I would be curious to know how the Dacor oven works when you get it. There were quite a few problems with Dacor a little over a year ago. They admitted programming errors but work on a complaint basis only, so if you have problems, get on it right away. We bought the one with the Discovery controller and had the ER36d range and they could get neither oven to work, after HORRENDOUS customer service, to their credit, they did buy them back. The oven was replaced once and the computer boards on both appliances multiple times. I know now several people who have had Dacor ovens and all had problems ranging from the computer board going out to not being to ever regulate the temperature. Hopefully they will have fixed all that. There have been some on this board who had initial problems but they were eventually fixed to their satisfaction. I would inspect every inch of the enamel and get an oven thermometer to check it. I also have the KA 48" sxs and really like it. There was a slight problem in that they manufactured one door gasket slightly thicker than the other so one door sticks out slightly more than the other. They tried to fix it, but all the gaskets were the same. It is minor. I generally like the layout and can put my 9x13 dishes front to back in the fridge. The last two years, I had parties feeding 60-70 and fit everything in just the one fridge. I had two refrigerators before in my old kitchen. I don't think it is all that much bigger but it is just arranged well for me.

We cook a lot, too. Have had every kind imaginable over the years. Definitely like the 60/40. In our new house we had a local metal fabricator do stainless counters with the sinks welded in so it's seamless. One is 18" and the other is 12". Larger sink is 14" deep and smaller sink is 10" deep. The back edges are in line rather than the front edges. This is because I know my cooking habits. I like to rest things on the edge and pour out or get water. I would never go back to even sized bowls. One is always a little too small and the other a little too big.

Tropic brown, tan brown are two others. There are very dark golds like Juparana Tobacco or Paradiso which might work. You might also consider something like teak wood. Etching leaves white marks. On a brown marble it will be very visible. For fun, I got a two buck pink marble tile from the box store and had "science" when I was trying to decide about counters. Science consisted of pouring a small qty of lemon-lime soda on a bit of the marble and seeing if I could get it off before it etched. The answer was NO! I would suggest you spend a couple bucks to get a tile similar to what you want to use and have your own science project.

My kitchen is very similar to yours with white inset shaker perimeter cabinets and a dark island with overlay doors. I used these pulls and knobs on the perimeter cabinets, except for the glass doors: I used these pulls on most of the island: Then for fun I sprinkled in a few of these on upper drawers and doors (pullouts) of the island and the upper glass doors of the perimeter: What counter are you putting on the island? I currently have soapstone (like the perimeter), but they measured it wrong and it needs to be replaced (it's actually smaller than the island cabinetry). So, I'm thinking of taking this opportunity to change it to something different, but can't find anything that I like to go with the existing soapstone.