Go bold!!!

I agree, go bold.

Thanks for the comments! My Facebook group is all for Subtle Sally, lol, gotta love the internet and opinions. You don't think it's weird to cut across the counter run like that? It doesn't bug me right now, though the old art minor in me isn't keen on it. I just wonder if it'll bug me two months from now. Which, of course, no one can predict

Option 1 looks great, but I would go with Option 2. I don’t think you want those fat quartz veins around your sink. They are beautiful, but the geologist in me says they are the weakest places in the stone. Folks on here say granite doesn’t soak up sealer like other stones. I have a smaller quartz inclusion next to my sink I don’t like the looks of after only four years. It is pitting at the edges. Trying to find a better sealer for it and haven’t been successful yet. If you go with option one, make sure you have a great sealer and reseal as recommended or more often.

they both have their positive points. If the organic nature of the stone creates issues then number 2 might be better...I like number two and it is not void of character: it has plenty going on...you will love that one as much as you think you crave the bold right now.

One thing to consider—in option 1, I might be concerned that having the vein behind the sink would make it less visible, both because you don’t walk there and because of the faucet.

at + Co. Interiors - That bump out is to a window. Can't do anything about it.

shivece Hmm, I didn't know about that. It's an undermount sink. I'll ask the fabricator if they have any ideas about sealer (if we decide to Go Bold).

nycbluedevil_gw - It doesn't bug me that it would be just behind the sink, since we've got drama elsewhere and ... I spend a lot of time at the sink, I'll get plenty of viewing time. ;-)

herbflavor - Organic nature meaning the veins running the short way across, or the issue shivece brought up about light rock around the sink and sealant issues?

Was there any discussion of doing a change of direction, maybe with a mitered corner?

I agree with the analysis that votes are being swayed by the cut-off in Option 2, and that the big stripe(s) there will look like a mistake rather than drama. Go with Option 1.

Window is good! Just did a little "phew!" over here.

This is a messy view of our current situation (we're generally not this chaotic, but were unpacking after a trip or something). Backsplash will be replaced, cabinets will get painted, new sink and faucet, new kitchen table and light, etc.Floors will be replaced sometime in the next few years. They need refinishing in heavy traffic areas but don't match up with anything else. So, basically, the countertops are our starting point on design, so we have the freedom to be dramatic there.

acm - You mean like running long veins on both runs and trying to match them up in the corner? We'd need another slab for that, there just wasn't room. The crappy option was this, which the fabricator really doesn't want to do and I understand why. I love each run on its own, but that's a very visible seam and I know would bug us over time. Love what's going on in the right, tho.

The bump out is basically killing us by a couple inches, and since it's an exterior wall, can't exactly get rid of it. We did toy with the ideal of extending the backsplash down into it so we could just cut straight across, but ultimately decided that'd look weird.

You'll see in the big that the seam is running vertical rather than horizontal, so the peninsula extends all the way to the back wall. There wasn't any way to blend the seam. The seam on the right technically wouldn't be there, it'd be one piece, the templater was just quickly moving the chunks over from the other layout. We flipped things every which way.

Go Bold - Great job on the layout!

Precision Granite & Marble Yeah, I thought they did a good job with the challenge I gave them! ;-)

Nothing ever looks as bold horizontal! I vote number 1 and i think you like it best. Otherwise you’d have listened to your internet group instead of coming here for more opinions ;P we did a dramatic slab (well 2) of quartzite and i did everything i could to be sure the drama i loved about it was as visible as possible.

Another vote for BOLD! =)

kim k - I do like it best right now, but also know sometimes what I like isn't always the best ;-) And I do know the big vein looks better going the long way, but it's just not feasible for our project scope. But I also just can't bring myself to say no to this slab (of course it's already at the fabricators, so I think we're pretty much stuck anyway).

no, I meant make a diagonal join in the corner, so the lines could intersect at a diagonal, rather than trying to make a 90degree turn look good.

but really, (a) I think your first option is best, and (b) I sort of can't believe you're *starting* with counters, which commits you to keeping your clunky cabinets forever...

Ok not sure this is helpful or not but here’s a pic of our slab with the ‘L’ taped out. Similar to what you are thinking the sink is on the bottom part of the ‘L’ where the veins run the long way. The veins run the short way after you round the corner toward the range.

Option 1

Definitely #1

kim k Yeah, we can't do that. The bump out screws it all up (not enough room and we can't get anything to blend or match up for the other seam and it looks terrible). Gorgeous slab you've got there! Quartzite or marble?

It’s Florida quartzite. We paid extra to have it honed... was a huge splurge. I guess my screen name is fitting lol.

Wow, that’s a gorgeous slab, kim k! That’s going in my design files right now!

option 1 for sure!

Option one is absolutely the best way to go. Remember also that when you see it horizontally, it won't be so in your face bold. Trust me on that. I have a very bold and colorful stone and seeing it horizontally, it's not so in your face.

Option two looks blah and if you chose option two, you might as well have chosen a cheaper stone with an all over pattern.

That’s beautiful stone you’ve chosen, emilikins! Have you considered new cabinets or at the very least relocating the dishwasher? It’d be a shame to install such beautiful, irreplaceable, one-of-a-kind countertops in a kitchen with a not-so-great layout and cabinets that aren’t nearly as functional as they could be. For not much more than what it costs to have the cabinets painted, you could have brand-new IKEA cabinets.

Kudo's to your fabricator and you. This layout consultation is what should always happen when the stone has movement but, regrettably, often it does not.

Unless you paint them yourself, it may be cheaper to buy new cabinets! Then you could maybe move dishwasher to better area.
But if you keep this, I vote #1.

It seems a little bit of a waste to go with option 2 when you deliberately chose this gorgeous stone for its dramatic movement. Option 1 captures its stunning details.

Go bold! Beautiful stone, don’t waste all that gorgeous veining.

Sammy - Yes, we have considered moving dishwasher and changing the layout, but it snowballs fast, because we'd have to patch the flooring (it's not hardwood underneath, and we have a bulkhead going the whole U (we tore down one arm of cabinets) that has pipe and wire running through it, so it would look awful to change the layout and not re-do the ceiling ... and I might as well just withdraw all our money and light it on fire. There's too much to do, and we'll be painting the kitchen ourselves (we've painted some smaller dressers and know what to do).

kim k - Ah, yes, I saw some Florida slabs on my hunt. Luckily by that point I'd been quoted on enough quartzite to just keep walking and not fall in love. Beauty Dark was actually one of our cheapest options but still different than builder grade options (granted, those would have been more suitable for our U).

I think we're going with #1, because why pick this slab if we're going to hide it? Both options have nearly invisible left seams, but the right seam is better in Go Bold. The thick vein's coloring will change a bit across the seam, but it very nearly looks like one piece and you have fewer "orphan" veins.

#1 - Bold

#2 - Sally

Husband is only sending me this sneak peak until I get home. Shot is from the little counter between our fridge and pantry. It's definitely photographing lighter/brighter than I expected, which makes me happy because we were a little nervous it might darken the kitchen until we get the cabinets painted.

The fabricator warned us that the backsplash would likely be damaged during demo and I said awesome, we're replacing it, so feel free to damage as much as you want. They're so tidy about it.