We have a traditional kitchen but similar colors to yours---white Shaker perimeter and dark cherry island. Our perimeter counters are a dark green granite with a lot of "movement" and the island is a white guartzite called luce di luna. The quartzite is a real stone, slightly harder than granite I'm told but I'm not sure, and at least in our area a bit more expensive. It is, however, very calm and I could see it in a modern kitchen such as you describe. When we priced out granite, quartzite, and zodiaq we found the price difference for our kitchen was really rather negligible so we went with the granite and the quartzite but if the zodiaq---I think it was misty carrera that we were considering---had been much less we would have used that instead of the quartzite. HTH.

"L" tops in stone with a pronounced linear grain always create a challenge. 1 option is to cut the corner seam at a 45 and grain match as close as possible across the seam. sometimes this works great but it takes more stone to make the 45 degree seam. 2nd option is to put an appliance garage in the corner to mask the grain transition. 3rd option is a standard seam and just realize the best compromise is with the flow of the movement running parallel to the walls which necessitates an abrupt transition in the corner.

decker-That's great that you have enough to use the whiter sections! We had a similar scenario with our slab; it was darker at the bottom, so we used the upper, lighter section for the long counter run & a different chunk for the desk area on the other side of the kitchen. I had a cutting board (although I don't cut on it!) made from the darker section of our slab & keep it on the lighter section next to the sink. The contrast is lovely, & I wanted to preserve something from the beautiful darker section. You might consider; many fabricators give a free cutting board. Or you could make a Lazy Susan (we did this with a leftover piece from our soapstone island). Your slab is so beautiful and interesting! Love Sea Pearl. Pls keep us posted on your progress!

I am remodeling kitchen now，Just installed a granite countertop , but it has black pattern with in the stone.And its not smooth，touch that feel a little bit rough ，The builder insists it’s natural veining but it looks like a crack to me. Anyone else think it’s nature？And any advice on what I can do?