The other week I brought you up to speed with pricing and product info and shared that we were leaning towards Formica’s 180 FX in Dolce Vita meaning “sweet life” in Italian.  That’s definitely the kind of life I want to be living in my kitchen.  Did someone say chocolate?

So how did I go from 180FX Calacatta Marble to 180 FX Dolce Vita?

I love the look of white marble countertops and really wanted to implement this into the redesign of our kitchen.  But the key to a great renovation is to integrate the new flawlessly with the old.  The old in our case being our floor tile.

Dirty/ Off White tends to describe it best.  So when I put our pretty 180FX Calacatta Marble sample down on the floor this is what I got.

Ewww!  They definitely don’t work together.  I knew then that we would have to go darker. Oh, and for a little memory update we plan on painting the cabinets gray.

After our first failed attempt, I ordered samples, more samples, and finally more samples.

Next, we really liked the Soapstone Sequoia.

It worked perfectly with the existing tile and had a nice long linear look in the veining.  After leaving the laminate out on our counter for a few days though we decided this wasn’t the one for us.  Each laminate is made to resemble it’s stone counterpart in sheen and texture.  For soapstone this means a dull appearance and non-smooth surface.  We were afraid that it the counters would come across as unclean.  I do a bad enough job keeping the counters clean myself!

So we continued to test out samples and finally found one that we both liked, Dolce Vita.

(The guy on top.)

It has a smooth finish as well as the linear look that ML and I both liked in the soapstone.  By using a laminate/stone with linear lines it will elongate the look of our kitchen.  Which it needs.

Dolce Vita works with well our tile floors and black appliances.  I can’t wait to see what it will look installed.  Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait a few weeks on that part.  The guys came out to measure the existing counters last week but because 180FX is special order it will be a few weeks until the counters come in.  We should be enjoying them by Christmas though!  I bet red party platters with all kind of Christmas goodies will look great on them!

What about you?  Do you have a project that is stretching out for weeks on end?  Do you find yourself going through several finish selection before finding “the one”?  What do you hope to have accomplished by Christmas?

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