I would consider whether your kitchen is open to other rooms in your decision. Is this a new build, major remodel? You'll want these elements to blend. I must say that my island happened by accident. It was originally marble. That's a long story on another thread. Several problems came up during my remodel starting with the floor. My large sample did not have the light and dark variations, so I was quite dismayed when it was delivered. I could not take looking for another product and waiting for delivery and acclimation so I decided to keep it. It made finding countertops difficult. In my case, walnut was a low cost choice to pull in the colors in my wood floor and my brown/black island cabinets. It ends up that the floor gets the most attention, until their eyes move to the island. I think you are wise to think this out now. I would choose the White Macabaus on all surfaces if you go with the charcoal. If you decide on the walnut, I would do a rustic finish so the dents and scratches blend. We grew up up with many fine wood pieces in my parents home, all of which had the surfaces ruined by a household of kids. We did homework on our large dining table, but it had protector pads. You might do a shout out to those that have a Waterlox Satin finish to see how the finish is holding up, especially for scratches. A furniture finish like mine will require lots of maintenance to deal with scratches. I plan to experiment with the recent scratches that happened when family was visiting last week. My nephew dragged a serving platter to get it closer to his plate. The finish does seem to level out over time. I had deep scratches from bathing my puppy last summer that are hardly noticeable now. Another thing to note is that Waterlox has a long cure time.

Thanks Joe Olddryer - it's not the cabinets with the sink. I watched the guy doing it but didn't look close enough. He eyeballed the line where he installed the left side of the sink (made a mark with a tape and then hand drew the line) - and when he screwed in the support it shifted upwards a bit. I though he corrected it at the time - but I guess not. for the record I saw many of these issues (not the sink) before the installers even left. I had an email into the owner that he needed to come out and see this mess even before they were done. From his initial response I thought he was going to make it right - but I guess as he realized how much that was actually going to cost him he changed his mind. At this point My wife and I are considering this an expensive $1,700 lesson (that's about what we paid for the initial deposit) - plus the $400 sink - and are going to contract with someone else and do a complete replacement with both a higher quality stone and fabricator/installer. we knew at the time that we were going down a "budget" route and weren't expecting perfect (we repainted the cabinets instead of replacing them after all). But there is "budget" and there is "wrong". This is just wrong. To Sophie's point about a Malibu vs an SL500 (we actually have an SLC and a Buick, so I understand the difference) - I still expect the Malibu to pass state safety inspection and have a standard automotive paint job without dings and scratches when I drive it off the lot and be able to hit 100mph - even if it can't do 160MPH or have nice leather seats.

A - Options with marble backsplash with white backsplash with some other backsplash B - Designs #1 (no island, one continuous counter) #2 (island, one tall cabinet at very end) #3 (island, two tall cabinets (one on each side of window)) something else C - Aesthetics make the cabinets in the dining room look just like regular kitchen cabinets make the cabinets in the dining room look more like they belong in a dining room, despite being used for kitchen things something else Last but not least: D - Countertop black with white veins solid black some other dark option light grey dark grey something else Hi...what an exciting time for you and congrats on your adorable house... :) I highlighted my own preferences....but they are MY preferences...why?: I adore carrara marble hands down. I think white tile would be rather industrial looking. In fact, I would do carrara on the island if it's in the budget (and you don't mind the inevitable wear) I have always loved the idea of "extending" the cabinet run into the dining area. You don't have to keep kitchen stuff in it. It will fill up with "good" dishes, games, wrapping paper, tableclothes....all of the things we need on the daily. Plus you can NEVER have too much cupboard space. Also, I like to work at an island. My back isn't facing everyone else... I would have a soapstone counter. Once again I love it, but also if you love the carrara, I think the marbled counter would be too much of a opposite, negative look. Good luck on this. The examples you've shown are just lovely...

Seeing this in 2024 and that seam is TERRIBLE! Either the technology has completely improved or people saying it’s completely fine just have a very low standard. 😳I have never signed off a counter with seems like this, nor will I.