It's amazing how long this conversation has been going on! I thought I would add my experience. Just more food for thought for someone. We bought a 70's home and have been adding a master suite and updating. We were unable to add on to or change our kitchen and it's pretty small, so we opted to add a beverage center off the great room to get most beverages out of the kitchen. I was advised to do a dry bar by a designer who said wet bars are old news. It has an ice maker and 2 refrigerator drawers and a pull out drawer for liqueur bottles under the counter and shelves above for glassware. I have to say, now that we are using the space we really wish to have a sink. As is, it's great for water, soda, beer, and wine, but if you want to mix something with those liqueur bottles it's pretty inconvienent to not have an easy way to clean up a spill or add water to something, or blend using the ice maker that's right there. I wish I had gone with my own instinct instead of listening to a designer. We are considering adding the sink right now before the builder is totally done with our project. It's going to be more expensive now. I have a beautiful beverage center, but I wish I had researched this issue sooner. I got sidetracked by too many other decisions and just went with someone else's thoughts. We don't have room for one but a dishwasher drawer would be really cool as well.

Hi Everyone, what an interesting thread... I'm at a crossroad...we are in the middle of the kitchen remodel and I'm having doubts about the slab granite we selected. I never wanted granite to begin with. For years I admired Caesarstone Buttermilk, thinking that would be my next kitchen counter. Upon entering the store, we were told quartz is 30% more, and so considered, and ultimately chose granite. The granite we chose is beautiful, and a bit different, but granite itself does not contain the clean lines I envisioned for my new kitchen. I've been trying so hard to make it work with my colors - and I think I can pull it off - and yet when I see pictures of quartz countertops in a solid, neutral surface, I get a bit sad, and think that it is more my style. Does granite 'grow on you' once installed? Granite is so different, and fascinating, and straight out of the earth, I would imagine every day would present a new view. It is not too late to change my mind. I just need to make up my mind, and reconcile the cost difference. I called the store today and requested a bid on Caesarstone Buttermilk, and am waiting to hear back. So...granite or quartz, sigh, what to do? I like to decorate with color, solid color, not patterns. I keep a neutral background (walls, floors, furniture) and use plenty of solid colors for accent. I've got bar stools in 4 leather colors, and am about to order pendant lights in 4 colors, and have dishes in many colors, and also local pottery dishes. The granite we chose is a flow of browns and creams with flecks of gold mica. It's called Splendor Gold, or Gold Splendor. My 2 slabs have a good amount of ivory and cream in them, and the browns are warm. I'm trying to imagine all of my accent colors and dishes working with the granite. I'm trying to imagine the dishes sitting on the granite counter, and the different colored bar stools and pendant lights nearby. Do any granite owners have feedback on coordinating with their granite? I would appreciate your input very much! Thanks...

Joins in counters will be covered by Schlüter's "RENO-T" strip tapped into a well-siliconed joint. I will be antiquing their solid brass t-strip to blend with the wood and stone. Yes, stone is on both sides of the range - useful landing pad for hot stuff. I would have bought a kitchen-full of it, but this is a low-budget update. I took a cabinet door and a chunk of floor tile to a granite yard that advertises its scraps on Craigslist and told them I wanted two teensy bits of granite and it had to blend with the existing kitchen. The poor salesguy helped me go through 2500+ square feet of stacked scraps and there were just TWO remnants that weren't too greyish, too yellowish, or too whatever-ish. It wasn't actually too bad. I rejected a couple and he narrowed down the remainder to just the reddish toned ones. A side effect of the new sink is that the disposal and drains are farther back in the cabinet, and way to the left ... I get way more usable undercounter space than previously.

I, too, put anything in the dishwasher that will fit, EXCEPT my stemmed glasses, as like PCC Pro said, they're too tall. I often say I would put the crawfish boiling pot in there if it would fit! I have a Maytag and that sucker on pot scrubber will clean anything and clean it well. That said, Sophie Wheeler Pro also said, "Or the grid inside the sink" -- in other words, drain things in the sink if need be. Another super place to let things drip dry is INSIDE A CLEAN DISHWASHER! I love marble, too, but my husband and I know our limitations and we tend to ruin anything that can be ruined; we are fully aware that anything needing special care is NOT for us. Even if we didn't ruin it right away, we would forget to seal it timely and we know eventually it would get marked which would drive me crazy so I know better than to use it. When we get to the countertops, we're going with quartz or Caesarstone, both of which are practically indestructible, require little to no special handling or sealing, and have selections that look very similar to marble, even Carrera marble, which I think is gorgeous though kind of overused now (http://www.caesarstoneus.com/collections). Both are pricey but like I said, they will still look good 20 years from now and we don't have to worry about which one of us marks up the new countertop first!