Just read the other updates to this thread. redroze - the floors are white oak - natural - with a coat of poly on them in that photo - they'll get at least 2 more coats before all is said and done. the backsplash is only going to be painted - i did not want tile. the jazzed curves were to be the interest with just a plain or glazed paint to bring out the beauty of the granite. we have pendants now installed over the peninsula - will post photos soon - they are pretty similar to socabeths = they are black down rods and white alabaster-ish shades. socabeth - gorgeous!!!!! i love seeing more seafoam!!! funny to see your saddle stools since i have been obsessing about stools today and thet are high on the list. :) where did you get yours???? sail-away - thanks! :) yes - we ARE fully functional! it's wonderful. today painters were here. the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to blind me!! i, too, had my eyes opened to the real beauty of granite when i visited one of our fabricators fave places and saw all of the exotic stones. at first i thought i wanted something very uniform and the more i looked, the more i was drawn to stones like seafoam that, i think, are such true works of art. :) Today's update: 2/18/08 MOnday - carpenters finished the crown moulding at the top of cabinets and put in toe kicks. Painters came and started painting of interior doors (we are in midst of almost whole-house remodel and they started with door painting - kitchen painting is tomorrow or Wednesday). Cabinet hardware arrived via UPS from CCBRASS.COM - carpenter will install tomorrow. I'm still in shock that this is really MINE. Dorothy

Thanks for telling me about the online / in-person sample difference, Raynag. My husband went into Detroit tonight for a friend's concert, driving my car, and someone broke into it. They smashed a window. I can handle them getting my credit card, and bank card, and driver's license. I'm so sad that they got my diaper bag (bookbag style, not designer but not cheap plastic) and folding potty seat (ordered online, no clue where) and, worst of all, digital camera. I took the kids to the petting zoo today, with their preschool class, and took pictures. I left the diaper bag in the front seat of the car, with the camera inside. Last minute, I asked DH to take my car instead of his, because mine's in better shape, safer on the road. I feel so sad about the camera. It was nice, Canon XS or something similar, and felt like a splurge a year ago. These jerks probably thought they had a nice find there, but now I just can't take pictures of my kids and my kitchen. I know this is no big deal in the big picture but it's just so rotten. I bet they don't think about the hours and dollars of clean-up it costs us, to fix what they did. So, no pictures for a while. Okay, unlike Igloo, I'm whining. Done now. D@!*it.

So, just to come full circle on this thread - which no one may give two hoots about but me, lol, but just in case this can be a useful reference for someone in the future - we went with the cream cabinets with cafe glaze, Cambria Berkeley, the cappucino tile backsplash, and Savannah Grey thin brick on the island base for the texture we wanted (and where feet can touch and rest and no worries about marks).

I am a fabricator. Many fabricators have inventory of engineered stone ("quartz") products. For a long time all the ES colors were various homogeneous random patterns so there was little need for previewing slabs although it was still a good idea due to the manufacturers acceptance of so called "resin pools" which were often hideous visual flaws that could otherwise end up in your countertops. As the various engineered stone manufacturers developed the ability to produce slabs with movement it became much more important for the end user to preview the slabs and consult on the options for grain transitions at the seams. All you have to do is read this forum regularly to know how often a grain transition issue comes up. if you want a countertop with movement you either take the risk of getting rain transitions at seams you find highly objectionable or pick a fabricator with inventory and the expertise to involve you in the layout decisions prior to sawing.