We've had it for 3 years and get soo many compliments on it. (We're renovating now and gutting our kitchen, replacing with granite). It's a soft black with swirls of grey. When you see it in certain lights you can see a bumpy texture which sometimes makes it look more "fake". But overall it has a very sophisticated look to it. There were some chips around our sink during the sink installation but they haven't gotten any bigger or anything. You have to accept the fact that with laminate, any scratches will show. Overall, I would highly recommend it for those looking for an affordable countertop.

I wish I knew how to post photos! I too wanted a desk area in my small kitchen (@ 12 x 18 ft) We designed our small kitchen like a ship - every inch is usable. My desk is an L shape - the short part of the L is @ 42", the long edge is 60". The desk height is 30" and has a normal chair. On the outer side of the small part of the L, we have an 18" wide set of 3 drawers on the lower part - two regular drawers and the bottom drawer is a file drawer. This short L part is a standard 24" deep as it is the wall that continues from the other cabinets (it is next to built in ovens/cabinets to the ceiling though, so the lower desk height is not next to the other counters which are 35.5" high). Over this short L part of the desk, are bookshelves to the ceiling. On the part of the desk over the drawers sits my printer. The rest of the lower area (an L shape @ (42 - 18) = 24 x the 60" long L part is open. I tuck a small recycling bin for paper near the wall, hidden by the drawers, and there are plugs, etc. for the computer. The long L is only 20" deep (this wall continues on to be a 20" deep window seat that have deep drawers that can be opened without disturbing the cushions). We have the necessary cords come up through a grommet. There are additional plugs above the desk level for the phone and to recharge things. The wall above has Italian pottery plates as art. Thus, when sitting at the desk, the drawers and bookshelves are to my left. To my right is a 7' window seat and tall windows. Thus, the entire 12 ft wall at this end of the kitchen consists of the 5' (long L) portion of the desk and a 7' window seat with storage underneath (the window seat is also an L actually - it mirrors the dimensions of the short L of the desk, so it is all symmetrical. Thus at this end of the kitchen I have more than 200 linear feet of bookshelves for my cookbook collection/accessories. A desk surface that has 78 linear feet (42 + (60-24 depth)), and a window seat that includes five - 18" deep x 18" high x 20" wide drawers where I store large shaped things like vases, deep stockpots, baking things (rolling pins, boxes with cookie cutters, waffle irons, etc). No clutter, lots of storage, and with the tall windows to the yard, it makes the whole kitchen feel open and light.

1.5" high, 3" wide, and here's a (grainy) pic to help. Look at the cup pull in the bottom right of this pic. I have narrow stiles (I think that's the word -- the raised part on a classic Shaker cab, although mine aren't classic). I wanted a cup pull on the trash pullout located immediately left of the sink, although in retrospect perhaps a bar pull would have been better, because it takes up the whole stile.

sometimes knowing what u don't want helps to start the process..."i don't want white/painted cabinets, i don't want marble/laminate tops etc...this will help u narrow your choices.... also, try to keep the kitchen with the style of your home, eg: modern, craftsmen etc...that helps with the "trendiness"... do u want a "warm" kitchen or are u drawn to "cooler" tones...?? go to kitchen displays and see what you are drawn to... look on houzz, pinterest, go to library or buy kitchen magazines to get ideas.... pick the color/style of your cabs and then look for your counters or pick your counters and then your cabs....you have to start somewhere with one element and then go from there.... if you are definitely getting granite, you can pick that first and then style your cabinets around it... many ways to get started, you just have to pick one and run with it... Best of Luck !!!!