Understated, Yet Classy & Charming
Dear Tom,
We are in the process of renovating our kitchen. Our house is over 150 years old. It is an all white colonial with 7 very large pillars that run across the front. We recently added to the kitchen area and have created a kitchen space that is 22 x 19 feet. We are having all white cabinets made which will go up to the ceiling and a large two tiered island in the center which will be about 10 ft long. The floor is teak.
There is a lot of natural light as one wall of the room is floor to ceiling windows which overlook our pool area.Our question, is the color of the granite. The kitchen previously had these same white cabinets with Verde Butterfly and we liked it. I didn’t want to re-install the same kitchen so we looked at granite again. We saw the Black Galaxy but I saw your note on a prior replay that it shows dust and that future buyers don’t like its Vegas bling, bling look. Now I am concerned about what to choose. The kitchen is off of a very formal dinning room with heavy red velvet drapes (like in Gone With the Wind) and I do want the overall look of the kitchen to be formal-even though we did choose white cabinets.
Help!
Thanks a lot,
Colette
Hello Colette,
I was raised in the house that had those heavy red velvet drapes. I am glad that you mentioned that.
Neither the Verde Butterfly, nor the Black Galaxy is the best choice here. The Verde Butterfly is far too unsophisticated for an old classic home like yours, and the Black Galaxy is just totally wrong unless you want your guests to feel like they traveled through time when leaving from your living room to your kitchen. You can get away with this for a small accent dry bar, but with white cabinets, this granite is looks cheap and futuristic.
I am also concerned about green on white. I really like the deep greens with the red velvet nearby, but green granite on white cabinets presents a sterile atmosphere that is really best transitioned in a more contemporary home. Again, I think a dark green like Ubatuba would be perfect if your cabinets were cherry or darker.
Remaining understated, yet classy and charming, is the goal and those white cabinets make it a challenge. My best vision for your kitchen is in the deep brown/reds with highlights of yellow or cream. Juparana Ipe or something very similar would be a perfect choice. There is another color called Juparana Bordeaux but the veining and mottling are just too over powering to be charming. I mention this because it could work if you fall in love with it as most people do.
Two other perfect choices are Arandis and Colonial Dream. These two colors are very classy and sophisticated and I believe you will agree once you see full size slabs. These two draw in the same balance as Juparana Ipe but the colors are reversed from the Juparana Ipe, meaning there are generally beige with highlights of deeper browns and reds.
Consider a full high granite splash. A tile splash can look pretty nice too but I just don’t like to see tile splashes with white cabinets. It looks very stripy and cheap.
Well, I hope that I have helped! Thank you for supporting the Rock Blog’s World Vision kids.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Hi, We just purchased a home that has natural maple cabinets (aged to a nice warm color). We are going to refinish the hard wood floors (red oak) and are looking for a nice granite color. We’ve seen the Ornamental Gold and Tropical Brown as well as Golden Leaf but are concerned that they all look a bit too neutral. I want a neutral kitchen not a blah one! We’re building a breakfast bar and so we will have a large area on display so I need to pick the right colors. I have no idea what color to put on the walls (maybe something green or yellow) and I don’t know what to do with the backsplash. Can you help?? Thanks!
March 25th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Hi Tom,
We have painted the kitchen cabinets a warm cream “Macadamia” by Devine Paints. The kitchen area is small 10 ft x 14 ft and is open to the great room and dining room. Light oak floors throughout the open floor plan with black appliances for now which could be switched for stainless. The sofas are cream and the chairs are brown leather and the wood furniture is cherry. I mention this because the kitchen area can be seen from all points and I want to get the granite color right.
I have considered Tropical Brown and Ubatuba because they are reasonably priced but am afraid I may be going in the wrong direction. I like a modern feel and don’t think going light will give me that. I would also like to tile the backsplash . I’m so confused now and need some guidance here. I have to make a decision soon.
Thanks so much for your great site.
Terrie
August 27th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Hi Tom,
I discovered your site and want to thank you for the excellent advice I’ve picked up so far. We need help with granite color selection and backsplash. My wife and I can’t seem to agree. We are just getting up to speed in the world of granite colors.
Here’s the situation. We have a mountain cabin that is smallish, bright and cheerful. Reds and blues dominate the decor. The walls are a cream/off white. There carpet in the main room next to the kitchen is brownish for now.
We are putting in granite in the kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen is about 88 square feet with a counter top along the wall and a 4×3 island across from it. We are going to put in a white toned porcelain tiles with veins on the floor (Miami Bianco). The cabinets are a natural light oak. The window over the sink is framed in the same light oak. The appliances are all tan/beige to match the walls and current counter. We will probably replace them with stainless but over the next several years as our budget allows. There is a lot of natural light.
My wife fell in love with the dark green ubatuba. I’m worried it will be too dark for the tone of the cabin/kitchen. I’d prefer to have something that is light to stay with the current tone. Our contractor had shown us a whiteish light Santa Cecelia which looked good. I’m wondering if there are other white toned granites (or any other colors) that would look good. Our contractor also suggested that we do a full backsplash up to the cabinets if we go the ubatuba route but I though it might be too much. I thought a 4 inch ubatuba backsplash would be enough with something else. Currently there are small tan Home Depot tiles with Talevara Mexican tiles mixed in.
In the large bath, we have light blue paint. In the small bath we have off white walls. With both we are putting in the whiteish Miami Bianco tiles on the floor. The cabinets are small 18 inch wide and white with white mirrors above. Our contractor suggested Blue Pearl in the blue bathroom. I worried that it would be too Las Vegas for the room. Others had suggested blue eyes or blue ice. I thought something simple would look best. Would ubatuba look good?
Photos of the kitchen and bath is at:
http://s810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/granitecolors/
Or click here
Thanks!
Eric
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:31 am
We have reproduction Colonial with a corner brick fireplace in the kitchen. The floors are wide board pine finished in a warm tone with reddish highlights. Cabinets will be stackable to ceiling, a little darker than the floors for contrast. Appliances stainless. Center island and not a large amount of countertop space. Looking at black granite (hopefully not too shiny, but easy to maintain). Honed is out, although I love it. Is black in keeping with this style, or would you recommend something lighter? Tile or painted backsplash? Thanks for advice — thes decisions are much harder than I ever imagined.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
oh no! after seeing your posting on the black galaxy granite.. I think you’re right and at the same time I like it and I dont like it… I hope i didnt make the wrong choice.. I chose black granite for my kitchen counter tops.. and I do like it.. but, I want to make it look not so modern.. please help me with the backsplash.. I posted a similar question earlier..