Hi patagonia2, I have white shaker style kitchen cabinets with Pental Tobacco counters and honey oak floors. My back splash is matte Daltile Rittenhouse 3 x 6 subway in Arctic White, with alabaster grout. I also have white appliances. Despite all these whites everything works very well together. After living with Tobacco counters for 4 years I think it would not look very good with a grey tile back splash. Tobacco is a warm toned counter. I might lean towards a taupe tile or just go with white like we did. The Tobacco has a bit of movement in it and is a little busy in areas. It las lots of taupe spots as well as the little garnet flecks. We almost chose Daltile Biscuit instead of white, but I'm glad we went with the white. I'm not sure I would go with the Carerra back splash with Tobacco either. It is too white and grey and it does not have the warm tones that the Tobacco has in it. If you go with the Lattice, Statuario or Onixaa counters then I think the Carerra would work well and also the grey tile back splash. Our neighbor did a medium grey tile back splash with Statuario counters and white cabinets. Looks wonderful and timeless!! Onixaa, Statuario and Lattice were not available when we were looking for counters so we chose the Tobacco which, at the time, was the closest to a marblish look with grey/charcoal veining. The taupe/tan in Tobacco matches well with the honey oak floors we have. It gives the kitchen a warm feel and breaks up the all white we have. I have not seen the other 3 in person, but I do think I would like them as well since they are more like the real look of marble. I can't seem to be able to post a picture of our kitchen. I have photos on my computer and not in an on-line storage site. Thats probably why. I don't know of a way to post one so you can see it. :( Hope at least some of my experience helps you decide. Either way you decide it will be a beautiful kitchen.

wilson853, the delay was mainly because I wanted to wait until my husband was in town and could supervise. We didn't discover it until later, but they didn't leave a big enough gap for the stove, and they put silicone between one of the doors and the counter so the door wouldn't open. This time they sent different subcontractors and I was much happier.

Are you sure that the difference in color/shading is not to show you where the seams would be? The stone is otherwise all the same color. We had something similar sent to us from our stone fabricator. The template looks weird. See how the L shaped area is larger than the rest of the U shaped countertop? I thought they had made a mistake in the layout. The shading is also slightly off. It was explained to me that the size difference is to show where the seams are.

You re-picked an all time favorite of ours for its neutral versatility! Silestone El Calacatta Gold Suede is a great way to tie in warm and cool tones and the matte finish gives it a more sophisticated, natural look in our opinion. With your light maple cabinetry this is a much better complement than the original quartz you posted - without any warmth they looked like an afterthought. With your new selection you have brought the netral tones together and you should be confident going forward!