There's NO WAY that that granite should ever be anything but polished. But, it doesn't work together with your perimeter stone. You need to choose 1 of those, and then do something much lighter for the other choice.

I have heard that honed is very hard to take care of. I would go polished.

I'm with LWO, you need to pick one or the other & then do something lighter for the one you replace. They're both very nice, but don't work together.

I'm not familiar w/ a finish being good or bad to work with. I love the honed look, but if teach is correct, that it's hard to take care of, I would think about polished. I'm not a big fan of the leathered look, but that's just me.

I think they can go well together as the grey solid one picks up the meduim grey color color of the island stone. I can't comment on the appropriateness or not of your stone choices 'going together' because I don't know what your entire color scheme and style is. But I'm sure it will be stunning. I personally like the darker stones.

Regarding your question as to the finish, I have lived with all types of stone countertops with a variety of finishes. And I've been doing quite a few different ones in my own remodel. Polished is generally the easiest to clean and will also show the most brilliant colors, and have the most contrast, against the same stone in honed or leathered. Look at the stone yard for ANY slab that has both a polished and a honed version (or polished and a leathered version).The most brilliant color will be the polished one. Also if there are any crystals (which I love having in a stone!), they will jump right out when polished and really blend in the background if honed or leathered. Polished will really emphasize all of the contrast of colors and textures.

Polished is generally easy to keep clean but if a stone is softer and more of a marble than granite, and if prone to etching like classic marble is, a honed surface will be an easier care finish because it will hide the etch marks more than if polished. A sealer can protect from stains but etching is another problem. The honed surfaces, of marbles especially, will have a natural glow and soft sheen rather than a high gloss and might be more appropriate for a vintage look for example. Also the honed will not have the reflection that the polished will (see your picture and the light reflection difference), but that depends on where it will be located. Perimeter polished countertops for example will show the under counter lighting in the reflected surface for example and a honed or leathered will not. Sometimes people don't notice that and it does not bother them at all and sometimes it does. Or can be a trade off (like most things!). Some people love the classic polished. It all depends on what effect you want the entire room to have.

Honed surfaces will soften colors and contrasts of the stone and have a less dramatic effect. Also the honed stone surfaces, to me, will be less cold to the touch than the polished (under the exact same conditions and temperatures), or I have thought so in my sample testing, if that is a consideration. Of course, you can always heat the edges if you like (see a recent GW post about that.) Using the thin (1/8" or so) mesh that is typically used for under tile flooring.

The leathered finish add a physical texture to the stone and it has the other characteristics of the honed. It is typically more difficult to have a clean seam with leathered but since yours will be an island, you probably should not have a seam. The leathered will have an additional texture that will be seen with grazing light across the surface (think morning or evening light coming in across the counter through a window), but not as much with overhead light. The leathered is much more popular and more available than it used to be (and fabricators with the right equipment and talent can leather most any slab). There are quite a few that are available right from the slab yards. I have seen several striking ones recently that I would have thought would not have looked good, but it was striking.

From what I mentioned earlier about a softer look and the matte vs gloss finish, the leathered (or honed for that matter) can have an enhancing sealer applied that will darken it. You may or may not want it that way so BE SURE to know what the sealer the fabricator uses or know what you want it to be, and tell them. Be very cautious on this step. Sealers are an afterthought to many fabricators and some just get on auto pilot and do what they always do, and if its different from what you want, you can get disappointed. (Just look at some recent GW threads). So be sure to know which you want.

See if you can find any place that has the same stone in two different finishes. Look at the DIFFERENCES in the stone in texture, color and details. It does not matter if you like the stone or color. For just looks alone, which finish gives you the look you want? Most sealers can help with stain resistance issues (and some stones don't need sealing at all). And if you like the texture and clarity, but want it darker, an enhancing sealer can be applied. And by the way, most enhancing sealers just darken and do not add a shiny finish, do always ask them to do a small sample to show you for approval. And get that in writing too. If you're not sure if you would like it darker or you want to see how dark it would get, just wet with water. It will get that color.

This is an important question and don't feel rushed. What is a little extra time in the big scheme of things? Have them wait till you do a little more research.

I'm not sure if I've directly answered your question but I hope I've given you some things to check on and some information to help make your decision. Please share your progress.

One or the other, yup. And Marinace wants to be a superstar. It isn't a supporting player. If you use it on an island, almost everything else needs to act in a supporting manner and be much simpler visually. Not only does the veining of the Virginia Mist fight with it, but the color is too similar to work well. When using two different counters, the need to BE different. Not just different patterns in the same color. You would't do Carrara and Calcatta marble in ghe same kitchen any more than you would pattern a busy white lace blouse with busy cream on white pintripe pants. Those two granites together are the equavelent of wearing this:

Damn, those shoes are hot. Thanks.

Yes to the shoes but what happened to her TOES? They are one mass! Creepy!

Thanks cindallas - you gave me some great information. I'm back to researching and am going to look at some slabs tomorrow.

So how did your shopping trip go? See anything interesting? Were you able to see any of the same slabs in a polished and a honed and/or leathered finish that I was talking about?

I have the black marinace on my countertops. When we picked it out, it was polished, which made it look rather fake, like a photograph. I took a leap of faith and had it leathered and I'm so incredibly glad I did. The fabricator had a couple small corner scraps and was able to show me what leathered would look like. It has all the same rich color as the polished, but has no glare, and has a very touchable texture to it. Actually, people can't keep their hands off of it. If you just hone it, the colors and detail will be dulled. If you want the full effects of the river rocks in the granite, then I recommend polished or leathered. I'm very glad we went with leathered and we get endless complements on our granite. I'm posting my reveal post below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marinace granite reveal