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!

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!

Feedback in response to the post “Is Colonial Cream Problematic?“

Hello Tom,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my concern about Colonial Cream granite. Just as you said, the granite turned out beautiful and, having picked a reputable fabricator, we are indeed happy with the results.

Thank you again,
Maria

Tom, Hi I’m from London England. I stumbled upon your site by accident just at the moment of making some final choices on my Kitchen scheme. I would like your advice on the following colours please.

We are having a new Walnut kitchen installed. We are considering Kashmir White Granite worktops with no upstands but instead having glass splashbacks in lime green or something slightly paler, such as the border on this website page, along the back of the kitchen from the top of the granite to the underside of the wall units

My question is will the splashbacks go with the the rest of the scheme.

I understand that the walnut, green and Kasmir white are rather a contrast which i like, but I do not want to make a complete dogs dinner of it.

Thanks, Kieron

Hello Kieron,

Kashmir White from India is the same color in my kitchen so I certainly like that choice. This granite has a very soft green/blue/gray cast beyond the predominately white background. Here are a couple things to know about this granite: Check the garnets and be sure they are not heavily fractured. This can cause the garnets to pop out later. If the slabs you chose have heavily fractured garnets, just choose other slabs. Secondly, Kashmir White is more porous than other granites. This is not a problem as long as you seal it well. See my article called “Sealing and Cleaning Your Granite“.

You mentioned lime green glass for the splash. I certainly think glass in a 4″x4″ module would look beautiful as long it is opaque and a small variety of shades. I’m not sure about the lime green tone. Please take a looks at a pale blue/green glass. Even some stronger opaque blue accents would look nice, compliment the stone and the walnut cabinets, and bring some more color into your kitchen. This gives you more options with dish towels and other accessories as well.

Lastly, I did not hear you mention the color of your sink. Hopefully, you are going with white cast iron as I don’t think stainless looks good with Kashmir white. My best wishes!

Tom Cordova

Tom,

We have white kitchen cabinets (more to the antique white side but supposed to be true white i think) with stainless appliances. We are planning on doing a stone backsplash that will tie in our stacked stone fireplace.

We are considering Tropical Brown (the darker variety, although I like the lighter one). Would this work well with a white cabinet and/or antique white cabinet kitchen w/stainless? we’re doing eased edge b/c I think it makes it a bit modern, we like to mix modern w/traditional because we have modern tastes but live in a traditional house in the south.

Also wondering if you thought the Kohler cast iron black n tan sink would match or clash with that. Any suggestions appreciated!!!

Beth

Hello Beth,

I am not sure that the lighter version of Tropical Brown will really go well with the antique white cabinets. It just more muted and green and I suggest going with the darker, browner version. I like Tropical Brown because it is very dense and low maintenance granite but I would also like to suggest Terra Brazillis Granite, which has a nice natural feeling but still not too wild and exotic.
If you are going with stainless and white cabinets, you need to use drawer pulls and knobs that match your sink and faucet. This might sound like a small issue, but something will feel incomplete if you don’t do this.

I am a big fan of the Kohler Cast Iron black sinks. I love the black but I think tan should have been thrown out with the Avocado refrigerators. The black sink with Terra Brazilis or the dark Tropical Brown granite would look fantastic. Try to put swatches of these together.

For the edge detail, I really want to recommend a 3/8″ radius on the top edge and then straight down. I know what you mean about the modern/traditional look and this detail blends the two concepts better than a straight edge.

My very best wishes!
Tom Cordova

We are building a new house, and are trying to choose a granite counter that will pull things together, or at least not look out of place. Our floors are reclaimed maple that will have a light brown stain on them. The cabinets will be alder (not knotty, looks kinda like cherry) with a medium brown stain. The cabinets will be flat/recessed panel. The appliances will be stainless steel. The walls won’t be painted a color for awhile–probably some kind of off-white.

We are pretty lost on how to choose a granite color–we don’t know whether to go with a light or dark color, or whether to go a brown/tan color or something more black. We’re pretty sure we don’t like greens and blues. I don’t think we’d like anything too busy, but maybe I’m wrong.

The kitchen is open to the great room, which has a bit of a rustic feel, with a large stone fireplace and some wood beams spanning the cathedral ceiling.

Thank you very much for the help, and for collecting donations. I think if you can help us narrow it down to a few choices or a color family, that would go a long way. — Tom

Hello Tom,

I want to make two suggestions. First, consider a very light cream. The Alder wood goes very nicely with creams. However, try to avoid off-white or pale yellow colors as they will cool down and conflict with the warm tones of the Alder wood. The website, www.GraniteStock.com has just about every granite color swatch that exists. Take a look at the creams, specifically, Colonial Cream and African Ivory would be good choices for you. To give you an example the wrong color cream, look at Raw Silk Ivory Granite and Kodiak.

The light cream is my best suggestion because it will keep your kitchen feeling warm but light and draw in the tones of the floor and the cabinets. However, since your space is very open you could to be more dramatic and add a bold color. Take a look at Bordeaux in the red color group. This would be a gorgeous combination with the Alder wood, but again, it might be a little strong if you are conservative folks.

Regarding sinks, choosing either a farmhouse sink or stainless would work and you don’t even have to match the appliances with a farm house sink. Usually, you want to match all appliances but the farm house sink is the exception because it connects two surfaces (the granite top and the cabinet) and becomes its own element, much like a piece of furniture. If you go with a white farm house sink and a stainless refrigerator, just choose a stainless faucet. Here is a good example of a farm house sink in this situation [click here].

Personally, I only like farm house sinks with non-polished countertop surfaces and I would choose a stainless sink with polished granite. But if my wife wanted a farm house sink, I would go in that direction. Happy wife, happy life!

Best wishes and please send a photo when you are done!

Tom Cordova

To view some completed kitchens, check out GraniteStock.com’s new Granite Kitchen Countertop Photo Gallery.

Tom, I’m so glad I found your site. I’m updating a 10yr old kitchen. Due to budget constraints, I’m doing a little at a time. Our current laminate counter is the first to go. It is stained and in bad shape. I would like to replace with granite. I have white appliances (within 2yrs will be stainless) and a white ceramic floor (2nd on the list, next yr). My mid-size kitchen is open to my family room (that is on the small size) that has golden oak floors and green tones. I’ve been debating between ubatuba and new venetian gold-light granites. I love the dark uba but am unsure how it will look with all white during the transition/upgrade. Should I play it safe with the new venetian? I really appreciate your help!

Hello Michelle,

If you plan to use Stainless appliances, definitely go with Ubatuba. Otherwise, go with New Venetian Gold. Both would look great with the cabinets as well.

Best wishes to you!

We are remodeling our kitchen and replacing the countertops with granite. Our new cabinets will be cherry with a chocolate dark brown stain. I have smooth, tan 8″ tile on the floor and stainless appliances. I am SO confused as to what would be a good granite color choice with the cabinets and appliances. I am drawn to the tan/brown/gold/beiges - but would like some black in it also. I have samples of New Venetian Gold, Tropic Brown and Gallo Ornamental. I have plenty of sunlight from a southern bay window and a window over the kitchen sink. My kitchen is not small - but not huge either. I will be putting in a tile backsplash. Pleae tell me what you think of the samples I have and give any suggestions as to others that would look good. I have been looking for several weeks and need to decide on something this coming week. Help!
Sara

Hello Sara,

I would not suggest Tropical Brown with your color combination as it does not pull the cherry color very well from your cabinets. It also tends to ‘feel hot’ with Southern sun exposure. If you really like the darker color granites, I would recommend looking at Tan Brown Granite for a better palette. Stainless appliances are a must with dark colors like these.

The Giallo Ornamental is to pale yellow and has a silver flecks in it that would not go well with the floor or the cabinets. This is one of my favorite granite colors but better suited with golden oak or white cabinets.

The Giallo Veneziano is the better choice. It has the garnets minerals that will compliment the cherry and the tone of the gold/brown color will go well with the chocolate stain in cabinets and the floor. This is one of the most common colors but for good reason. I really think this is good choice and time should be spent finding the right slabs because this granite varies quite a bit between suppliers.

If you can spend a little more money and would like to see some veining in the granite, consider Millennium Dream Granite. I think that would be beautiful too.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Hi Tom, i’ve enjoyed reading your website and need your advice. we changed our minds several times over granite colors (from light to dark), but have purchased (not yet installed) Volga Blue granite. We love the opalescent qualities of it. We have natural cherry cabinets, stainless steel stove and sink (not yet refrig), black dishwasher, and teak floors. We are in a quandry over paint choices. we’ve been told to use at least 3 tones or shades. the adjoining family room will also have the teak floor, but currently has paneled walls. can we stay in the brown tones as that’s always been our palette, or shift towards reds? thanks

Hello Carol,

That is a nice combination with the Volga Blue from Ukraine and the natural cherry. Before I comment on the paint color consideration, please be sure that the fabricator has worked with Volga Blue before. This stone needs to be cut so that the granite lays down on the countertops in the same direction as the slab presents itself. In other words, pieces can not butt into each other if cut in different directions or else the shading will vary from piece to pieces and be horrible. Also, Volga Blue needs to be cut with a fresh blade and cut slower than other granite colors because of its particular mineral structure. If not, it will chip when cut and make seams more noticeable.

Regarding color, the stainless pulls it all together. Definitely go away from the brown paint colors, but you will also find reds quite difficult to brighten your day. You won’t see me recommending ‘white paint’ anywhere thus far, except that for this time. You’ve got the cherry floor, the stainless appliances, and gorgeous granite, The Volga Blue presents about four opalescent colors/shades. I really think you need to make the walls go away. I would even suggest an extremely light blue/green/mostly whitish paint that appears like the color of the granite is reflecting onto the wall in sunlight. A lot depends on the amount of natural light falling into the room but if you have average sunlight, consider a very light white shade of paint.

Now then, if you must have red, then you should find an Ox blood red paint and use it as an accent on a wall, with the other walls being bright white. I hope this helps. Let me know what you decide.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

Dear Tom, I am looking to replace my countertops and am considering Antique Fantasy but need to know if there are any rules concerning color combinations and if there are any properties that I should know about this particular stone. Our kitchen has golden oak cabinets which are in excellent condition (although from the 80’s). Our appliances are white and the tile floors are light neutral with a slight pink tone. Our current tops are white formica which brightens up the room since the kitchen is on the northside and does not have much natural light. I originally thought of a light/white type of stone, however the ones I saw looked too cold for our country kitchen. The tops must also be able to withstand a busy household. If you have any thoughts on color/stone selection, I’d really appreciate your advice. Thank you, Elyse

Hello Elyse,

I usually lean toward the customers color choice because there is usually something about the granite choice that ‘moved’ the homeowner. However, I don’t like this stone for your kitchen as you described it. This granite is a more muted than I would suggest and will present a colder look that you would expect. Even though it has nice gold and brown tones, you really should consider a brighter granite like Madura Gold, Solaris or Golden Wave for a North side kitchen. At least take a look at them at your local granite supplier. Check www.GraniteStock.com for a supplier near you. These colors also go well with white appliances.

I am also not a big fan of Antique Fantasy Granite because of the many noticeable fissures it has. Fissure are one thing, but noticeable fissures is another! This is natural, but you need to decide if they bother you or not. They will not open up after installation, but sometimes they can look like cracks.

My number one pick for your arrangement is Madura Gold if you can find a really pretty selection. This granite varies a lot and some versions are too dark and dull. You will know a pretty one when you see it. Find a bright light gold selection or move on to Solaris Granite. Golden Wave is also very nice and has more movement and some gray/silver tones that make a more elegant statement. Your white cabinets will balance out the elegance with the warm family charm so the kitchen can handle a fancier stone.

For durability, just be sure you have it sealer after installation by a professional. See my article about sealing and cleaning. Let me know how it goes!

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova