So we are going with Home Depot. They had a 10% discount this weekend and we're for all kinds of discounts we could get to save $$. We are going to do the back splash ourselves. Husband used to tile so he knows how to do it.
Just something I should mention, when we went looking at the actual granite, we had a fabricator in mind that we wanted to go with. They were the original people who put our current counter tops in. Anyway, they were a bit rude when we went to see if we can set an appointment or just get some info or maybe even look at their showroom for ideas but they didn't seem like they wanted to help us. There was two other granite places we were planning to visit too but like I mentioned, it's just too overwhelming so the one place was enough. We were given a list of fabricators from the granite place but the list was 2 pages long and we'd have to research and review them before we choose, which would be way too much work, and way too overwhelming. I don't know how others do it.
Going to Lowe's and Home Depot is less crazy and it's nice to be able to just talk to someone to get general ideas and then be able to go home, think on it, and return for more info. The really nice thing about the Home Depot we went to is that the lady who helped us was also doing her kitchen (a second kitchen in her basement) and was very informative and helpful. It's nice to know that she also goes through the same process so we trust her. I also liked the Lowe's person and we would have gone with them but they didn't have any specials.