Omicron Granite & Tile

No, we didn’t hit the lottery. But I saw a cracked tile in my bathroom shower stall. The tiles are the original builders’ tile that came with the house, so it’s amazing that cheesy tile lasted so long. But (thankfully) they are starting to go. So I can (finally) get new tile in the shower stall.
So how did that extend to replacing the counter tops? Part of it was Mom’s influence pushing for me to have ‘nice things’ as her gift and part of it was reckoning that if I was going to do work in the bathroom I might as well rip off the bandage and do it all. And since we’re doing the master bathroom, we’re also doing the guest — because hubby uses that one and he wants new stuff too. (Yeah, we’ll be having stay-​cations for years to come!)
We returned to the fabricator who did our kitchen granite in 2012, Planet Marble & Tile. They had some inventory but are awaiting a large shipment so they didn’t have a lot. They suggested we visit Omnicron to see their vast selection.
We’d gone to Omnicron in 2012 but ultimately found what we wanted at Planet Marble. So when we returned yesterday we were already aware that we’d be blown away by their inventory. When you enter the showroom lobby, the receptionist assigns a rep to walk with you and take notes about the slabs you like best. We walked around with Saul (pronounced sah-​ool) and took pics of the slabs that spoke to us. Omnicron faxes the paper with our selections to Planet Marble and they, as the fabricator, work up the quotes and present them to us. While the slabs have labels with levels (1, 2, 3, upgrade and exotic), there are no prices so you can look without sticker shock.
They have row after row of stone slabs. Of course they put the exotic onyx and quartzite slabs by the entrance. So by the time you hoof it to the standard slabs you’ve left your heart in the other rows. But your wallet led you to the back rows, so off you go!
We should have prices by Tuesday. We already selected an onyx-​looking tile for the shower stall and travertine tile for the stall floor. So we just have to make our counter top selection to start the work. If the onyx is price-​prohibitive we’ll go with the one of the granite slabs that we both love. Needless to say, I’ll be holed up in my bathroom once the work is done. Hubby is considering getting me a mini-​fridge so I never have to come out!