Hi all, after much deliberation I've narrowed my countertop selection down to Virginia Mist (aka Jet Mist) because I love the look/color of oiled soapstone but don't think I can stomach the scratches. This granite is dark grey with pretty white veining / swirls and I will probably go with a honed/enhanced finish. My fabricator had two slabs in stock which I loved -- they had lots of nice white veining, but the veining is mostly oriented so it flows across the SHORTER side of the slabs. I have a peninsula that will be around 36" X 96" and don't want a seam down the middle of that, so I will have to go with the grain / veining flowing along the short side of the countertop in this area. My dad (who came with us for moral support/advice) thinks this might look weird, but I'm not sure. I've seen some photos of soapstone counters where the veining went from the back wall to the front of the counter (not along the length of the counter) and I'm not sure I mind them, but I can't visualize how this would look in my own kitchen. The peninsula is by far the largest uninterrupted stretch of countertop and will certainly be the most prominent counter area in the room. I'm sure if we hunted around we could probably find slabs that were cut with the veining going the other direction, but since they would not be "in stock" slabs I think they'd be more expensive and this granite is already on the pricier end. I'm just having a really hard time visualizing what this would really look like in my kitchen so I thought I would poll this great community and ask, for those of you with counters that have veining or movement:

1) Which direction does the veining / grain flow in your "longest" or "most prominent" stretch of the countertop?

2) Are you happy with this orientation?

Thanks for any advice (or even better, photos) you can provide!