here is the 2nd stone. Also, we were thinking of either long glass subway tile (parchment color) or carrera marble subway. What do you think?

I know it would probably be prettier to do the island in the Princess and the perimeter different (and that would solve some of my other problems) but with the toddlers we can't.

Thanks again

Very pretty stone. Have you thought about using quartz on the island?

When doing two different counters, it's a style mistake to have them so close in color tone and look. You want the second to be obviously and completely a different material. Like a darker granite, or wood. If you want light counters for the perimeter, then choose something like a honed Marron Cohiba for the island. Or a Brazillian Brown Silestone. Something with some warmth, as the rest of your choices can read cold without adding that warmth.

Thank you both. Robin, when you say quartz, do you mean something manmade like a Caeserstone? At first, we wanted all real stone but I must confess, I did start to look at them because I felt like I wasn't finding the right color.

GreenDesigns, I know what you mean about the coldness. We plan to have a farm table in the eat in kitchen right next to the kitchen so given the wood on the floor and the table, we felt like we couldn't have a warmer butcher block too. I was thinking I could have wooden bar stools and maybe a window shade in a nice apple green or wooden tone. And at a later date, I wanted some pointers on accessories to warm it up.

Those are very nice options you suggested. However, should I be concerned about mixing patterns? I noticed that there was a lot going on in the Marron and Brazilian brown. Even the Jet Mist has a swirl. Do you feel that Absolute Black (which is different in tone and has almost no pattern is a better choice than the Jet Mist)? We were going for transitional simplicity.

Thanks

I have been struggling with similar issues and have narrowed it down to Black (leather finish) or Caesarstone Pietra Gray. I love the idea of Black Walnut but I will have the main sink in my island. Is that an option for you? It would be gorgeous :)

Yes I was talking about a manmade quartz something from Silestone, Caeserstone, etc. They offer many choices. We used a fairly solid color quartz for the perimeter counters and the island is a granite that is more colorful and has movement.

Ruby, when you say black, you mean the black absolute? I heard they usually don't have it in honed because it has tighter bonding which leads to seeing more fingerprints/imprints. The sales rep said those go away after six months unless you're wearing in the same spots. Maybe leathered wouldn't be as bad. I liked leathered but noticed that there was a wide variety of leathering, some more sublte which I liked and others deeper, rougher cuts which I was worried about cleaning. Yes, the pietra gray does look nice! DH still likes the jet mist. While they were out of it, the stone yard said they were getting in more on Th and it was the lighter grey version that we like

Thanks for the clarification Robinle

The supplier simply calls it "Black Leather" so I'm not sure if it is Absolute with that finish or something else. It's pretty much a solid black so I am assuming it is AB. The leather finish is subtle and the sample I have seems very, very low maintenance. I also looked at Black Pearl in a similar finish but it looks a bit muddy. I think the Jet Mist is really pretty but the slabs I saw had too much movement for what I was going for.

Have fun & can't wait to see what you select!

If you're considering Caesarstone, the Raven color is a gray w/less pattern than the Pietra Gray, which would coordinate w/your perimeter counters very well. I think you have enough elements to warm things up with your floor etc. There are so many other things that work to set the tone in a room.

I, too, was looking at the Jet Mist to coordinate w/Princess White (one of three whites I am considering). But the one at my stone yard had quite a bit of white swirling going on and I was afraid it was too much. Your slab of Princess White is gorgeous!! Can't wait to see pics when it's finished :)

What about honed Virginia Mist?

Thank you everyone! I will ask about the Virginia Mist. I googled and it looks very similar to the Jet Mist so I wonder if it's another one of those multiple names for the same thing or if it is truly less swirly. DH seemed luke warm to the Caesarstone in part because we negotiated a price based on Jet Mist or Abs Black but I heard Caesarstone was in the same ball park anyway so it shouldn't matter.

I also liked a black with tiny fossils in it but some of the spots had more of a white or clear area which DH didn't like

Going to the stone yards tomorrow and will try to get a photo of the slabs and show you. I'm still debating over my exact slab of PW and the stone yard seems hesitant to move slabs to let me see others who might have holds expiring. They also suggested I drive an extra hour away to their other location which might have 2-3 available slabs. ARGH! I'm going to call them to see if they can tell me any more detail before I make the trip. I don't want the ones with the big black marks because my other piece doesn't have it. I would love a little blue in it.

THANK YOU!

Also, if you have a photo of your Princess White kitchens, please share! Txs