Ahhh…in-laws. Imperfections in the granite? Hardly. Granite is stone, Mom and Dad. This is how it came out of the ground.

If you have a baby and they complain about his ears, say, well that’s how baby came out of the womb.

Honestly, why do parents do that? What is the point? Don’t let it spoil your enthusiasm for your project. Looks great.

Boy, could I go on and on with this one. Shocking? Grrrrrr. I won’t because it is Christmas, but I may come back in the New Year with a couple of responses for you.

Pieces of coal in their stockings, for sure.

Gorgeous..the way mother nature intended it!

They only noticed it because the rest of the kitchen isn't finished and it's the focal point. That being said, it could have been planned better since the spots aren't on any other parts of the stone that I can see.

Beautiful, ...
I picked those interesting ' imperfections' on purpose in my granite.
You love it,that's all that matters.

Tactful much?? lol. It's your kitchen, you like it. That's all you have to say.

And you want to spend HOW MUCH because MIL said "shocking"??? That's really shocking. What does hubby say about all this? Is he willing to up with the bucks?

He thinks they look fine...the countertops were just installed today, so it was hard to hear only negative comments first thing. I think we will probably just keep them as is. Just wish they would have been cut differently :-(

It's a natural stone and randomness is part of the character. It looks fine and actually, looks better where it is than it would if it were anywhere else. I bet that section looks really neat up close. :) Enjoy your new kitchen!

It's gorgeous! The weird little sparkly bits and swirls are my favorite part of my granite. I guess some would call them imperfections, but I sure don't think of them that way. That's literally how the earth created the stone.

Your in-laws are probably engineered quartz people who like the consistent soul-less blandness of something with no surprises or uniqueness. Guard your children. lol

Tell them it's a natural birth mark that formed over millions of years. It's also one sure way to show that this ain't man made. It actually looks like freckles the longer I look at it. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Your in laws are probably just jealous of your new kitchen. Not letting their negative comments affect you is the best pay back.

When MIL says SHOCKING you must say "yes, I know, shocking" and smile sweetly.

Beautiful countertops!

I would definitely not change out a very nice countertop just because my in-laws don't understand the difference between natural and manufactured stone. Give them a book on geology for Christmas instead.

Your counters are beautiful. Both my MIL and my mother have negative opinions about granite in general. We put granite into our starter home kitchen and it was already in our next kitchen. I think some people are daunted by needing to use different maintenance products and the busy patterns on some slabs. If you can't say anything nice....

Oh dear. They sound like Formica Forever and don't understand natural stone. Shrug it off, smile...... enjoy your beautiful kitchen and have a wonderful Christmas.

Have you been married long? Boy, in-laws! People you love to hate, or is it people you hate to love? ;-) Stiffen up that backbone of yours, be confident in your choices. The counters are natural, a gift from nature, and quite beautiful in my opinion. And yes, I am an in-law, have overstepped my boundaries (just trying to help) :-) and was told to "butt out!" Life is good, daughter-in-law is great.

I know just how you feel. It's something my parents would have said too. Mostly because they aren't very familiar with granite plus as they get older they lose their filter. I think it looks beautiful.

I am a MIL and I would never say that to my kids but my MIL oh yeah about a lot of things and I would just say thankyou everytime she mentioned I did something she thought was weird. I love those dark spots it makes the top interesting.

The spots are fabulous.

Beautiful tops! (Yep, that is why I married a man whose mom had passed- rest her soul...).

My MIL is 10,000km away in Germany...right where we left her! And yes, she would have said something like "shocking" as well.

The counters are beautiful. You don't mind the inclusions. Husband doesn't mind the inclusions. Their funky and very forgiving if something does happen in that spot! So don't mind the MIL.

Enjoy your holidays and put a newspaper on that part of the counter top while she's around. It will prevent her from "making a fuss" about it while in your home.

That's the beauty of granite and what sets it apart from quart or man made materials. The movement and individuality of the stone is what makes it unique and oh so beautiful.

I agree with those who said this is granite, and this is what makes it beautiful. I can, though, just hear my late FIL saying that, and it does make you feel bad. Try to ignore it. Your countertops are beautiful!

When selecting natural stone there are two types of people, "vanilla" and "rainbow sherbet". I'm in the rainbow camp, the more movement and inclusions the better. My husband is a "all one color (preferably white) type of guy". I have countertops and a full countertop-to-celing slab (nine feet x five feet) of the most gorgeous granite in my kitchen. He will get white quartz walls in the new shower.

Your countertop is a work of art made by Mother Nature...if you love it that's what's important.

I personally don't like it either, but yeah it's granite n that's what u get sometimes, but I have a feeling it might bother u just a little too since u said u wished that piece had been put in another spot. But I think in time u get use to things that we might like at first n I'm pretty sure that will be the case for u too since it really is a beautiful countertop.

I am so sorry your MIL said that and put a niggling of doubt in your head. You need to be ready with a response that puts the onus back on her. I am sure, if she gets away with that comment, it will encourage her to make other comments also. You need to be ready. Forewarned is forearmed.

I, like Patricia, had a MIL that said something rude with every chance she got. I "let it slide" and it encouraged more rude comments. When I finally got a spine and asked "why would you say something so negative?" that she started to back off.

Your granite looks like...granite. Nature with all her "imperfections" as only nature can do. Embrace it, enjoy it. Your kitchen looks beautiful. Enjoy it!!

when something has spent years in the ground, and developed a natural pattern, be happy you didnt get the one with NO character. and be happy you have the spots, I think it shows that they are not engineered, its beautiful.

Shocking! I'd replace the in-laws (or just don't invite them). Or, better yet, let them pay for the replacement.

It's stone. It's millions of years old. It was formed by nature with enormous pressures. It is the most unique thing in your home; celebrate it.

PS: I get remarks from the "Formica" people all the time about my granite...consider the source and go on with your life AND your pretty granite!

hope you had a good Cristmas with the in laws lol! jk

LOL...yes, 'formica people," for sure!

"I'm sure that when you replace your countertops you'll get something that suits you. This suits me." My MIL would've said the same type of thing. Remember, she grew up during the Formica years when there was no variation in pattern. Ignore her.

BTW that's fantastic granite! Treasure the differences that make it unique!

So kmd, how do you feel after getting all of this feedback? Better, I hope!

I feel much better! The more I look at it, the better I like it too. We are looking at backsplash samples now. When it's all put together I think I will be very happy! I really appreciate all the feedback!

That's great! I saw some limestone floor tile with fossils in it, also hand made tiles with chichuaua paw prints. Pretty cool and sure to be conversation pieces. Probably wouldn't want to have that conversation with the inlaws. Enjoy Happy New Year!

Something with some jet black in it. I'm glad you feel better!

Did you pick your slabs? If so, you knew it was probably going to be included in the counters. Learn to love it.

If you didn't pick slabs and only saw a small sample then I can see why you would be disappointed. If I had chosen based on a small sample and wasn't given the opportunity to see the slabs, I would complain. Anyway it goes though they are beautiful and unique.

The only thing that matters is if you like it and will live with it. That's it.

It looks awesome...adds character!

It's just like the multiple moles that are only on left side of my face for some reason...adds character indeed!

kmd, how did the holidays go? Any more comments?

When I first looked at the picture I thought you were talking about the spots from the lights - lol. I think the black area adds character and interest like a small piece of art. Our granite slab had a weird streak in it that I loved and we spent a lot of time trying to incorporate it in the counters but could not make it work so we had a piece of that section made into a cutting board and I display the uniqueness of it proudly.

I spend a ridiculous amount of time studying, enjoying and wondering over all the weird spots nature created in our counters.

Looks really good. Tell her you paid extra for those natural occurring spots. Educate her about real stone.

I am one of those 'quartz lovers', but I think your granite is absolutely beautiful. Enjoy your new kitchen.

Have fun with it. We have 2 big lines that run through ours, and we joke that that's where the dinosaur scratched it.

Ours have movement in some areas, flow in others. Uninformed people might call that a defect. I call it interesting and beautiful.