I purchased 4 slabs of marble for a kitchen renovation, with the design feature being marble slab backsplashes and countertops. The 4 slabs were two pairs of book matched slabs. The main backsplash is 11’ wide by 5’ tall (counter to soffit). We decided to do 2 book-matched equally sized panels (at the insistence of our designer, GC, and fabricator) since the space was too big for 1 slab. When we saw the final product, my eye immediately went to the seam in the center. Something was off. After reviewing the template photos from the fabricator, photos I took of the slabs in the warehouse, and staring at this backsplash, scrutinizing every vein and how the slabs don’t quite line up at the center, I realized one of the two backsplash panels is not the mirror image of the other nor is it actually any of the 4 slabs we purchased! Nobody told me there was a problem or that they changed the slab; instead the designer gushed about how stunning it is.

Here’s my dilemma: do I fight this battle? Now knowing it’s not the book matched slab or even the sequential slab, he actually did a pretty good job lining it up. But it’s not perfect and it’s not a mirror image. I may be the only person who will ever notice. But now that I know, I can’t un-know it. I sleuthed around a bit and think I may have tracked down the bundle that this new slab came from (another location of the stone yard). Ideally, I would want to get the book matched slab for this new piece so that I have a truly book matched backsplash. I have asked the GC if there was a new slab and let him know it doesn’t appear bookmatched…waiting to hear back.