<p>I looked at Colonial Cream too…and I liked it too. </p>
<p>We are getting the glossy finish. Since the granite we chose is a light color, we thought that looked a bit nicer for our house than the leather finish. </p>
<p>I’m going to ask the guys about the sealant…I thought they told me it WAS permanently sealed and to use just soapy water or even just a wet cloth to clean. I’m really excited.</p>
<p>There IS a sealer product out now called Granite Shield and they claim once and done… forever. I’m a little skeptical that something could last forever, and don’t know anyone who has used it. A daily cleaning product, such as Method Granite Cleaner, will keep your new stone looking nice and shiny and residue-free. </p>
<p>If you should need to seal your granite once per year or every other year, here’s some comments/suggestions: </p>
<p>Make sure you are sealing over a clean and completely DRY service. Since even sealed granitie is still porous, this could take several hous or more to really dry well. Do the prep and coat when your house is warmer as opposed to cooler.</p>
<p>Wipe off the excess sealer within 10 minutes of applying, with a clean, dry, absorbent cloth. If you wait too long you will have more haze than normal and will require going over the entire stone with a damp rag saturated in sealer all over again. After it dries thoroughly wipe off and buff the haze. Some haze will be normal.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the backspashes and under the front lip.</p>
<p>Don’t freak out when you still see water darkening you stone. Granite “breathes” and always remains porous to some degree. </p>
<p>Enjoy!!!</p>
<p>I like tile best for backsplashes, but of course the possibilities are pretty much infinite. If the budget can handle it when I finally get around to a kitchen renovation I’ll get some of this for a kitchen backsplash: [Fossil</a> Fish Countertops Tiles Backsplashes by Green River Stone Company](<a href=“Green River Stone Redirect”>http://www.greenriverstone.com/) But I also had in our previous house a white kitchen with a cobalt blue and white checkboard backsplash that made me very happy.</p>
<p>Thumper-I asked the fabricators to save the sink cutout piece for me. We then broke it up and put a piece in each car, so I would always have a the exact colors with me when I went shopping for kitchen accessories, paint, tile, etc.</p>
<p>my-3-sons, What a great tip! I hadn’t thought of that, but now I will certainly do it.</p>
<p>mathmom, I’m not sure fish fossils are very good for resale. I don’t think I’d use that backsplash unless I planned to live there for quite a while!</p>
<p>^You can do most of the backsplash with a plain stone and just put one or two fish tiles in. But it would make me happy to look at it. Ideally there would be a way to take out the fish and take them with you.</p>
<p>I have a fossil fish, given to me from former b/f. Always makes me happy. I like the idea of finding something you really like, whether a fish, flower, butterfly, or dragonfly. You’l want spare tiles anyway, so can replace.</p>
<p>Thumper, very nice!!</p>
<p>It’s a light cream color with a little brown, a little blue, a little of a rust sort of color…but predominately a cream color.</p>
<p>OOOOOOOOOOOO! sounds pretty!!!
I’m hoping to remodel my kitchen soon. Will keep Ivory Fantasy in mind!</p>
<p>The fabricator came today to do the template. He thought it was funny that I had taken graph paper, and done scaled pieces of my counter to PROVE that it would not fit on one slab! I’m going to the shop on Thursday late morning to lay the template on the slabs so I get things exactly where I want them. I hope it’s fun and NOT a headache! I could have this all installed by Monday. I’m not holding my breath on that one.</p>
<p>We are doing a four inch beveled backsplash thing…and paint above it.</p>
<p>I AM going to ask for some pieces of the granite to have so I can use it to select paint and other things of “color” for my “new” kitchen.</p>
<p>I went today to place the templates on the slabs…if they aren’t what I want, I have no one to blame but myself. Hopefully they will be installed on Tuesday. Stay tuned!!</p>
<p>“My big dilemma is the kitchen backsplash. We’re living with plain painted walls because I’m just not sure what I want!”</p>
<p>I went with glass tile and I love it. Quite pricey, though.</p>
<p>Thumper, love your granite choice. </p>
<p>I’ve had my granite for 4 years - the installers sealed it but I haven’t bothered since. Looks the same as it did when new, so.</p>
<p>We talked about sealing today. They will seal it twice…once when they do the fabrication and once at my house. They sell some sealant that they suggest you use every so often and suggest a cleaner too but the guy said he just uses soapy water.</p>
<p>The counters are almost all installed…look great so far. I really like how the designs of the granite are on the counters, island and desk…thank goodness.</p>
<p>And I LOVE my sink.</p>
<p>^Time to go to Target and purchase some Method Daily Granite Cleaner. You’ll love the way this stuff will make your new investment look, feel, and it even smells great! Cleaning with “soapy water” will leave a residue. My fabricator suggested automatic dish detergent and water solution (which I mixed in a spray bottle) but I wasn’t as happy with it.</p>
<p>I’m so jealous!!!</p>
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</p>
<p>[Homemade</a> Granite Cleaner is “Green”, Safe, Effective and Made with Vodka - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com](<a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos)</p>
<p>Why am I assuming the CC-Mommies prefer to leave the cleaning to the pros and enjoy the vodka afterwards with their buddies. :)</p>
<p>Hmmmm…vodka.</p>
<p>We have a Dupont Revitalizer Cleaner and Protector.</p>
<p>How much does the Method Daily Granite Cleaner cost? I live five minutes from Target!!</p>
<p>Everything is done except for the backspash, and the plumbing. I’m waiting for “Joe the Plumber” (no kidding). The backsplash will be done tomorrow. They needed to measure because it touches my window trim under the window. Turns out my husband will have to do some “alterations” to the window trim to make it even steven. Of course the original trim was installed and cut to meet the formica…and was NOT level or even. Who knew? It will be fine. We have all of the tools for the job.</p>
<p>I’m very happy with the color choice. Now if Joe would just get here…</p>
<p>Cannot remember the cost of Method cleaner at Target. I purchased a 12oz. spray bottle of it, along with a couple of 28oz. bottles to refill the spray bottle. It was cheaper at Target than at Lowe’s. I think the large bottle at Target is around $6 and the smaller spray bottle is around $3.</p>
<p>My hot water heater went out (started leaking) and I discovered this at 7:30 PM last Saturday night. I used an independent plumber with a first name of Joe. He must get sick of the jokes and I didn’t make any. He was also $300 cheaper than my next lowest bid.</p>