo editing, the young people know all about that stuff these days.

Do you have children?

The odds are if you have one in middle school he/she is a whiz.

It depends on how much the matching bothers you. I think your designer should have warned you that the different slabs would mean a bookmatch isn't possible. With the prominent veins, the best the contractors could do was align with what they had.

If it really bothered me, I'd redo it, but on my dime. In my opinion if you moved forward without bookmatched slabs, what you received is totally fair. Personally, I think it still looks lovely and I'd leave it as is. The wood in your kitchen is lovely too and if it really bother you, maybe having wood on the island sides would be preferable.

Very hard to tell with the plastic still on the top of the island. However I would remove the waterfalls

I like how it looks and don’t think people will be focused on it. The side is art. Also you will have things on top thus making it less noticeable. Anyway if you like waterfall go with what you want. Trust me anyone coming to your home will love your kitchen. I love the wooden cabinets. Enjoy

There is no simply "removing the waterfalls" without replacing the tops.

I always warn clients about wide veining in any material. Joints are ALWAYS a problem unless material is bookmarked. But even bookmarked slabs apply more for countertops of large islands. In your case, the “waterfall” doesn’t look right with your styling of cabinetry. So if money is no object, I would go find a Taj Mahal quartzite and make it your kitchen star with no waterfall. It would work with your cabinetry beautifully. Perhaps you can utilize the removed quartz and utilize in other areas. Countertop is mitered to side waterfall which is why you can’t just remove countertop.

Here are some kitchens with islands with Taj Mahal quartzite. You have a beautiful kitchen so I know this is very disappointing no matter the reason why. So a tough choice. I would work with all parties involved and see if you can find some solution you are happy with. Good luck. It’s so hard to overcome your upsets on this type issue but you can and will. If in doubt, take it out. Now is better than later.

Opps

I am a fabricator. After reading thru these posts I conclude the designers lack of expertise is the root cause. 2ndary is the fabricator as even when the designer is deficient in managing the client expectations and job details it is in the fabricators best interest to make sure those things happen. This can take a lot of time on the fabricators part but it's a lot better option than what is happening here.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC

"There is no simply "removing the waterfalls" without replacing the tops."

Why is that?

@loobab- because the flooring was built around the waterfall, the cabinets were built for a waterfall and the top slab is cut and an angle to accommodate a waterfall. It would entail reworking the entire flooring, cabinetry and refabricating the slabs

Because the top was mitered to meet the mitered waterfall edges. There wont be any stone left over to re edge that and have an appropriate standard overhang. You couldnt even re profile it to be flush.

In that case, unless you have a money tree in the back yard, no, a money tree grove, learn to live with it. The odds are, no one will notice it anyway. And you can disguise it if you place an object or objects close to the end of the island such as a bowl of fruit, a vase of flowers, a vessel of lemons, etc right on top of the big vein that doesn't connect to the vein on the side panel.

If you can get a discount from your kitchen designer, all the better, because she should have done a better job overseeing the project and overseeing the fabricator.

And ask for a copy of her emails to the fabricator.

If she refuses, or says the communication was over the phone, that just proves she dropped the ball.

Unless you didn't tell the kitchen designer that you wanted the veins to match, and then it is on you.

Although it seems to me the KD should have asked you that specifically, because she knows about these things, and you should not be expected to anticipate this sort of thing, but she is.

And while the fabricator could have second-guessed the KD, is that his job?

I wonder how many fabricators are like Granite City Services and go above and beyond what the Kitchen Designer requests?

A mitered edge waterfall island is not an accident. It is a substantial cost adder in materials and labor cost. So the choice is yours. Love it or remove it.

"And while the fabricator could have second-guessed the KD, is that his job?"

Yes. It is everyone's job to second-guess everyone else's work. Most times it will be nothing, but sometimes it can save your butt. And it's not just tradespersons. Architects, designers, and engineers are not exempt.

I think second guessing is a rather pejorative way to put it.

How about collaborative effort?

All the person whose ____ is being questioned has to do is say, "Yes, that it how it is supposed to be" or "No, you are right, it's supposed to be the way you say".

I think one of the problems with the modern design process is too much isolated specialization and a lack of direct communication.

There is another messed up countertop thread floating around and from what I can put together it goes something like this.

Salesperson comes for the initial quote, HO mentions something of specific concern, sales person does not write it down, does not communicate that detail to the measurer, and since all he does is give quotes disappears and is never heard from again.

Measurer templater shows up and measures and takes a few notes, since all his job is to do is measure, he disappears and is no longer a part of the process.

Fabricator cuts the material according to the measurements which say nothing about the HOs concern about the design.

Installers come and install a countertop with the wrong cut out and they have had nothing to do with the process up to this point.

Most of them have probably never talked to each other at all, there has probably been the electronic passage of a series of documents with no to little verbal communication whatsoever.

And people are Terrible at reading email information. If I say more than ONE thing or ask more than ONE question many people will only pick one and answer one. I have gotten to the point where I either say at the top ***THERE ARE THREE QUESTIONS HERE PLEASE ANSWER ALL THREE*** or I send three different emails, one per question.

Yes, Joe, of course you are right, and palimpsest, I don't mean second-guessing in any pejorative way.

I just wonder how many people check, and double-check their own work, much less what someone else has said or done.

https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/10/health/kidney-removed-from-wrong-patient/index.html

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-surgeon-removed-wrong-kidney-20141204-story.html

Kinda makes a scratched or bumpy counter small potatoes...

Yes, palimpsest, poor communication can engender problems, but when we over/repeatedly communicate we get labelled controlling, neurotic, micro-managers.

Especially the females of the species.

Doing a whole kitchen is a lot more complex than taking your tube of lipstick and writing on one hip (or whichever body part) YES/OUT and on the other NO!

Lots of misses here - and agree- at the expense of the miter and the material - it should have jumped out at SOMEONE that things do't line up (which, of course, is the entire idea behind the MITERED WATERFALL). To install it and think no one will notice is just bad form - but it's telling that everyone just goes about their business to get it done - hoping that no one will push to replace it (due to the stress, and time, and hassle)

Super annoying.

Does the other end match? This looks like the more noticable end of your kitchen and perhaps the matrial you chose isn't long enough to have both ends waterfalled (unless it was bookmatched but even then it's a man made material - unlike stone where you can slice the big chunk like an accordion to get a tone of bookmatched slabs naturally)

If it's a slab length limitation, it's too bad the decision was made to make the non matching end THIS END - as the other would be far less noticeable.

How many people check and double-check their own work? Or something someone else has done? I do it constantly. Before sending an email. Before posting a response on a discussion board. Before sending a text message. Before ordering anything for myself or a client. After ordering anything for myself or a client. When goods are received. Before goods are installed. After goods are installed. I think you get the picture. Too bad if you are labeled controlling or micro-managing. That's the way you minimize errors. You can never completely eliminate them. If you want something done right, you need to be aware every step of the way.

Oh, I do agree with you. But it is difficult to find people who work that way.

I am a fabricator. "But it is difficult to find people who work that way." Countertop fabricators have numerous opportunities for errors and missed customer expectations. The competent shops have PROCESSES that minimize the opportunities for both. Unfortunately many fab shops, including large ones, are oblivious to the idea of manufacturing process management and so they go on making the same mistakes over and over. Process management is simply an organized effort to identify mistakes and then change the way things are done so the mistake cannot reoccur. Eventually the frequency of mistakes goes down, even way down, although people are remarkably inventive when it comes to finding new ways to screw up. If you want a quick insight into how well a shop is run ask someone how their company prevent repeat mistakes.

my 2 cents.