An emphatic "No" on the re-doing of your counters. Lots of folks do their islands with a different material - take some time to mourn your old vision and move onto creating a new one.

It isn't because it isn't sealed or something like that which is making it look different?

i think given it was stored for so long you do not have recourse.
i agree with poster above - i think selecting a contrasting product on the island is a good idea and in the long run may turn out better! not sure what color your granite is but perhaps some kind of gorgeous wood countertop? or a black granite to contrast? hard to offer suggestions until we know color.

Many many many people have different perimeter and island counters. If the slabs are not exact, then you probably don't want the perimeter and the island to be "close". So, if the owner agrees, and allows it, I would just pick out a complementary granite, marble, or soapstone to go on the island. It will look great, no worries. As cary said above, you just need to create a new vision.

Give the forum a chance to help. Post photos of your perimeter, the island that needs a top. I'm sure plenty of folks will chime in and make some suggestions to help get you started.

I'm sorry they "lost" your granite. But honestly, I'm not surprised that after 2.5 years this happened. Did you "visit" the granite during its incarceration? Good luck, maybe they just grabbed the wrong slab and yours is in fact, still there....crossing my fingers for you.

-Bee

An emphatic "No" on the re-doing of your counters. Lots of folks do their islands with a different material - take some time to mourn your old vision and move onto creating a new one.

It isn't because it isn't sealed or something like that which is making it look different?

ok... thanks....here are some photos.......... just to make it clear: I did call them many times to make sure it was ok to keep my piece there and specifically told them that I was worried something might happen to it if I left it there (they knew from the beginning that I wouldnt need it for a long while) ...they kept assuring me that it would be fine and dont worry about it...... why dont you think i can get them to redo the whole thing? if I bought something and they didn't follow through, why wouldn't they make it right? that being said, if that cannot be done, what do you think? do you think i can go with a totally black piece? ...and we don't like the two toned cabinets and will eventually change them but probably not for many years, but i dont think I want to play off of the lighter cabinets. thanks for any advice........here are the photos.

I dont think you can ask them to redo all of your counters. You may have paid for it, but 2.5 years is a terribly long time and they aren't in the storage business. Pick something complementary and move on. I know how you feel. If you saw my post last week, my slabs were sold out in the time it took to finalize my drawings, order cabinets, and get my house built. You can ask for a discount on the new piece, but I don't think they'll take you seriously if you ask for them to redo your entire kitchen.

Your kitchen is beautiful!

What color will the base of the island be?

I am a very visual person, I tend to get my options in front of me and "stare". As you can imagine that is hard for me to do in cyberworld. But, I can tell you I would "stare" at maybe honed (leathered) marble in a cream color, (perhaps a remnant is available that you could use on the island) or solid black of some sort (either leathered or polished), Antique Brown maybe? Go back and get lots of samples. The reason I brought up the marble is because I feel it would tie in the lighter cabinets, and bring that color towards the center of the room.

in all fairness to your Fabricator, the he may be telling you the truth....

Remember that Natural stone DOES HAVE variation WITHIN the slabs, and that piece that you tasked your Fabricator to safeguard for you for the last...what? 2 1/2 YEARS - may in fact actually BE the same piece he started with when he fabbed your kitchen...

Can you post a pic of the island showing how you feel it does not match?

Do you have a digital pic of the remnant that stored for you? THIS would have been the first thing you should have done to insure that the piece was indeed "not lost" or at least "traceable"......

It looks to me like your stone is eithe Giallo Fiorito or Napoleone - BOTH easy stones to replicate - especially for an island where nothing is going to actually "touch" the original work.....

Give your Fabricator an honest chance to look things over and respond to your concerns - in all actuality - he did WAAAAAY MORE for you (by actually agreeing to store the piece for you) than 99.9999999% of most all other Fabricators would have done.

I don't store stuff like this - just for this reason - unless it's REEEEALY worth my while - ($$$$$$) - because stuff DOES get "lost" and or "broken"

Chances are the island he made for you will work out fine, but pics of it will eliminate the guessing and hypothetical scenarios thrown inn by everyone that os trying to offer good advice here......

Post some pics of the island !!!!!

BTW - NICE looking Kitchen!!!!

take the new one, as they make it for you. Get concessions from them in other ways like in the edging.

thanks all.....Here are some photos that show the difference (definitely not the same slab as my counter...the piece was supposed to be leftover from my counter slab)....my original is more green with a little black and the new one is very black and dark with less of the lighter green....i like both equally well but do not what them together in the same kitchen... to answer some questions:

Re the advice on matching to cabinets :I plan on changing the light cabinets, so dont want to work off of it...i will eventually hopefully have all cherrywood cabinets all around.... i did think maybe a solid black would go since i have the black accents on the stove, etc.......... thanks for the advice... i assume my cabinetry for the island would be same as the rest of the kitchen...we just dont like the two tone look.

also, I just want to reiterate to azstoneconsulting that I had originally told by granite fabricator that i am ok with them getting me the island top when they installed the countertop originally in Dec 08 but THEY told me they would keep it and that is the best way to do it. like i said, many times I called them and told them I felt I should get the piece delivered because I was concerned if something might accidentally happen to it and they can bring it to me ANYTIME, but they kept reassuring me........so to say they went above and beyond, I dont think it applies here....I didnt ask them for a favor......I do agree, I should have taken a photo of the piece but I trusted them.... I am just hoping they still have it but made a mistake in which piece they brought over............
So, with you apparently being a granite person and under these circumstances, what would you do for a customer if in fact the piece is missing/sold whatever... i don't think keeping the piece for 2 1/2 years is an issue they can use because they said they had no problem with it even though I asked them to bring it to me when it was convenient to them....I kept in touch with them at about 6 or 8 times during the 2 1/2 years.....they kept saying "don't worry about it, we do this all the time" .....I just don't know what is the standard for fixing a problem like this....to me it is clearly a mistake on their part and they should make it right if they are a reputable company........ thanks to all for any advice and thank you for the compliments on the kitchen.

See photos below (small piece sample of my countertop, large piece is the one they made me for island)

I think they complement one another beautifully and I would accept the island counter as is. If you can't bring yourself to do that, I would go with a completely different piece of granite that works with your current counters.

I would NOT (as a homeowner/consumer) expect all new counters. 2.5 years storage is a LONG TIME. Particularly if they didn't charge you storage fees. Now, if they DID charge storage, that's a WHOLE 'nother ball game.

If they agreed to store the slab for you, you just expected them to do what they said they would do.

I would be concerned about damage to those beautiful cabinets if they tried to replace the granite. I would ask for a significant discount on a complimentary, but differnet slab. A solid black would be nice.

The darker color of the island might provide enough contrast with the lighter perimeter counters to work out.

If you really don't like it, I'd go with something like an absolute black, or that granite that's black with small gold specks (black galaxy?).

since you didn't buy it 2 years ago, you must stop thinking about the millions of ways they can get out of any tacit form of promise someone made to you.

Only a sale is a sale. Only a contract is a contract. A promise made to you, to save something for you, is not an exchange of promises or considerations made by both / mutually / reciprocally / back and forth / between the two parties.

I promise I'll do XYZ for you.
In return, you have given me ... ___ ... .

What have you been doing for me in the last 2 years, that we agreed upon?

But David, the OP says that she did purchase the additional piece for her island 2 years ago. So she has paid for this piece already and the fabricator agreed to hold it for her.

That said, if it's gone, it's gone. I'm sure if this is a reputable fabricator they will make it right but you will need to pick something else. I love the idea of black on the island, I think that will look fabulous with your countertops. Good luck!

right you are. it was bought and paid for. Get concessions. You cannot get the thing you want (the same slab) so you have to get something else.

Carol, I don't have any real answers for you but I have the exact granite as your original one, my cabinets are also similar in color to your base cabinets!

The piece they are trying to give you now looks nothing like the original. If you cannot get a match to your original, I would go with something completely different for the island... maybe a light colored granite. If you try to use the one they are trying to give you I think it will look odd and mismatched.

I would go with something different, but complimentary on the island. If they replaced everything, the backsplash would probably have to be re-done also.

On the bright side, there is no way they can argue that's from the same slab, at least not with a straight face...report back after they check back so we know what your options are.

mjsee - I agree! I was hesitant to say so, but I'll see your bid: I like the two (definitely different but) complementary slabs together. And qualify it that I'm not really a colors-type. Moreover, I know carol is really adamant about not liking the two together. So that's what is the bottom line. Still, I just want to say that I think they look kinda neat together.

Sorry about the mixup. It sounds really, really disappointing. I think there's a fair chance that this might be just one of those situations that while painful in the middle of it, will turn out even better in the end. Try to take a beep breath, mourn a little and then with a good night's sleep, reapproach the problem with an open mind. It may not be that the close-but-complementary plan will work for you. But after you get over the disappointment I'll bet you can find a solution even better than the original plan.

Hang in there!

hi... the owner of the granite place came by and he said he was sure he had the match to mine....he took my sample piece and said he would call by the end of the day ... he says there are several shades of the Golden Jade and I asked if my slab would have been labeled with my name on it and he said yes but that there were three different pieces with my name on it.....don't really know why that would be but hopefully it is what he says and that he has the actual piece after all...I'll believe it when i actually see it....supposedly they will do it and deliver it this week and take back the other piece...waiting to hear from him today... I will let you all know what happens......thanks everyone.

After seeing your latest pics, ans re-reading your OP - I would say the following:

1. You PURCHASED the piece of stone for the Island - it was your property
2. THEY suggested that you wait on the island 2 1/2 years ago, and on THEIR insistance - took responsibility for the piece (still YOUR property)
3. What they are trying to give you as the island made from "your piece" (if the small sample in the pics is what the stone SHOULD look like...) does NOT match with the sample.

Based on these three criteria - I would say you have a case, and that your Fabricator now has the responsibility to "deliver" - if he can't to your satisfaction, you'll need to work out fair compensation for loss and de-fault of contract. Hopefully it won't go there - I'm hoping that your guy will make things right and give you what you feel is acceptable... TO YOU !!!!

I would hope that your Fabricator can find a stone with waaay more of a match to the sample, and then everyone wins. My guess is - they lost track of your "piece" AND either broke it or fabbed it (the original) for something else, or they just lost track of it and it's still there - burried in their scrap pile.... I work with shops all over the world in my business, and I cant tell you how many other fabricators are in this general group....... EVERYBODY makes mistakes now and then !!! LOL - But..... you gotta hols your guy's feet to the fire and have him fab up an island that YOU will be happy with.

Seriously - I'd wait and see what he can do, then lets evaluate your options

Not trying to be "self promoting" here, but you can e-mail or call if you need to discuss... www.azschoolofrock.com - I'm hoping that everything will turn out OK for you at the end of the day......

hth

kevin

Sounds promising. Good luck!