We have wavy plaster walls, and the advice I got was to choose smaller tiles rather than larger ones. We used 4x4 squares set in a running bond pattern (staggered instead of lined up on top of each other), and that worked pretty well. If I'd had the sense to hire a decent tile setter, the wall would have been leveled before the tile went up, and that would have made the biggest difference. But even with our semi-incompetent tile setter who left the wall wavy, it's not too bad. The offset pattern definitely helps. Two other things that would have helped in our case would have been to use imperfect handmade (or handmade-look) tile and matching grout. Our tile is perfect machine-cut squares with slightly contrasting grout, and those things show the waviness more; but I can honestly say that after a few months I don't think about it -- not like I did at first when I wanted to run the tile setter out on a rail. lol. So: hire a good tiler (or learn to do it yourself if you are the careful detail-oriented sort), use 4x4 or 3x6 tile, choose a tile pattern that will mask imperfections, and level the wall with thinset or whatever first. If the wall is leveled then I don't think it'll much matter whether you use handmade-looking tile or machine-cut, or what color grout you choose. For our kitchen I liked the straight machine-cut tile better than the faux handmade tile I saw, and I definitely wanted contrasting grout; those are just personal opinion design decisions that'll depend on your taste and the style of your kitchen.

If you don't like it, it's not worth more. We talk quite a bit on GW about picking things for market value or picking things you love. "Granite" countertops have value in most markets over laminate partly due to the HGTV effect. However give me a neutral laminate over a granite I dislike any day. I had a kitchen with pink granite countertops I hated them. I would have preferred that the owner had not gone out and upgraded the kitchen to granite to sell. Que sera sera. The granite is not worth more because of the color variation in that particular slab. It's an aesthetic choice.

The article that Emily Jowers linked perfectly sums it all up. Furthermore, what is so awesome about Costa Esmeralda is that it is a very dense stone and is so carefree. It does not need sealing, and it won't stain. And it's beautiful. Once you get the sealant off you can look forward to years of enjoyment in your kitchen without having to worry about the counters. I just noticed that the linked article has a link within it about removing the sealant. I don't agree with the method they describe. I had always read that it should be removed with acetone, and no more sealer should be applied. Try googling granite sealant removal acetone. I would not have the installer "buff it". He is full of either bs or ignorance. He could make the counter look worse.

It seems like the large overhang in the first attempt would have reduced usable drawer space, so hopefully that's better now. The difference in slabs doesn't look bad to me, just different. The birdseye view accentuates it, but I'm guessing that's not your typical vantage point. It might be hard at first, but if you can embrace it as an example of nature's infinite variety, you might feel less sad. The biggest question is whether the cracks are in unsupported areas and whether the rough spots could be smoothed out. Can you seek a second opinion from a different fabricator? If you learn that it's just a cosmetic issue, that might help put your mind a bit more at ease. Your kitchen still looks really beautiful, and once the icky feeling from the contractor fades, hopefully you can still love it as much as you'd hoped.