You should post photos of your kitchen (if the cabinets/floors are staying the same) or add a scaled drawing of the new layout for your kitchen if it's being completely renovated.

I am also using Calacatta marble on my island and thinking about using a different material on my perimeter cabinets in order to have some countertop area that I don't have to worry about what my SO does on that countertop.

My opinion - I wouldn't select any faux marble quartz for my perimeter countertop + backsplash if using a real marble on my island.

Also, using a beautiful genuine marble countertop will make your island a focal point - I just feel like running a quartz countertop up your wall as a backsplash seems like a bad idea. You could use it as a 6" or 8" piece on your backsplash - but I wouldn't run it up the wall as a full backsplash. I feel like when people run a slab up the wall for their backsplash, it is a focal point in the kitchen (unless it was a solid white quartz).

Maybe I would feel differently if I saw the actual marble slab + the exact material for the perimeter counters + potential backsplash. My gut is just thinking that you may be trying to put too many "stars" in one room - and I don't even know what your cabinets look like or your flooring.

I had that issue in my primary bath - I was "in love" with so many tiles (I LOVE tile) - which made me want to use a few different tiles because they were all so beautiful. The color and style of the different tiles all "worked" together = complemented each other + worked with the wood stain for the vanity+ the fixtures for shower/vanity/tub/light fixtures.

HOWEVER, I knew there were too many BEAUTIFUL elements = too many "stars" in the room. I kept hearing Jan Moyer's (a very active pro here on Houzz - I respect her a lot) voice yelling, "EDIT . . .EDIT . . . EDIT!"

Anyway, I think the idea of using a quartz (or something more durable than marble) on your perimeter is a good idea - obviously, since that is what I am am currently considering doing in my kitchen (I know my SO - and I don't want to have to be a "hall monitor" every time he uses the kitchen - I know the marble will etch and patina - but I do not want him opening a bottle of red wine and leaving the cork - or drips - on a marble counter until the next day).

I think you need to select the marble that you are going to use for your island first before you can select the perimeter countertop - and then once both of those materials are set, you can decide whether to run it on the wall as a backsplash.

Nothing makes a faux finish look faux-er than mixing it with the real thing. Better to do the perimeter in plain white or grey Corian solid surface than in quartz

Fake and real never look good together. If you are changing the island, you need to change the perimeter too.

Plain quartz perimeter can look just fine with a real marble island, but the quartz needs to be PLAIN, with no pattern or color variations.

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In this one the island was done in a plain quartz and the perimeter and backsplash were done in marble.

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