Colorado Yule Marble was used to build the Lincoln Memorial (the building itself - the seated statue is of brighter Alabama marble).
When Bauhaus glass boxes became the trend, the abandoned quary became a hiking destination, with a donation bucket, and a take-all-you-can-carry policy. That’s no longer the case, since operation is once again profitable.
McMansions, for all their ills, did bring this industry back. We’ve reacquired our tastes. Now to refine them.
Except it won’t, because the next people that buy the house will rip it out and throw it away and install a slightly different shade of granite. Or soapstone, or poured concrete, or honed curdled yak vomit or whatever the next idiotic trend is.
Ok, so are you putting in countertops for you or for the hypothetical people who are going to buy your house when you’re through with it?
That’s kind of my point. The sort of picky people who want the latest poncy worktop are probably going to rip out the kicthen and install their own, so why spend money on it with an eye to resale value? As I said a coiuple of pages back, I put in oak worktops, because I like the look, they’re cheap (Ikea!) and don’t chip plates when you put them down too hard.
Nothing in what you quoted mentions resale value. caffeine.addict appears to be praising the long life you get from granite.
In defense of vessel sinks in the bathroom: I don’t think anyone has yet stated the reason they exist. Since they are on top of the vanity and not a part of it they allow drawers.
This is a great feature. You can have your toothpaste and other items that are normally all over the sink in drawers in front of the sink. The whole area can be clean and wiped down whenever you want without moving anything.
Plus it is nice if you are taller and want to not have to bend so much to reach the sink.
Still no kids. And since the divorce, no wife either! 
That’s actually something you should be clear on before you do any renovating. We bought our last house with a five-year plan - we intended to fix up the house for as cheaply as possible and sell it. If we had intended to stay in the house, we would have done the renovations differently, to our tastes instead of neutral and cheap.
I’m not arguing with that although I will say that anyone who’s renovating a house with an eye towards being trendy for the next buyer and also plans to stay in it for a decade or longer is at best, a doofus.
I’m not disputing the long life of granite. Just bitching about the mentality seen on property shows where everything has to be ripped out and replaced if it’s more than four years old. Admittedly you don’t have to go to quite the extreme of my parents, who were still soldiering on with their 1960s laminate countertop that had warped into a fair approximation of the rolling foothills of the Andes, before I bought the house off them and renovated it…
If I had the means and the permits I’d build a house for me and mine and to hell with anyone who doesn’t like it:
Bedrooms: small, ideally with dressers & closets built in & recessed so the only thing stick out is the bed and maybe a desk. I’d prefer this even if/especially if it meant sacrificing floor space. Cozier, cheaper to heat, less room for clutter. All bedrooms are downstairs, preferably in a full or half basement, to maintain constant temperature.
On the same level is a spacious living area with “relaxed” clutter & tidiness ordnances loosely enforced.
Kitchen: This is my room. Give me cupboard & counter space. Open space on top of the cupboards because that’s where I store my canning & dried goods (rice, beans, etc). Makes good space for potted plants. Granite countertops for me for durability and heat resistance–I can really use up a range top when I get going and hot pots end up on the counter to make room for the next thing.
Kitchen can be merged with a dining area. I’m not big on superformal dining entertainement, and watching me in the kitchen is its own entertainment anyway. Fie to the formal dining room. I’d like a more formal & tidy living space with a fireplace up here. Open beam & rafter ceiling for the cats to play in.
Large foyers suck and are a waste of heated living space. I’d much rather have an enclosed porch/cloakroom/airlock that opens into a living room.
Area rugs on wood/tile instead of carpet.
Separate kitchen, though??