[Caddylackn]

pea gravel makes a weaker concrete, since the aggregate is polished.

You need to use a lot of reducer in concrete counter tops. If not the concrete will shrink and cause cracks. Use fiberglass and 3/8" rebar on 4" or 6" spacing for overhangs and make sure it is at least 1.5" from exposed edges.

My brother in law ran a concrete countertop business for years. Made some cool stuff. He would build in drainboard slots in the concrete forms leading to the sink.

Some of the coolest stuff he used was broken blue glass and some dark bottle glass. Stainless nuts and bolts looks good too when exposed and polished with diamond discs. He poured his countertops at his shop upside down so the finished side was very smooth and consistent before polishing.

For artistic stuff, he would pour a very thick mix, and vibrate it minimally. So it would leave some gaps and voids, then go back and grout those in a different color, so it looked like granite. Using white concrete and powdered dyes you could make about any color you want.

I did my big concrete kitchen island about 3" thick using grey high strength concrete with black powdered dye to darken it. After 15 years it still looks great. I used about 1 part water to 1 part reducer. It was very hard to mix and thick.

Concrete counters are not for everyone. If you are expecting it to be like polished granite, then get granite. Once you start putting tons of sealers on concrete counters trying to get it shiny, the sealers are easy to scratch.