Thanks for your replies. FIRSTHOUSE. I love your kitchen. It is BEAUTIFUL. Your kitchen looks both "homey" , "clean and classic" and ELEGANT just as I imagined mine to be. We are having our cabinets made with glass fronts like yours also. And yes we have the same look in floors. We just had ours oak floors refinished with Miracle Oil, it is suppose to be tougher than poly, ( used in the Grand Ole' Opry dance floor.) Do you like them? We don't have our baseboards back up or furniture in the rooms yet , people think they are not finished. Here's another question FIRSTHOUSE, in the photo your counters look like marble. DH would like granite over marble over concern for marble's reputation. I've never seen white granite, can you tell me more about it ? What is its coloration ? Tell me all about your kitchen. Thank you so, so much for your inspiration.

Hi again rinskin, Go to the second link I sent you and then click on some of the links that branch out from that. These are all designer/bloggers and they all recommend honed AND some are getting them rehoned from time to time. One designer said she bought hers honed but wants them honed again for an even more matte finish. They all talk about living with marble and the fact that it will etch and that is a part of its beauty....if you love marble. If you prefer the pristine look and glossiness, go with quartzite or polished granite. It sounds like you want the look of honed marble. Don't be afraid, come over to the dark side....lol ;)

Hope we didn’t make a mistake. Stone Source did not have any soaostone we liked. so we went with a honed black granite. I have seen somewhere that citrus might etch them which I was hoping to avoid with soapstone. They are honed on one side and leathered on the other. So, I might have to go with the leathered. I still chose Danby marble for my perimeter cabinets. I think I would like the honed granite better aesthetically to go with honed marble. Any thoughts while I have time?

@Beth H. - thank you for your comments. I don't think we want to have dark counter tops. The kitchen is open to our family room. The minimal wall space in the kitchen will be painted a light blue color, as will the walls in the family room. We were thinking about: a) white cabinets and island b) the Calacatta gold marble 3" x 6" tiles for the back splash c) light(ish) counter tops on the perimeter and island (perhaps with some grey coming through d) medium brown hardwood floors We thought about using walnut for the island surface, but decided against it due to maintenance issues. If we didn't want to have dark counter tops, are there any other options? Thanks!