And the countertops are...drum roll please...

After much agonizing, a lot of fretting, too many trips to too many granite and stone yards (think slaughter plants with a little less blood), reading lots of reviews, forums, and three home shows later, I finally bought our countertops today!

And guess what I got?

First a review: You may recall I've wanted soapstone. I love the look and warmth of soapstone. People would advise against it because it requires frequent maintenance - primarily oiling. I also love marble, but everyone warns against it because it stains so easily - due to the fact that it's so porous. But marble lovers also love Miracle 511 Porous Plus on their honed marble - prevents staining for years and years. Granite was a possibility mainly because of its relatively low maintenance requirements, but I couldn't stand the cold feeling from the shiney-polished surface so many granites have.

Enter - Black leathered granite!!! Yes, that is what I purchased. I think it has the feel and warmth of soapstone, without the maintenance requirement and it was much more affordable than soapstone (from any place other than the one stone yard that had it cheap, but was rated an F on the Better Business Bureau).

Here is a picture of the slab I bought today and the salesman is standing next to it:

Of course, it helped that when I walked into this huge granite yard today, it was the owner who asked me if I needed help and it also just happened that the salesman we met at the homeshow last weekend was eating (inhaling) his lunch. So the owner showed me some stones and must have been in a good mood, because he gave me a level II pricing for a level IV granite. Evidently the "leathered" treatment normally costs quite a bit more than the polished, shiney look.

Now, for those of you who are disappointed or even maybe disgusted by my pick, that's ok. In fact, I can remember the first time we went to a stone yard and looked at granite for the very first time. That was back when I didn't know what a "backsplash" was, muchless the difference between laminate, soapstone, corian, quartz, quartzite, granite, marble, cultured marble, leathered finish, satin finish, antique finish, honed, polished, etc, etc, and I didn't like black counters then either. Too dark. Who wants a dark kitchen? Not me! And then I read, touched, talked, drove all over creation, read some more and yes, I picked a black leathered finish granite for my countertops! And I'm excited about it, so in case you are like me and didn't like the idea of black countertops at first, that's ok.

(Officially, the color is called Steel Gray Leathered Granite. That is to avoid confusing it with any of the following black leathered granites such as: Absolute Black, Jet Mist, Premium Black, Virginia Mist, Nordic Black, Angola Black, Cambrian Black; I think you get the picture!)

Also, for those of you upset with my dark choice, you may get some relief knowing that we have 3 large windows in our kitchen, we will also have undercabinet lighting, and oh yes, we will be getting a white marble island top and white marble full height backsplash. All this white marble (with gray veining, or "movement" I think is the technical word for it) will add some depth and lightness to the room, too.

Now I have to send a follow up email to our kitchen cabinet / kitchen designer lady. She came out to the house this morning for "final" measurements. We will order our cabinets Tuesday! This is getting so exciting.

Enjoy your weekend. And hey- this is the time for renovating. There are some great deals out there - our granite price was great, but we also get a sink and faucet in our package, too.

Poodle