How do you use the kitchen? Are you good about keeping everything off the counters that might stain or etch? I'm not, but a compromise might be to put marble on the island. Less chance that dishes will get left overnight or raspberry jam ends up under the toaster :) What about a darker wood island with a marble top? If you plan to have seating that would take care of little feet bumping against the island...and it would really set off the marble! For perimeters, maybe the darker gray with the white cabinets (so you don't look like you ran out of marble and tried to match it). As for the backsplash... consider whether you need something durable, behind the range. You might want to add marble subway tiles around the sink or do something different for the entire backsplash. Just a few ideas...

Problem with quartz is that industry is not telling the truth. Quartz is hardest material, harder than granite but the so called quartz slabs are not pure quartz, most of the quartz slabs has less than 60% quartz rest is all sort of industrial waste like granite/marble powder from quarry, glass and concrete and biggest culprit is the resin. Most manufacture states percentage of quartz vs resin by weight, this is just the marketing tactics, stone is heavier than plastic resin, if you look at volume most slab has 15-30% resin. Resin is biggest culprit when it comes to quartz staining and dull marks, resin is very soft material and it reacts with any household product like lemon juice, vinegar, wine, soap, tomato juice etc. and when you spill any kind of acidic/alkaline on quartz it creates etch mark, which looks like stain but it is a chemical reaction with resin, which you cannot get out unless you re-polish surface by professional guy. Even regular use abrasive object like magic eraser, or scotchbrite will create a dull mark when you rub quartz countertop with it for cleaning, it is cutting though soft resin and destroying fine finish. Quartz need to be treated like a baby, it is good for display in galley but not for daily use in kitchen. Egypt pyramid has granite which has withstand 3000-4000 year of abuse but todays quartz cannot withstand normal use and tear of daily kitchen activity. I made mistake of installing quartz, but I will never go back to quartz natural stone/granite is best option for me.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Beth! Those mock up were actually really helpful. I really love the Smoke color from BM, my concern with that one is that our morning room is already a blue gray color. What would I paint the morning room then? These are the current colors in the home (previous owners choices). foyer/hall/upstairs hall/family room/kitchen nook/kitchen This is showing way too much yellow in the space morning room The only color in the house I like library adobe sand on the top of the chair rail and belgian sweet on the bottom In our old house I used colors from Benjamin Moore... Shenandoah Taupe, Edgecomb gray, Georgian Green, Van Courtland Blue, and Van Duesen Blue. I have no problems painting the house on my own, its just the foyer/ceilings that I won't do. I guess I could do all that I can on my own and then hire for the other parts. And I completely agree that the white door is an eyesore! I need to figure out a solution for that. I had painted the doors at our old house black and really did like the look. I know that's seen as trendy and a passing fad but it worked. We're also in Virginia and I do tend to like Williamsburg style which has painted trims and doors. I like the coffee bar idea a lot. I originally had a small table in front of the chalk board but moved it when we added the counter stools. The walkway isn't super wide between that wall and counter. I thought about maybe taking the pantry out and building in a coffee bar in that spot. I asked about it in another post and received mixed feedback.

HI, this is helpful thanks. I just went this past week to the Caesarstone showroom and came home with a handful of sample pieces. But I also went to Silestone and found some there I liked even better. I liked Caesarstone for many colour choices that don't have huge swoopy veining in them. I'm a fan of more subtle veining and colouring. I admire those big patterny veins, and I think they look great if you have a slab on a large island, but when it is on perimeter cabinets the veining so often trails off a side or just makes it hard to match at seams. A less pronounced pattern seems easier to work with and live with in my opinion. I am planning a dark blue kitchen island with white shaker perimeter. So far, our top choice is Silestone Eternal Serena. It is light grey in colour with subtle white veining. It is lovely and something you may want to consider with your Charcoal blue choice. I think it looks great with the dark blue colours and will work well with white too.