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.

icheer, my cousin has marble countertops made with tiles usually used for floors. Her brother is a tile setter. The one thing they did differently with the marble is put it real close together. You really can't see the seams unless you get your nose right up there. I don't think they used grout because of that. I am out of town and so is my cousin so can't get anymore details for you. My daughter also has marble tiled floors and it is the same, the seams are so small there isn't any grout. So you might want to check this out because it might be different for marble.

People are likely to tell you to do a search--which is a good idea. There have been several threads on this in here and I definitely found them helpful. In the meantime, I can tell you that I have carrara on my perimeter countertops. My GC and KD both said "NO WAY" in the beginning, but I forged ahead! Mine have been in for about six weeks and I love them. The biggest cons you'll hear are staining and etching. I haven't had any staining issues at all. My husband left a lid from a margarita mix container on one counter and it did etch (acidic). But I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who can find it. What you'll generally hear on here is that if you're willing to live with some "patina" meaning some etching and possibly staining (though there are poultice recipes that people seem to have great success with), then marble is a great choice. If you want a completely blemish-free surface, it may not be for you. Definitely do a search on here, though--and good luck!

for the handles, may I suggest something to pick up on the hues in the flooring? A little more copper toned. you have light cabs, light floors. I think throwing in a dark ORB w/o actual copper highlights would be too much of a contrast. IMO. cypress park Sandra, I like the porcelain one better than the other one. Does the backsplash have to be done immediately? If the tones in the porcelain tile you picked clash w/the ivory tones in the counter, it could be a problem. However, I did find some copper toned ones that should be avail. these are porcelain/SS, and treated so as not to stain or tarnish. I LOVE these for your kitchen. timeless and gorgeous. They are probably not super cheap, but it would be worth it for me. http://www.miusartmosaics.com/arabesque-lantern-beacon-copper-tile-in these would also work. the site is here: maybe they have them in stock.http://www.westsidetile.com/arabesque-tiles/ i like this one too. notice the copper faucet. beautiful w/the glass mosaic. if you got the cream countertop, this would look amazing w/your floors. this last one is a copper colored slate/quartzite.