Good news! Absolutely make sure you pick your slab. Do NOT let them choose. They are highly variable.

I'm doing Carrara also--4cm. For sinks, I'm going with Blanco silgranit in metallic gray. IRL, it reads like silver and from across the room could be mistaken for stainless. Farm sinks are nice with marble too although they are expensive and more expensive to install than undercount.

Congrats!

Blondie- Wonderful news! For a $400 difference, I'll bet DH is happy with marble, too :)

I have no idea, what to use for a sink...but I wanted to say Congratulations!

Oh good advice- thank you!

Great news! If you want a nice farm sink for a good price, Ikea's version is reasonable and pretty.

Yay! You all asked & answered my question. Considering marble here too for looks and budget, changing from a dark soapstone or granite (which sadly my dh thinks looks like a crypt) so had been set on anthracite silgranit--don't want ss. On-line the grey looks similar to the anthracite...but it's better in person?

Ca_mom, the gray Silgranit looks completely entirely different than anthracite which is black. Also, I am not sure that the gray Silgranit could be mistaken for stainless as Breezygirl said. It does not have a shine the way stainless does. We chose the anthracite color cause it goes well with our granite. The anthracite color shows nothing, and the black color adds a little drama, especially when paired with our professional-style faucet. The Silgranit gray is a more neutral color.

I am linking a thread where Pbrisjar posts pics of her gray Silgranit sink, and also comments on how much she likes it (though hers is a double bowl, and I am a single-bowl person!).

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about Silgranit with Pic of Gray One

My sink was going to either be white fireclay apron sink or stainless undermount. DH couldn't get comfortable with the apron sink, so we did the stainless and the marble edge is uninterrupted.

If the DH still needs a little nudging, you can show him that other thread where I commented on marble being less work than my last white laminate or my mom's white Corian, both of which stained.

Super helpful, alwaysfixin. What color is your granite? I too think the black silgranit looks great and I'm all about easy-care, but am worried about it really standing out from a white-ish marble. Too much contrast? And I've got two sinks, perimeter and island. Guessing they need to match?

Thanks!

Sorry to the OP - I think we are going OT. Ca_mom - Our granite is Alaska White, which is similar, and sometimes confused with, Bianco Antico and White Delicatus. It has a white background with a lot of black and silvery/gray splotches. Definitely much busier than Carrara marble, and a much "chunkier" look. Regarding contrast between anthracite and marble, I am not sure if it's too much color contrast or not. It depends on the rest of your kitchen. Perhaps bring samples of your cabinets and your marble to a showroom with Silgranit sinks on display, and see how the various colors all look together.

As to two sinks, I do not think they need to match material, though they both need to go with the rest of your kitchen. I have definitely seen kitchens on this forum with sinks with different finishes. Here are a couple of threads, but I know I've seen other threads on this topic:

Thread Called Do Sinks Need to Match?

Thread Called Which Prep Sink with Main Silgranit Sink?

The gray Blanco silgranit in the pic in Alwaysfixin's thread is washed out. It's more silver IRL. It doesn't have the shiney shine like polished stainless, but brushed stainless looks very similar. The silgranit has a tiny sparkle to it though that you can't see in that photo. It's not blingy though like glitter. I wouldn't like that.

With the gray undermounted, it looked very close to brushed stainless to me from across the room at my stone fabricator's place.

Anthracite and gray are very, very different as Always mentioned. When I tried a sample of the anthracite with my Carrara the contrast was way too much for me. The color stood starkly out as opposed to harmonized. But, it's all about what you like, what your marble looks like, and the light at your house.

My marble deal fell thru because the delivery time went from 2-3 weeks to 3-4 months. Can't wait that long to get the morgage! Aargh!

SOOOO sorry to hear that! Aren't there any other slab yards around to check if you can find something on sale?

Today I heard from all other yards, they are $1400. more at the lowest price. SO- I asked my husband to make OSB countertops for me which I will paint and they will be complete enough for the bank- and I will wait for the marble!

Great! If that will work for the bank, do it. Then you have the time to find the right marble and save up some extra dough if needed. You'll be so much happier in the end waiting to get what you want.

What will you do for a sink?

Breezygirl has a good question about the sink, since I doubt you'll be wanting to use the bathtub or whatever for the months until your permanent counters are installed. If you need a temporary sink, HD and Lowe's sell utility sinks for not much money. A freestanding utility sink (i.e. with legs) is about $50-100, or a drop-in sink made of fiberglass (aka "laundry sink" or "laundry tub") is about $50-60. When you get your permanent counter and sink, you can donate the utility sink to Habitat for Humanity, or sell it on Craig's List.

I agree, this holdup will be good for you to gel in your mind which marble you want. Other stoneyards may get in other marble slabs in the interim too.

Our kitchen guy has said this is a popular trend, and he showed us some pictures and it does look really pretty. Anyone done this? Our islands not huge so its possible....a small battle to engage in with hubby but I will manage. Its doable. Just wondering if you think its worth it and if you like the look?

Thank you for your great suggestions. Alwaysfixin I think the laundry sink is an amazing idea. Thank you for that.
The countertop was templated on Thursday, and my husband and I are hoping to travel up to see the layout on the marble and cutting done. It would be really interesting to see that process.
Here are the slabs I picked out- cell phone pictures so they are poor quality- the clors actually match in person: