We used three countertop materials, Caesarstone London Grey, Caesarstone Pebble and Black Walnut. The London Grey can be shown flanking the range in the pics linked below.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg081425281125.html

We are using marble that compliments the London Grey nicely for the backsplash. The two materials play nicely together. Marble is not the right material for everyone's backsplash but it should not be automatically discounted for fear it will not work with the countertops. The key is finding a marble that works in harmony with the Caesarstone. Good luck and I wish you the best, enjoy the journey!

What are your floors?

We put in a true Carrara marble backpslash (Subway pattern) but went with a Caeserstone Piatra Grey counter, instead of the lighter ones. I (and others we consulted, including the KD) was warned against putting the light quartz next to the real marble, as it would accentuate the man-made nature of the quartz. Instead, we went with a high contrast color, so no close comparisons can be made and the choice looks more intentional. The two happen to also play off each other really well. If we had kept with the London Grey or Super White quartzite, I would have used some sort of ceramic on the BS.

Grrrr, my post got lost in space. Anyways....

I am in the exact same boat at you. I love marble, but that just isn't going to stay nice with my family. I am doing London Grey on the island but I can't decide AT ALL about the perimeter. Trying to pick between Piatra Grey and Black, but I don't love either. It is one of many compromises I am making when deciding between pretty vs durable.

I agree that it would take some special marble to work next to quartz without making the quartz look bad. I am thinking maybe some plain subway tile. Sigh!

How do you use the kitchen? Are you good about keeping everything off the counters that might stain or etch? I'm not, but a compromise might be to put marble on the island. Less chance that dishes will get left overnight or raspberry jam ends up under the toaster :)

What about a darker wood island with a marble top? If you plan to have seating that would take care of little feet bumping against the island...and it would really set off the marble!

For perimeters, maybe the darker gray with the white cabinets (so you don't look like you ran out of marble and tried to match it). As for the backsplash... consider whether you need something durable, behind the range. You might want to add marble subway tiles around the sink or do something different for the entire backsplash. Just a few ideas...

We love marble as well but for various reasons decided on granite. After some research I found a stone called viscont white that we think is beautiful. This link shows a few examples. Have fun in your search!

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0915125321980.html

Do you have samples of frosty carina and London Gray?
We have super white cabinets and we had to change out choice as both of those countertop choices were very warm and looked dirty compared to the white cabinets. We ended up going with misty carrara in the end.

lliN - So the London Gray and FC don't go well with Super white Cabinets? I am collecting paint samples now to pain my maple cabinets white and I seem to only like the Super White. All the other BM colors look gray or yellow, etc. and I don't like them. Hmm, was hoping to match with LG or FC.

Children will leave their mark on everything, including those lovely white cabinets you're getting.

If you love marble, get it. Enjoy it with your family.

My caninets are super white (Shiloh polar white) and yes in my opinion the lg and fc looked dirty against them because they have creamy tones. We ended up going with misty carrara which had less yellow in it. Of your cabinets are a warmer white then you should be fine.

Have you looked at Calacatta or Macabus White quartzite? Quartzites are gorgeous and some of them have the look of marble, but I believe they're more durable.

Quartzites

I just got samples of the Calacatta, Taj Mahal, and Perla Venata quartzites, thinking I'd go with the Taj Mahal if we redo our counters. After looking at them for a week I'm now leaning towards the Calacatta if I can convince myself it will work with creamy cabinets. It's so pretty and I love the veining!

The Macabus White is also very pretty, but too gray for my kitchen so I ruled it out. It might be more similar to Carrara.

DH is trying to convince me to choose a quartz, because it would be less costly and maybe more durable, but I love natural stone.

Llin, I thought your kitchen cabinets were Shiloh's Whitest White which is their Artic White which is whiter than the Polar White? I love your kitchen by the way. I am thinking of going with the Polar White IF I go with Shiloh depending on if they are able to give me a good price with no blind cabinet and only one cabinet with stiles in the middle. I love the Inset look so much. I fell in love two years ago with the Polar White finish on the beaded inset cabinets on display at a local store so that is why I am leaning towards the Polar White which seemed to look nice with the tiles I bought that do not like anything too yellow.

Here is a link that might be useful: Painted Finishes on the Shiloh Cabinets