Mulitple Granite Colors In One Kitchen!
Hi, Tom,
I am looking for help regarding a new kitchen I am installing as part of a large-scale home renovation and am struggling with granite choices. The kitchen is fairly large (18×14) with a working island with a sink (about 3x 6) and a peninsula/breakfast bar that opens up to an eating area and family room with lots of east-facing windows. We have ordered simple style (recessed panel) cherry cabinets with a russet stain (no glaze) for the perimeter of the room including the peninsula and cream-colored cabinets with a glaze called suede (reddish brown color) for the island. All of our appliances and sinks in the island and counter are stainless. The floors will be a light (natural) oak. I like the idea of darker granite on the perimeter and something different on the island, but I’m not sure if that would be too busy. Would I be better off with the same granite throughout since I already have two different cabinet colors? I like the more sophisticated look of dark granite with the cherry perimeter cabinets but don’t know if it would work equally well on the cream painted cabinets. Colors I am interested in are Ubatuba for the perimeter and maybe Giallo San Cecelia for the island. I also really like the Tan Brown or English Brown and am thinking of that for the whole room. I think the reddish tone in the tan brown looks good with both cabinets and it keeps the dark look I’m looking for. I know that granites with lots of movement and swirling patterns are popular, but I prefer smaller “patterns” and do not actually want much movement. Also, do you have any suggestions for the tiled backsplash? Finally, I have friends who find the darker granites in the kitchen very difficult to keep looking nice with kids, crumbs, etc. and are trying to talk me out of it. I just think tan or gold granite throughout the whole kitchen might be blah-looking. What is your opinion on this?
Thanks for your help. This is an awesome site! - Amy
Hello Amy,
That sounds like a truly gorgeous kitchen you are putting together. I love the overall kitchen size, the cabinet colors and the russet stain. That is a talented décor that requires careful completion with the perfect granite countertop combination. I do have a recommendation.
First of all, Tan Brown throughout is a good choice to tie everything together is a simple casual way but it would be better to set the island off as its own piece of furniture. The lighter island cabinet already separates itself from the rest of the perimeter and I strongly feel the theme should be continued to the surface.
Dark Ubatuba is the way to go for the perimeter if your russet stain has a dash of purple or dark rose undertone. This will be absolutely stunning with the stainless and contrary to your friend’s comment; it will be low maintenance after sealer with a penetrating granite sealer. If the russet stain is browner, then Café Bahia or Imperial Coffee would be a better choice.
The next important choice is the lighter granite color for the island. Choosing Santa Cecelia or similar will downgrade your kitchen. It is way to boring and cheap. Take a look at Kashmir White and Colonial Cream which have nice understated style. These are totally different from each other but work well with the cream cabinets and reddish brown glaze. Think cooler or warmer. If you want a cooler feeling, choose Kashmir White. It you want a warm (not hot) décor, choose Colonial Cream or Colonial Dream (a little darker). These granite colors have movement but the mineral matrix is tight and the movement is long and smooth. You can see swatches at www.GraniteStock.com but when you see full slabs, I am sure you will see what I mean.
If you don’t like the slabs of Ubatuba, Kashmir White, or Colonial Cream that you see, just keep looking and keep the following principal in mind; dark semi-monochromatic around the perimeter, with an accent island that has more movement and compliments the cabinet base. You could even go with an island granite color like Red Dragon Granite, but I don’t think this is your taste. Stay away from pinks and blues.
For the backsplash you really have a lot of choices. I really like the ceramic running brick pattern in a 3×6 size with a décor like this. The color should try to match the lightest color that is in the island granite. Anything from off-white to brownish/red goes with Ubatuba. Even glass tile would look great.
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