I live in Western NC and got the price at the closest HD to us, which is in Georgia. Maybe it's less here because it's close to the manufacturing plant? DH and I were there one day just looking and natural limestone was on special for that price. I was skeptical and asked why - the lady told me it was a new color and they did that from time to time. That was in late January. I made the decision fairly quickly because I was afraid I'd miss the deal but I think it's still going on. The fabricator who measured 2 weeks ago also installs other HD quartz brands and he didn't indicate LG was anymore prone to chipping. We are only paying for the square feet we're using.

petra - I think the Palermo is very pretty - it reminds me of someone else's Cambria I saw posted recently - gorgeous installed! More info on Viatera - we did have a scratch on our surface. Our GC noticed it right after the install, called the fabricator and he was out the next day to fix it - now a month later I cannot tell where it was. So apparently it fixes well -- I think the resin gives it a little "give." The only 2 warnings we got were no hot pots directly on it (I would not do that anyway) and no standing on it. That was a bit of a bummer, I am short and used to stand on the counter to reach the high beams, but c'est la vie. Bought a little folding step ladder :)

@designsaavy, I love my marble, but to be honest, I am pretty careful with it - probably more so than I have to be! My main concern is etching; if you have a really good sealer and pick up spills fairly quickly, staining shouldn't be a huge issue. My daughter sits and eats at our island sometimes, and we haven't had any issues. We do have a few etch spots, but I can't even see them unless I lean down and look from a particular angle. I would definitely recommend getting honed marble over polished, which helps hide any "patina." :)

We are in the process of selecting our kitchen countertops and I prefer the Brushed Clarino as apposed to the Polished but I am concerned about the durability, staining, and need for more maintenance. Has anyone gotten this product in the brushed version, if so what are your comments. Thank you!