Tom:

I am remodeling a kitchen with red oak floors and cherry cabinets with a pecan finish. We have black appliances and will have a black kohler cast iron undermount sink. We’re considering English Brown granite. Do you consider that a good choice and do you have any other recommendations?
The peninsula counter is 11′ long so will require a seam. How do we avoid an abrupt color/grain transition at that seam?

We will also have a 12″ overhang for bar seating. We expect to need undermounted support for the overhang. Any recommendations in that area?

Thanks very much–you have a great site! - Clayton

Hello Clayton

You’ve got a beautiful décor stated there and choosing the right granite will definitely pull it all together. The English Brown Granite with the right brown tones is perfect. I could not make a better suggestion.

Regarding your island, having a seam in the middle of your island is never desirable. Some installers can do an excellent job, but personally, I would rather have a smaller island than a seam in the middle. Everyone will see it and you will be shock at how may will reach to feel if the transition is smooth or not. Now here is the good news. This granite from India can be found in slabs that are very large. I have contracted the installation for an island in this granite that was longer than 11 feet. This is one of the few granites that are sold is slabs that long so just keep looking.

There are two other similar colors from India that you should look at if you can not find a slab long enough for your island. They are called Tan Brown and American Mahogany. I don’t think you will like the American Mahogany even thought it would go very well with your decor. The colors are the same but the mineral matrix is much tighter. Tan Brown Granite is very similar and can often be sold as English Brown. The difference between Tan Brown and English Brown is the amount of black and the redness of the brown orthoclase minerals. Tan Brown is handsome and elegant with a black sink, red oak floors and your pecan washed cabinets. Just bee sure to inspect the slabs closely for open pock marks. Good quality slabs in this color are resin filled at the factory so they should look very smooth looking.

Regarding your overhang, I’ve written a couple good responses to this question in the past which are the best to give you complete information.

See these two posts: Supporting Granite With Corbels and Installing Granite With An Overhang

If the references above do not answer all your questions, please write back to me and I will provide more information.

My best wishes!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 11:19 am and is filed under Answers to Granite Questions..., Granite Choice Advice, Granite Color Help, Installation Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.