More Granite Decisions
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I thought picking the actual granite stone would be the only difficult decision to make:
But as my husband and I found out, there are other important decisions to be made. Such as the surface. Today, you can have your countertops polished, honed or leathered:
We choose the leathered, which is still smooth but has a little texture to it. I think it will be much easier to take care of and not show every little fingerprint or water spot (you can read more here if you are interested in learning about the different surfaces).
The next step was having the installer come to the house and measure. I had my heart set on not having the granite brought up the wall as a backsplash. I wanted it clean like this:
But no, we have another issue. The installer, who owns the business and has been doing this a long time, tells me that all of those beautiful pictures of the backsplash going to the bottom edge are from homes in the South where it is always warm. In the Northeast, where my home is, the house is always moving and adjusting for the different temperature changes. If I were to put backsplash tile all the way down to the granite counter, the separation of the seam would constantly be changing. The seam would be separated and open at times and I thought it might collect dirt as well as not looking attractive. 
What do I know about granite?? So, I followed his advice and am going with a 4” high granite backsplash. I think it will still be beautiful (and easier to clean!).
One other big decision was the countertop edge. Of course there has to be about eight different edges to choose from. We chose a half-radius edge at first. Then the installer told us we should get a simpler edge because when the granite is cut for the edges, it turns smooth and shiny. Since our granite is leathered, we have to be careful of too much of an edge showing. The shiny would draw too much attention to it and it would stand out. So we choose a simpler beveled edge:
So many decisions! And yes, if you were wondering, we picked the Viscont White granite over the blue after our adventure to the granite yard here. The blue was gorgeous, but I felt it would be too ‘bossy’ in our kitchen. I love the simplicity of the black and white and it will work best in our home!Love to hear any thoughts or comments. Thanks everyone!