Thanks everyone! I'm still waiting to hear back regarding my request today for a sample that shows his "enhancing" technique. Oldryder - could you tell me what you use to enhance stones such as ours? Is it common to apply an enhancer and then buff it off? Is it perhaps the same as wiping away the excess? Assuming that's all it is - it should be fine - and then I just need to make sure any sealer he uses isn't a gloss finish. I'm still going to insist on a sample but I wanted to make sure his wasn't some unorthodox method that wasn't an industry norm. And Mags438, the stone (when enhanced) is jet black and the streaks/veins are cream, brown and rust. You can see in this photo (the area where we've wiped it down with a wet paper towel) what it will look like after it's been enhanced. I liked this granite the first time I saw it (polished) but I LOVED it when I saw the leathered version.

Chris- The granite that is installed is dramatic which is why weren't not so much of a fan. We picked Giallo Ornamental because we thought it was sorta boring, which would work well in our house as we already have a lot going on. Here is what I sent them that I think convinced them: Most people posted that they think it is Giallo. Regardless of what it is, they don't allow us to pick out slabs there. While it is new construction, we don't have a lot of options on things; Because of that, you kinda expect to get what you see sample wise. They showed us three different samples of Giallo, all which were grayish brown in color, little movement (although we'd be fine w/ some movement), and no blacks, golds, or reds. The main reason I didn't want Santa Cecilia or one like it was due to the red dots (which my granite has TONS of) and the black; They told my Giallo has NO red dots in it. I do not like either color as I'm more of a pastel girl myself. Thankfully its getting fixed. It will be a week or so though before it happens and when it does i'll post the pictures of my hopefully boring grayish brown granite :) :)

If you don't love it, keep looking. I can't judge the color of the cabinets with the stone because they aren't in the same picture. You really need to see a sample of the stone with the door samples in your kitchen to see how they play off each other. My monitor is showing your cream cabinet as yellow with green undertones. You should love your choice, not be freaked out by it. Keep looking. :)

Somersetlass, yes, it's so easy to get bamboozled indeed! this is the 3rd time I've started the process of changing out our counters to granite. The first 2 times I chickened out, decided to use the money to visit Europe instead. From testimonies throughout the years, from as long as I can remember, all I've heard is about the stress that comes with getting granite countertops. I knew we wouldn't be immune to the anxiety, and I didn't want to deal with all the logistics that comes with it either, but this year I knew I just couldn't work with my existing counters any longer. I think I may have the ugliest kitchen counters known to man-kind. They are formica swirly blue. They're so totally atrocious. We've been living in this house for 3 years now and they still make me cringe every time I enter my kitchen. So I finally took the leap of faith. I'm not even an "I have to have granite counter-tops" type of woman. I honestly would've been happy with formica had they been a neutral color. I like the simple things in life, and sure I like nice things like everyone else does too, but I don't want to lose my mind over them either, but it seems that now this has taken on a life of it's own. What I'm really excited about is our sink more than anything. Do you sense the guilt I'm feeling over such an extravagance? lol