~$400 including expedited shipping. My GC just had his regular countertop guy do them, which wasn't great.... he had trouble making clean cuts. If I were going to do it again I would have pressed for someone with expertise to cut them. You can see in the image that the facing is not made of the stone peak, because too much was broken during the cutting to make the mitered edge. I'm a little bummed, but mostly pleased with the surface (which is the important part) thus far.

I would consider something light with some other colors to mix in like this. http://t.homedepot.com/p/Silestone-2-in-Quartz-Countertop-Sample-in-Mont-Blanc-SS-Q0220/203674451/ I like the wood paneling and would paint it a white with a warm feel to it. A white will reflect a lot of light from your large window. I wouldn't paint the window casing as it might tie in better with the rest of the house. Good luck!!

This is a kitchen going into a dog kennel building so I'm not too worried about resale. My dogs are raw fed and so I spend quite a bit of time prepping food, washing bowls, etc. I'm only 5'6" but I've been doing these tasks in our house... in our current kitchen which has counters at 35 1/2"... and my back is constantly killing me after I get done. I've purchased a long stainless steel counter top for the kennel (with built in sinks) but plan on the cabinets underneath being custom built. Just can't figure out what height. I was wondering... if I'm sitting at a table (which is comfortable for me to work at for hours on end) and I measure where the table top "hits" on my body and then stand and measure the distance to the floor, it's about 41". I'm wondering if that is an indication as to where my counters in the kennel should be! Seems awfully high! I may need to take the counter top I've bought and put it on some saw horses and varying heights and work on it to see what is best before I make the call!

It sounds like you've been through quite the rollercoaster with your building project! That's really frustrating to hear, especially when you had a vision that you were attached to. Construction dilemmas can be a lot to handle, and I can only imagine how the stress might have piled up over time. If you're feeling stressed (and who wouldn't be in a situation like this?), you might want to consider working off some of that tension. Since you're into home design and creating beautiful spaces, you might appreciate the aesthetic and functionality at Hitsona's fitness studio. Sometimes a little self-care and a change of scenery can inspire new ideas for other areas in life, including home design.