thank you very much to everyone who responded! I'll look into espresso and charcoal grays. As well as the steel backplash. Emmarenes, I'm living abroad in India, and the only granites in my budget are the local ones. I was advised against the gray and white local ones because i was told that they would not hold up well in the kitchen. I could have gone with a black galaxy as well but i have that granite now and despise it because of the way it hides ants and bugs so well. we live in a tropical area and there are always critters here and there. My first choice was a Brazilian white granite but it was triple the price. This granite is called Shiva pink, so it has a pink salmon and gray look to it. Im really hoping I don't hate it once it's installed. The stoneyard was a 9 hour trip up and down and i was just pressured to make a choice after several undecided trips. And I'm getting new cabinets put in. but I think I can wait for them to put the slab before staining the wood. Thanks for that idea :)

Hello Nisha, Laminate will not fall off if the adhesive is used properly. Avoid regular heat and water contact. Merino, Green, Century are good brands for laminates in India. Thanks Nitin Cornerstone Designs Bangalore

One Follow-up question.. Is there any strength issue with 20mm Granite slab over 40mm Granite.. Are the 20mm granite slab prone to chipping or crack on normal usage.. Usage would be like, chopping vegetables, keeping hot vessels,.. The normal usage what happens in normal indian kitchen.. I just want to be sure that I decide based on experts judgement (like you), as people are just throwing their opinion based on their guess...

It’s is back painted glass. As a back splash it can be used as it’s easy to clean and maintain. Highly recommended to be toughened. The entire back needs to be cladded in waterproof plywood and then the glass is stuck on to it with special adhesive or silicon gel. Any reservations on using plywood then you can opt for WPC ( wood plastic composite ) which is alternative to play and is totally termite-water proof.