DO NOT use a standard pinkish color pencil eraser on your cabs. They leave marks and sometimes streaks. If you're going to try it, at least try it in an inconspicuous location, like the inside of a door. Try the kneaded grey artists erasers if you're going to use a regular eraser. They are designed for delicate jobs and are the least likely to leave marks. That said, if I didn't live with an artist and have lots of those erasers floating around, I would turn to Goof Off. That stuff is fan-freakin'-tastic. And never causes damage. BTW -- in the same vein, if you ever have paint that has gotten onto things that shouldn't be painted (for instance, drips on your hardware, faucets, etc., I highly recommend a product called Painter's Pal. They used to carry it at Home Depot, but I haven't seen it there in a while. I'm a sloppy painter (because I hate taking the time to prep first, bad, I know) and this stuff really saved my behind in several rooms.

So glad that the OP posted and that everyone else commented. Am just at the beginning of a huge remodel. My first. In the past I've only bought houses that were "ready to go" or "good enough" and did not even imagine that I would be able to go to the fabricators and "OK" the slab before cutting. This lurking on websites is part of my research, so thanks to all who gave me some good stuff to read and learn. I have put "see slab at fabricators" in my "countertop" file front-and-center to make sure I don't forget to do that, whether I purchase quartz or granite. This is extremely helpful information for newbies. FWIW--the blob was hideous, mostly because it was not conforming to the rest of the counter top pattern. Blobs in other patterns/styles look "fine" because the slab is full of them...and that is the POINT of that particular slab. not with this one though...it was not conforming in size or frequency.

I am old enough to remember (a little) life before we were all immersed in color magazines, color internet, color TV. My guess is, people did feel more free to find their own way with color, with less worry about "doing it wrong." As a rough parallel, years ago, the physical appearance of political candidates was not as important as their words. (Abraham Lincoln really wasnâÂÂt much of a looker!) Now, how a candidate looks is as important (or more so) than who they are, because appearance can no longer be separated from the complete package. We can't learn about the candidate's opinions without also learning how they look. It's possible people feel pressure to choose "the right colors" because we never see anything in the absence of color, anymore; itâÂÂs predetermined as part of the complete package, and presented as a whole. We can't see finished rooms without also seeing the colors the designers chose, so maybe people start thinking Color Choice is another area best left to the professionals. So maybe all candidates must now be Pretty, and all rooms must now be Tasteful. That's fine, but we'll miss some remarkable opportunities that way, on both fronts. Maybe the earlier prevalence of black and white TV, photography, and books is why Frigidaire could sell appliances in pink, blue, yellow, and poppy red, years ago, but they canâÂÂt do so now? Possibly we gave ourselves more permission back then, to just buy what we happened to like, instead of worrying about resale or whether it might go out of style. I think it's also harder to commit to bold colors or strong styles because of the pace and volume of visual info on the internet. It's impossible to read all the blogs, all the websites, all the magazines, all the time, but it's easy to fall into thinking that you should, to do a Really Good Job. The pace of the available information might cause people to feel like they must always be ready to leap to the next mini-trend. (Which will be here in about fifteen minutes, and youâÂÂd better not miss it, or you might embarrass yourself by picking something that is no longer "current"!) Good grief. Maybe a lack of self confidence, for some of us, is part of the current lack of commitment to strong colors. If we all trusted ourselves a bit more, we could probably surf the ocean of incredibly rich resources we have today, pick what we like, and not be worried by the rest. (I love conversations like this.)

I love the view, and I'd love to attend a medieval event there. Although even if I could afford, I wouldn't be tempted into buying. (I do hope it has hidden passages and all, if they went to all this trouble....) PS edit: I feel the same way about Gillette Castle here in Connecticut, which I have gone and seen as it is now a museum. Fascinating for what these places are.