Hi Tom,

Thanks for your site. Need help with kitchen and bath counters.

House: 100 year old Colonial, complete renovation, traditional (window replacements are wood, traditional faucets). Style is unfussy, informal, lots of light, double french doors to back porch.

1. Kitchen: creamy white flat-panel cabinets to 9 ft ceilings with 18″ top row and molding, some seed-glass fronts. Neutral, medium pewter-color cabinets in island with butcher block top. Stainless appliances with chunky range. Lots of light (windows w/ cream molding), and lots of molding in house (wall tops and bottoms, windows, squared room entries). A few squared columns in kitchen entry. Hardwood floor, 3/4 medium oak. Don’t like white/plain walls - paint will probably be a neutral such as taupe or soft yellow but undecided.

Considering granite counters, but first thoughts are the shiny looks too formal for house and hate the bullnose edge. Don’t want trendy and soon-to-be-obsolete. Love look of honed dark counters but I am heeding the warnings. Also love marble but it is probably too soft for our busy family, heavy pots and love of fruit juice. Willing to do maintenance/sealing and reasonable cleaning.

Need recommendation for counter which will include near stove (hot pots) and 2-foot raised end of island where we have 2 bar seats. All will have same surface.

2. Master bath w/ white freestanding oval vintage tub, white sinks, windows w/ cream molding. Tile may be white mosaic floor and shower w/ accent design - undecided. Some beadboard. Vanity is flat-panel stained cherry, Autumn Blush. Paint color undecided but not white/plain.

Need recommendation for vanity top.

3. Kids bath - Flat-panel lighter maple cabinets w/ honey spice stain. White mosaic floor/shower. White fixtures. Paint undecided. Window w/ cream molding. Kids are messy/spill a lot.

Need recommendation for vanity top.

Any other comments welcome. Thanks for your help.

-Deb

Hello Deb,

For a kitchen that is unfussy and informal yet designed with the classic moldings and wood floors as you have described, I can only recommend two granite colors. These are Bianco Romano or White Springs. Unlike dark colored granite, white/cream granite colors like these are not as formal when polished. The shiny glare is toned down quite a bit in light colored granites.

For low maintenance in the kitchen you should definitely use polished granite. A honed Granite surface is very high maintenance but can be enjoyable if properly sealed and maintained. However, fruit juice is a menace on honed granite and will leave cloudy marks that are almost impossible to remove.

For the edge detail, consider a Dupont Edge Detail as this will go best with your decor.

For the master bathroom vanity, a white vanity top seams that only way to go hear because of the white stand alone tub scheme and the cherry cabinet. However, perhaps consider a white marble. Marble in the bathrooms is only for the avid caretakers as it will etch from many cleaners and facial products if not properly sealed. However, as long as you use a sealer like, ‘bullet proof’ or equal, then you will be ok. Stone Management Group is coming out with a miracle sealer for marble in a couple months and you will be able to find it on www.GraniteStock.com.

For the kids’ bathrooms, I suggest having more colorful fun. Consider blues, greens or reds and definitely use granite for the low maintenance. The best advice I can give you here is to see the hundreds of colors on HomeGranite.com and fill out the vanity form on www.HomeGranite.com so that granite companies in your area can contact you with the remnants they have in stock for vanity tops.

My very best wishes and thank you for supporting the Rock Blog’s World Vision kids!

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