In my experience, "small cracks and off-coloring" are inherent in stone products, especially in small tiles like those used for back splashes. I returned an entire order of marble subway tiles because so many of them were like that. According to the supplier, those things are to be expected, and I was charged a fairly hefty re-stocking fee for the privilege of returning them. IMHO, a disclaimer should be included in every tile contract that spells out the qualities of natural stone products so that customers aren't surprised after their installations are in. Going through the tiles before the installer arrives and getting rid of any that you don't like is a lot easier than removing them after they have been installed and grouted, especially with a material like marble where removing one can easily chip the one next to it. Some people LIKE the variation in natural stone tiles and wouldn't want the "off-color" tiles to be tossed, so I am wondering if it is fair to blame the installer here? No disrespect intended here, just food for thought.

Thanks everyone. I'm all smiley and giddy hearing your kind comments. It melts me heart. I'm glad to hear people like the backsplash tile. It is pretty bold. I was also THRILLED with how the stain on the island turned out. Interestingly, lots of people say the kitchen has a peaceful look and feel to it and that wasn't necessarily something I was aiming for but my kitchen mission statement did include "casual but sophisticated/elegant" which might boil down to "peaceful or tranquil". We feel very blessed to have been able to do such a large scale kitchen remodel and are thrilled with how everything turned out. It also means we won't be moving for the next 15+ years! I can't wait until the bar stools are in and I can start serving snacks to my kids there. We are borrowing one bar stool right now and it gets a lot of use. clarygrace and others - I'm glad to hear you think the colors are coordinate b/c I was in a quandary about that at one point. I can't wait to see your kitchen and island. We love the shape of ours but did it b/c it worked within our constraints. We didn't want to mess with the existing deck outside the bay windows and we couldn't push right much more either b/c of the powder room. And speaking of the powder room - here are pictures of that which was also part of this remodel: tea4all - the pantry is pretty small as far as walk-in pantries go. Finished dimensions are 5.5' long by 46'' wide. We weren't originally going to do a pantry but it made sense with the rest of the layout (it brought the oven closer to the rest of the kitchen) and I am really glad we did! It was actually framed larger and had to be redone b/c large aisles were more important to me than a few more inches in the pantry. The other detail I forgot to include - the grout color on the backsplash is Custom Grout Light Smoke and on the floor it is Lacrete Parchment (just in case someone really wants to know - ha!)

@dostk did you ever resolve this? We had a white and gray honed marble mosaic installed and after grouting, the whole area looks completely different. The stone doesn't look anything like the uninstalled mosaic, now it has almost a dull/frosted glass (not shiny) look to it ... is the best way I can try to describe it. Basically it doesn't even read as marble to me anymore. As far as I know, our contractor's installer did not seal it before hand (it was still in the boxes and packing sleeves) and used a sanded grout. The option of sanded or unsanded was never mentioned to us and as newbies we didn't know to ask. Is there anything that can be done to bring the original look back or is this just expected and we should have done a mock up as someone mentioned before?

Sorry I missed the comment qttire1. I ended up tearing the whole backsplash down and then redoing it with distilled water (no admixture). Probably not what you wanted to hear, but it didn't get any better over time, if anything some areas became worse. Once I redid it, I had a few spots that were getting stained (similar yellowing, but only in small areas). I used a grout cleaner (acid free) and a stiff brush, just lathered it on the brush, gently dabbed it on the area, let it sit for a few minutes, then gently scrub. On a few places the grout was a little thin so it poked through, just repaired that and it was good as new. As for dealing with the Tile Shop, I eventually got them to give me all new material, but they would not budge on either a refund or compensating me for my time/a pro to come do it (the 2nd time). Won't be shopping there again. Link to the grout cleaner: https://www.amazon.com/Rejuvenate-Grout-Deep-Cleaner-Non-Toxic/dp/B00ET4OVQW/ref=asc_df_B00ET4OVQW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198100801330&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1599501639157599922&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033322&hvtargid=aud-801381245258:pla-318599283750&psc=1