Jenn, I have no clue on the counter top piece, but for texture I asked for referrals from King's Paint, the Benjamin Moore store on Scotts Valley drive. If they no longer have someone to refer, then I would contact The Handyman Coop in Santa Cruz, http://www.handymanco-op.com/. They are a group of mostly retired contractors. What's great about them is that they will only continue to use contractors who are given great feedback from homeowners. If there is someone there who doesn't get great feedback, they don't get work.
We used Dan Downing a few years ago to remodel our master bath and he was wonderful. I have since used him and his sub-contractors for many projects around our house. I had our cabinet custom made and would not recommend the guy I hired!! Here are some numbers -
Dan Downing Construction - 419.8720
Scott Frensley Drywall - 724.1720
Plumbing - Andy Brint - 722.1850 (call at 630 am)
Electrical - Tim Kirby - 335.9630
Tile Work - John (Aptos Tile Works) 688.0932
Riva (counter top) - 722.2241
Mission Tile (Linda) - 462.6411
I hope that helps...if you have any questions let me know!! If you want to let them know Randy Driscoll sent you.
Hi Jenn,
My husband Andy owns/runs Kitchen Express (9073 Soquel Drive, Aptos - 831-662-3700). You can stop by there, tell him I sent you, and get a good idea of what it'll entail.