When people say that quartz looks like "fake" stone it always makes me scratch my head. For me, I love it because it is clean and uniform--if I wanted "real" stone with the variability that comes with real stone, I'd choose granite or marble. Saying it looks like fake stone is like saying that cork looks like fake wood. Two very different materials, two very different looks. Neither one is better--it's what style you prefer. Exactly! But I have found that many people try to sell quartz counters saying they look like granite but are better/easier/tougher (which I think has already been addressed above). Some of their colours do appear to be in fact imitating the look of real stone. I don't think they do well at that, but I totally agree with you that it's a great choice if you want a uniform or clean look or their vibrant colours.

You'll just have to see how the calacatta looks with it. I have a carrara mini-brick sample and I thought it looked too white with the torquay. I was planning for torquay on the island and carrara on the backsplash, and I wonder if any of the marbles would look good if they are right up next to each torquay. I think the key might be to use a mosaic with small enough tiles that you aren't seeing the marble veining. You'll just have to try different tiles and see if any work. I'll post a link to the website with the irregular one - that's one of my favorites, too. I also really like the 2"x12" field tile with silver medley gemstones in the last picture. Those are Jeffrey Court tiles, and if you go to their website you might find something you love. They are expensive, but if you have a small space it isn't so bad. Here is a link that might be useful: Calacatta marble tile

No to light gray - you can do a lot better. Charcoal grey would look nice as would the other dark suggestions above. Have you looked at leathered Steel Grey? I have hickory cabinets and just put in Costa Esmeralda -- it is a stunningly beautiful stone. My slab is fairly light and leans blue-green, but from what I understand there is a great deal of variation between slabs of CE. My kitchen is nowhere near being done, but here it is the day it was installed. Lighting is cr*ppy (lighting upgrade job already hired out...) but to give you an idea what it looks like on light wood cabinets:

We redid our kitchen a few years back and did most of the work ourselves. Also have hardwood (oak) floors throughout house. We eneded up covering the linoleum kitchen floor with engineered hardwood and it looks great. We did not try to match the tones of the hardwood floors adjacent to the kitchen and went with something very different in tones and grain. As for mixing countertop materials, I think it can look great! We did mostly soapstone and then light maple butcherblock and they look so nice together. I like the way the wood softens the overall look of the kitchen, and it is also a really pleasant (and quiet) work surface.