actually i cant move the dining table close to the kitchen as tahst the main entrance to our house.if i put dining table in that area,the entry would look congested.the rooms adjoining it are gallery which leads to mastre bedroom and another bedroom.

The wood has to reach what's called Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC), which is different for various areas of the country/world. I don't know about end grain slabs, which is what you have, but the rule of thumb for lumber air drying (vs. kiln drying) is 1 year for each inch of thickness. Moisture leaves the end grain faster than the side and/or edge of the boards, so in your case the drying time will probably be shorter. If it is not dried in a controlled environment your slabs are going to split radially, due to drying too fast.

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 :)

Hi Anurag, Black counter top is very common and you can go for ample combinations like light and dark grey, yellow , red, green ...and their combinations will look great. So no need to worry..go for any colorful combinations. Regards, Sujoy