~$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!!

The blue is awesome (grey is too trendy)! The reason it stands out to you is perhaps because it's the only real colour there. Bring in the blue in a window treatment, a small appliance that sits on the counter, a pretty tray or area rug. Also, it is more appealing often if there are more than 2 colours - so right now you have a white and blue colour scheme - bring in red or orange or fushia - something from the other side of the spectrum (like you did with the yellow flowers but in a more permanent way)!

So we have finally decided on a kitchen design: Taken inspiration from : this is the floor plan. The dinning area will be moved to next to the steps, in front of the alfresco area. The family room will be in front of the kitchen with another outdoor area next to it. But dilemma not is that we cannot decide on plain cabinet doors or shaker style. The colour of the doors will be Satin White with black knobs matching the black granite sink and charcoal glass splash back. The bench top will most likely be something similar to Calcutta Quartz. I like the modern simplicity of plain doors but i don't want it to look too clinical. I like how shaker style adds a bit of character to the whole area, but i don't want it to look too traditional. What do you think? Any other style suggestions?