Once In A Lifetime Kitchen Granite Countertops
Hi Tom, Glad I found your site. I’ve been stressing over the color of granite I should use in our “once in a lifetime kitchen”.
We began the project knowing that we would have to work around our wood floors which are a red oak stained in a medium wood tone. (Minwax… 3/4 provincial… 1/4 natural.) So, we have chosen creamy white cabinetry with a glaze (looks like honey). The cabinet color is called Amaretto. We are doing the island cabinetry in a dark wood – 3 to 4 shades darker than the floors. The color is called distressed English toffee. We have 9 foot ceilings and are taking the cabinets to the ceiling (48 inch upper cabinets) with a 6 inch thick crown molding. Our kitchen is medium size 18 x 14 including a little breakfast nook in a bay window.
We have chosen stainless steel appliances. The refrigerator and dishwasher will have overlays. I am considering a stainless sink with brushed nickel knobs, pulls and faucet. I lean toward country French in design. My house is a newer (1994) home and very elegant (formal dining and living room) 2 story. Have not decided on wall color yet; that will be the last decision. We use our kitchen a lot; have our children, their spouses and grandchildren over all the time. We like to work together in the kitchen. I love for things to always look neat and clean with little maintenance.
My questions….
What granite would you suggest? I have looked at New Venetian Gold, Santa Fe Brown (a darker choice), Giallo Ornamental (seems to miss for some reason), and Santa Cecilia (the showroom shows this with the amaretto cabinetry). I like darker granite as well, but I keep hearing that the blacks are too nineties. Should I do the perimeter in one granite and the island in another? what would you suggest in that case? What would you use for the backsplash? I see pictures on some of the granite sites with matching granite countertops and backsplashes…what do you think of that? Is tiling the backsplash the more traditional way to go?I thank you for any suggestions you can offer. I am feeling frustrated because there are so many beautiful choices.
Catherine
Hello Catherine,
Your kitchen is perfectly set up for a two-color granite scheme and I really feel that I know exactly what to recommend. First, let me steer you completely away from New Venetian Gold or Giallo Ornamental. They will wash out the whole kitchen when combined with the Amaretto cabinet color with honey colored glazed. That would be not consistent with the “once in a lifetime” kitchen that you want to love everyday.
Here is what I recommend. Find a dark version of Ubatuba Granite without too much gold veining. This is hard to find because the darker versions are the one that have been exposed to sunlight longer. The sunlight also accentuates the gold veining so it is normal that the darker the Ubatuba, the more gold veining will be visible. However, find slabs that feel almost black but you it really a rich dark green. You will know it when you see it. Just avoid the brighter green color slabs and the ones that are riddle with gold veining. Use this color for the perimeter countertops. You will love it and after 18 years in the granite business, I still feel that nothing looks better with stainless appliances than the color of Ubatuba that I described.
Now, for the island. You really can have some fun without going overboard. Selecting another color can be a mega design hit or it can be just plane silly looking. Personally, I would recommend Espirito Santo or Juperana Bronze or Typhoon Bordeaux. These are very classy granite colors and will go nicely with your floor and cabinet pallet.
For your backsplash, I still like tile when it is appropriate. My own kitchen has full height granite splashes but my décor is totally different. In your case, you should use natural stone tile that is the same color as your cabinets. Try to match the color exactly. It would be great if you could find a light yellow/cream marble or travertine mosaic in a small ‘brick pattern’ and put that up above the Ubatuba granite all the way to the bottom of the upper cabinets. Either honed or polished finish would look great, just not tumbled and no accents, please!
For the granite edge details, you can not go with a very fancy edge because the room is just not big enough. Some people just love a full bullnose feel so if you are that way, consider going with a full bullnose only at the island and a half-bullnose at the counters. Otherwise, a straight edge with a 1/4″ top round would be more French.
When you put the above pallet together, I think you will see that it brings designer concepts and color to your kitchen. The way I described it, you might thing it is too busy, but I think you will see it all works together. Let me know what you decide!
My very best wishes!
October 1st, 2008 at 12:43 am
Hi Tom:
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise to help out with the confusing decorating choices! I already spent almost a month trying to make the granite decision and still cannot decide! I am remodeling our small tract home kitchen and cannot decide on the granite countertop choice. The kitchen size is about 12′ by 10′ with the honey oak cabinet and light pinkish cream tile floor. All appliances are stainless, with stainless sink and faucet. The kitchen gets the considerable light from the connecting breakfast nook’s 4 windows (facing east and north), so the amount of light is not that much of a concern. The connecting family room has the beige-orangish with some vein tile floor and the beige paint color. The connecting breakfast nook has the pinkish tile floor.
I am deciding between uba tuba and tan brown granite. I like the depth and specks of uba tuba, but am afraid that its green color will crash with the pinkish tile floor. Will the tan brown’s reddish spots helps tie in the floor color or will it just accentuate the pink even more? (I don’t like the pink tile, but the budget doesnot allow for changing it out.) Which one do you think will go better with the cabinet, the floor color and appliances? or should I consider something totally different? I want some contrast with the cabinets, but also keep the color theme consistent with the connecting family room and breakfast nook. Thank you again and greatly appreciate your help!
Pat
March 30th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Hi – I’m remodeling my kitchen and I need some color help for the granite.
As a “shout out” to my dearly departed wife, who liked to add red accents to the kitchen, I’d like to install something with some red in it without actually putting a red counter in this new room.
It’s a cape, and I took down a load bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room to give myself a larger eat in kitchen. I’ll have a peninsula about 3 feet into the old dining room, the “kitchen side” of it will be under the new beam. There will be a small island opposite the sink, which is centered under a new garden window. (west exposure)
The tile floor is a dark slate green with some tan highlights that match the Waverly toffee cabinets from Armstrong. The appliances are stainless, including the range hood, but the sink is white porcelain farm style. The island is where the cooktop will reside. The new room is 10 x 24, about 14′ of it is kitchen, all of it is tiled.
I have been focused on light colored counters because the floor is so dark, but I’ll have 5 recessed lights in the ceiling plus a track light over the sink so perhaps I can get something darker.
Do you think it’s a good idea to mix colors between the main counter and the island? If I have a white based color will it clash with the sink? I’m more of a nuts and bolts guy, color is my weakness.
May 8th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Help please! We are putting in Merlot (raised panel, NO arch) Cherry cabinets with Ebony glaze in our 12′ X 17′ kitchen. There is just one medium sized window along with 4 entrances to the kitchen that provide some additional diffused light. We are adding a natural oak hardwood floor that ties in to the oak floor in an adjoining room. I do not have an island. I like the New Venetian Gold granite because it offers more paint color options as well as it not being too dark to close in the room. I was considering a paint color with green tones. Am I on the right track??? Thanks.
May 8th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I have Bisque appliances and would like to add a new stainless steel sink. Thanks.