I’ve read your excellent recommendations and am in need of your advice. I’m interested in granite countertops for my kitchen and half-bath to replace my laminate but am concerned about the look as well as porousness-staining, maintenance, UV & acid resistance, etc.

My contemporary L-shaped kitchen with an island and a desk area and my bath have white cabinets, white appliances, light blue walls, grey/white 8-inch shiny tile backsplash, light wood-color laminate floor in rose ash, and a few windows in adjoining eating area, no windows in bath. I want to keep the rooms bright. I’m considering Blue Eyes for my kitchen (85 sq. ft) and Blue Ice for my bath counter. What is your opinion and do you have any other color recommendations? I dislike browns and would like something with more shiny pearl stone (like the pearl in blue pearl but am concerned that is too dark/black looking or that I’ll tire of it). I want something that I’ll like for 20+ years and will be easy to decorate around (if I change cabinet or wall colors).

Also, do you recommend permanently sealing these with a 15-year sealer (Dry Treat?). Some experts say yes, some say no because it ruins the finish. Would these granites take a waterfall/demi-bullnose or ogee edge well and do they chip easily? Do you prefer keeping the same edge throughout a kitchen or doing the island in something different (and what looks good together)? I will have a 12” overhang in the kitchen peninsula (the 42” side x 96”) and was told both that I need/as well as don’t need corbels.

Will the granite change color/darken over time (due to sun, etc., since my parents’ grey sardio? granite became more black except behind counter appliances)? If I go with Blue Eyes, the only sink I found that I like (don’t like white or stainless steel) is an “Indian Grass” color drop-in sink by Swanstone with a brushed chrome faucet. The sink isn’t as shiny as the granite and I’m hoping it will look OK. I also don’t want to redo my existing tile backsplash—but some installers say they can’t get the laminate out without breaking tiles (I have no replacements) while another said he could.

I know I have a lot of questions and really need your advice on colors, properties, disadvantages, sink, tile, etc.

Thanks, Suzanne

Hello Suzanne,

I can see you like blue and since that is primary color it goes very well with white. I would stick with that theme. There are some pretty bold blues like Blue Bahia, Azul Do Mar, and Blue Louise, but to lighten and ‘lift’ you kitchen and bath, you want to go with a more steel or ocean blue.

The Blue Eyes from Canada is really perfect for this and allow you to even cross over to light burgundy wall paint or rust color, should you ever want to change to a more eclectic décor. A couple other very good colors that brighten a room will white cabinets and appliances are Ascas Blue and Blue Aguabolena.

At this time, I would not recommend any other sealer except 511 Impregnator made by Miracle Sealants for these granites. You need a low viscosity penetrating sealer to react properly with the minerals in blue colored granite. It would be a little technical to explain, but this is what I recommend.

For edge details, if you like the fancy multi-curved edge, then go for it because these stones show them well. However, you mentioned a contemporary style kitchen, so this would not match that décor. You would need to reduce the edge treatment to a half bullnose, dupont or even a straight edge with eased corners. Consider the detail in your cabinet front panels and use them as a guideline for the type of granite edge detail. Keep the granite edge detail consistent throughout.

Regarding overhangs, I have written a bunch of responses about overhangs, so be sure to search the keyword “overhang” here for more information. Basically, if your granite is 3cm thick, you are taking a chance with not using corbels but it won’t break from gravity alone. If you sit on it or put a heavy object on it, it might break. If your granite is 2cm (3/4″) thick, you need corbels or steel supports. Ask your local installer about these options.

Regarding granite changing color, there are some granite colors that oxidize and change color from UV rays. The blues we discussed are not affected by this specifically, but if part of your kitchen is directly in the sun, if could change if a resin was applied at the overseas factory. I would not worry about except for dark colored green granite.

Regarding the Indian Grass colored sink by Swanstone, sorry, no. This would look horrible. I’m just telling it like it is. You need to go with a white sink and you can mix it up with a faucet color of your choice. Faucets are becoming more like a piece of art, so you can do whatever you want with them. The sink should match something or else it will look like you picked it up a yard sale to save money.

Regarding your tile splash, I would go with the person that says he can save the tile. It can be done but it is a lot of work. He might have to pull off the first row, but he could put it back on. It is not easy but it is possible. The tile color is right, so if you love it, keep it. Don’t save it to save money, because that would be ridiculous given the choice of Blue Eyes or other Blue granite choices. I can totally understand wanting to keep something that you have loved as a carry over to the new décor.

Best wishes!

Tom-

Talk about stress!! We are just starting to build a new home with the kitchen as the center of the house opening to the great room and breakfast room with a sun room visible through a 4′ French door opening. Kitchen has a counter on 2 sides and a 4×6′ island in the center with the stove, fridge and baking center on the opposing walls. We thought of honey colored Bamboo floors throughout the house except for the sunroom which is up for grabs, paprika cherry with black coffee glaze cabinets, nickel handles and pulls, and stainless appliances. Anything is up for grabs except the stainless steel. We looked at Verde Fire for the granite on the island, Indian Black for the counters, with a curve and then a straight bullnose edge so as not to overwhelm. We found some subway, shiny and slightly rounded tile in a soft green with brown/grey undertones that we thought we could use for the back splash which matches the Verde Fire green which we would install in a vertical position.

After looking at it a 100 times, nothing looks good at all. What with you do given the same scenario–nothing is definite except for the stainless appliances. Oh yah, and then there is the issue of what to use on the floor in the sunroom which opens to the pool so has to be water resistant. House tends to be craftsman/traditional in a very casual way.

Hello Susie,

Seldom do I hear a client want to use Verde Fire because it is so outside the normal kitchen style pallet. I hear about it on fireplaces and bathroom vanities most often. I think this is because this stone might not give that good kitchen sterile feeling like other true tone granite colors. Still, I love that you are considering it and I just want to make some suggestion around it for you to think about.

I like the idea of Verde Fire for an island accent with the black glazed cherry cabinets. It would be too much to have it throughout but what an awesome look as an accent. I don’t like Indian Black Granite countertops because they always show dust and finger prints and they never show ants! I am pretty biased about this so if you really love the black, just be prepared to deal with the continuous maintenance. I want you to consider a very dark Verde Ubatuba for the perimeter countertops. As I have mentioned elsewhere on my blog, Dark Ubatuba Granite is the best color with stainless. If you find some very dark slabs, this will compliment the Verde Fire and the subway tile.

Way to go on the subway tile color! The color you described sound perfect but I would not go vertical on the layout unless you are running it all the way to the ceiling at some area. Normally, subway tile runs horizontally in a brick pattern but I have seen it vertically when there is an area that goes to the ceiling to tie in the long vertical intent. I think this is a good rule to follow and feels accurately planned out.

The bamboo floor sounds perfect as well but I would suggest a lighter more natural color without much variation. Perhaps this is what you meant but I wasn’t sure.

I hope this helps! Best wishes and please send a photo of this kitchen when it is done.

I’m having 12 x 12 travertine (honed, light beige) installed in the bathroom in the shower and back of tub. I noticed that they are not using spacers between the tiles but have them but up against each other. Is that the standard way of doing it or are they taking the lazy way to install? What is the best way to install to insure that there will not be any leaks later on?

Leta D.

Hello Leta,

For shower walls, stone tile, like travertine, should have a minimum joint of 1/16″. If there is no joint space, the grout will not hold in the joints. For joint that are 1/8″ or smaller, non-sanded grout should be used and thoroughly push into the joint with a grout float. Wider joints require sanded grout.

On a vertical surface, I don’t see how spacers can be avoided because the weight of the tile will cause the tile to sag into the piece below. What you described sounds like a problem to me and I don’t see how the installer can explain to you how grout will be pushed into the seam. Travertine tile usually has a little bevel along the edges. It is not acceptable to grout the bevel only because this grout fall out very soon.

If there is no grout in the seam, water will penetrate and get under the surface. This can cause hazardous mold, discoloring and eventual failure of the tile adhesion. You need a 1/16″ spacer between the tiles.

Best wishes

Hi Tom -

We also are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and need some help. Our cabinets are a medium oak (Provincial Stain #211) and we would like to use granite on our countertops and island. We are not sure if we want to go a light color or dark color granite (not black or anything too gold). We have stainless steel/black appliances, refrigerator is cream color and our flooring is an off-white vinyl with a light brown outline of a square. Our walls are painted a light gold color and the window frames are a light tan color. We have lots of light in the kitchen and it is open to the family room which has many windows and the facing wall color is Copper Mountain by Benjamin Moore. We are planning for a 6″ granite back splash and then another back splash to go up under the cabinets and would appreciate any ideas in this department also. There are so many colors of granite that I’m getting totally confused after reading your articles on other granite issues. Have considered Juparana Bordeaux, Giallo Veneziano, Kasmir Gold. Please help — we want the kitchen to be warm and pop when you see it for resale value. Looking forward to your suggestions that would compliment our cabinets/color scheme.

Thanks again.

Hello Sandi,

You actually have a lot of colors going on in your kitchen area but none of them give the pop you are looking for. Juparana Bordeaux would give a pop, but it would not be complimented with the other colors and would most likely pop the prospective buyers right on to the next ‘For Sale’ sign. Giallo Veneziano is very safe, but no wow factor there.

The Kashmir Gold is really the best choice you mentioned as long as the slabs you choose don’t have any orange. Hold a white tile up to them to check if you see orange. The flowing veining is can be really nice if you choose the right slabs.

However, I really think you should go even darker to set of the stainless steel. Still, you have the cream refrigerator to contend with so I want to recommend Chocolate Beaches Granite. If you can not find it, select Sucury Granite with some white/cream veins. These would be perfect choices and since you have a lot of light, I’d recommend running the granite full up to the cabinets.

My very best wishes

Hello Tom-

I hope you can help me! I have been agonizing over the granite choice for my kitchen. I have a small space and have selected Brookhaven cabinets in Lace which is a warm white. My floors are red oak with a medium honey finish. The cabinet style is shaker with nickel bin pull handles and I have selected stainless steel appliances.

My kitchen and living areas are connected with HW floors throughout. Walls are light tan with white trim and accents.

I was initially overwelmed by the colors and patterns of granite and selected something “neutral” and decided on Penta Gold… but now that the cabinets have been installed I am concerned about a lack of color and richness.

I love Verde Butterfly granite but am concerned that the dark color will be too much contrast/overpowering to the small space.

I’d love to get your thoughts on these two granites and any other suggestions or advice you have for pulling the white cabinets, wood floor and stainless together.

Hello Kristy,

First of all, I love warm white cabinets with medium honey finish floors. It is so classy, yet warm and inviting. I think this combination proves that subtleness in tone and temperature of colors can make all the difference.

That being said, I don’t like Butterfly Green as it is just too cold and loud. I like the Penta Gold choice as it has a nice tight movement that will go with your floors and the color tone is perfect. If you chose white appliance I would say the overall kitchen is a little colorless, but when you mixed in the stainless and nickel handles, the setting is perfect to add whatever colored towels or colored counter accessories that you want as the seasons change and holidays come around.

However, you could go with a darker rich brown with cream tones as well. Take a look at Juparana Bronze and Juparana Golden Persa. Another beautiful lighter color that would look great with the nickel is Taupe Granite. Find slabs of these near you and see if any of them ‘move’ you.

Best wishes to you!

We just had a granite countertop installed in the kitchen (stone name: Golden Beaches or it is sometimes called Persa Classico, I believe it is Italian). We have a 12″ overhang at the peninsula, which is 86″ long. When they came to template, they said that they were going to add steel rod supports for the overhang. After it was installed, I noticed that there were no steel rods. I inquired with the installer and he said that it was fine. I have been doing some Googling, and I am concerned about this overhang without supports. I cannot add corbels, because it would ruin the design (the back end of the peninsula has furniture panels that would look horrible with corbels. Is there a way to add the steel supports after installation? Or, is it really ‘OK’ as is?

Thank you, Barbara

Hello Barbara,

The installation you described with the 12″ granite overhang will crack and fall eventually. As you mentioned, it is 3/4″ thick with no corbel or steel angle support, and it does not even have embedded steel rod. I expect that gravity alone will stress this particular granite enough for it to crack along the cabinet edge. If you take a level and lay it on the counter, you may even see a 1/16″ sag already.

You should search the ‘overhang’ on my blog and read the comments that I have already written about cases like this. In particular of your situation, the Juparana Beach granite is a Class D granite, which only means that has more natural fissures; this, creating weaker flexural strength. Basically, it is more fragile to horizontal forces like gravity. I love the color and it complete fine when adequate supported.

The embedded steel would have at least stopped the granite from falling on the floor after it cracks. I don’t believe that embedded steel would have prevented it from cracking because the horizontal forces at a 12″ cantilever is too substantial from gravity and unnatural forces like heavy objects resting on it. I understand your problem with the decorative facing on your cabinets which prevent using corbel supports. This is not uncommon. In this case, heavy duty 1/4″ thick flat bar is embedded into the plywood substrate and place about 18 inches apart. These bars run from just behind the front edge of the granite bullnose to about 12″ back from the cabinet (into the cabinet area).

If your granite was recently installed, I would ask the fabricator to try to remove the granite without breaking it (might not be possible) and install the steel flat plates. If you don’t do this, your granite will eventually crack. Because it does not even have embedded steel, it will fall. Hopefully it will not crush someone’s toes or a small child’s head. Frankly, the installation you described is very hazardous. Sorry for the bad news.

We just discovered your website and cannot thank you enough for providing such an invaluable service to confused homeowners such as us

We are in the process of updating our kitchen. Out of an array of granite that we saw we have finally settled on “Silver Sparkle” for our countertops. Also we are giving serious consideration to using granite as the flooring material in the kitchen/foyer/hallway etc. The questions we have are:

1. What has your experience been in using granite for flooring? How is the the stain resistance, durability, and care? I am a little worried as it will be used in a high traffic area. We thought about using porcelain/ceramic in our kitchen but were advised against it as it may not hold the weight of our heavy duty Wolf appliances. Is there any truth in this?

2. We are leaning towards either “Kashmir White” or “Ivory Raw Silk” granite tiles for the floor. Which one of these do you think will work well with the Silver Sparkle on the counters? Our cabinets will be mahogany with a dark stain (resembles the autumn blush stain of the cherry Kraftmaid cabinets).

3. Would you recommend Silver Sparkle on the backsplash as well? It certainly has a lot of movement which is beautiful. Do you think we should stick with a 3 inch backsplash or take it all the way up? We would greatly appreciate your advice.

Hello Athar,

Silver Sparkle is beautiful and a very durable granite for countertops. I can not think of anything to watch out for that is not mentioned in my ‘Homeowners Checklist’ on the blog. Be sure to review that when you select your slabs because the color varies a lot with this granite. Focus on how the countertops will layout on the slabs at the seams. A full splash would look best as look as you have decent natural light in the kitchen. Hopefully you are using stainless appliances and sink.

The floor is another story. I never recommend granite floor in homes. It is too shinny, too slipper and too commercial looking. Did you know that a wet granite floor is more slippery than an ice rink? That is a fact and I have tested it. The static coefficient of friction is actually higher for ice, than a wet polished granite floor. So, watch out!

Secondly, it is extremely difficult on the eye to look at shiny floors unless you are going somewhere, like to the reception counter. It feels cold and hard because it is. Granite is always about 10 degree cooler that the ambient temperate of the room. Touch it, it will always feel cool, which is nice for countertops, but not so much for floors.

Kashmir White has low compressive strength and I suspect it would crack before porcelain tile. I also can not suggest any other granite color for the floor with the Silver Sparkle and I strongly suggest going with porcelain tile or a natural wood. Let me know if you get stuck on the color for the floor and I will follow up on this reply with you. Perhaps a light mottled cranberry porcelain tile would match with the veins in the countertops. If you pick slabs without the red veins, I would consider a light gray floor tile.

Best wishes!

Tom,

My husband and I are renovating the kitchen of our 19 year old beach home. As we have plans to keep our second home for many years to come, we went fairly high end in the kitchen, particularly with the granite. It is Bianco Antico, which I am told is more commonly known as White Diamond. The granite is stunning. However, when fabricated, the granite counter area by and around the sink – about 100″ long and standard 25 1/2″ counter width, plus there is in an “L” section where the counter curves toward the range, but is part of the 100″ length – was cut into 4 pieces – a large one to the left of the sink where the “L” is, a large one to the right of the sink and two small strips in front and in back of the sink itself. We are extremely disappointed to have the 4 seams in the sink area.

The fabricator made no real attempt to match up the abutting pieces and claims that the stone was fabricated that way because it kept breaking up on them when they were trying to cut out th e hole for the undermount double sink. The stone does have quite a bit of quartz in it – and is “meshed” on the bottom – which is why they are saying it kept breaking apart. The sink is fairly standard size – 31 5/16″ long by 20 3/4″ wide (the larger bowl; smaller one is 15 3/4″ wide). The templater had discussed one large piece for the entire sink area including the “L” and we were not remotely prepared to be looking at 4 seams around our sink. The installers simply showed up with the 4 sink pieces at installation. We have discussed this issue with other granite companies near our primary home, where we recently installed granite in our kitchen as well, and with other granite fabricators in the area of our beach home too. Not one of these companies has indicated they would have treated this particularly stone in that fashion. Every one of them has said they would have cut it in one piece.

My husband and I have a few theories – 1. Not enough manpower. Only 2 men in stalled the granite (in constrast we had 6 at our primary residence, and the granite is not nearly as “fragile”). 2. The fabricator did not order enough stone to begin with. or 3. The fabricator has never worked with this type of stone before and butchered it as a result. As we did not directly hire this fabricator (our cabinet company is acting as GC and did a fine job with the new cabinets), we are at a loss on what to do other than continue to argue with all the parties involved. That seems to be going nowhere as we’ve all dug in our heels. The fabricator says they did everything by MIA standards, which we don’t dispute, but it doesn’t make the seams look any better. Any experience with this stone? Should we just keep quiet and live with the seams? Incidentally, I will also mention that there are many nicks around all the counter edges, not just the sink side counters, that were not properly filled in and the granite was not sealed. We were told we would have to seal it ourselves. My husband and I are sick to our stomachs over all of this especially considering how much we paid (only half up so far though). Thanks for your input! – Maria

Hello Maria,

First let me say that I know the stone very well and have installed it myself in Southern California. It is a beautiful but delicate stone with some inherent factures; however, with normal professional fabrication and installation experience it can be installed perfectly. After looking at your photos, I would have installed your kitchen with one seam at the inside corner or perhaps no seams at all if the sink wall is less than 8 feet long. I can not tell how long it is in the photo.

That being said, you have not been treated fairly if there is more than one seam in your entire kitchen, especially if it was not disclosed prior to fabrication. Furthermore, two seams at the sink is an unprofessional method used to save material. It is not first quality for a custom kitchen project. Furthermore, the MIA would not stand behind this procedure in a custom residential kitchen application.

The seam at the sink is a very poor match as you know. Not only is it a poor match, but utilizing the ’spreader’ piece concept mentioned above makes it even easier to find a part of the slab that matches! Shame on this installer, I say.

Here is what you should do. First, ask them why they cut it this way (in so many pieces). They will probably say that it is because of the size of the slabs. Then, ask them where they bought the slabs and call the supplier to confirm the slab size. You will probably find that the fabricator cut the slabs vertically instead of horizontally in order to save material. If they had cut the pieces horizontally then the sink piece would have been long enough to stretch to the corner.

After a little more research, you need to get a local experience fabricator to write a little report for you. Get someone with at least 10 years of experience. Then, present the report to the contractor. You should also check with your state contractor’s board to know your rights. You have more rights than you think and a contractor is not going to fight you when his subcontractor has not complied with industry standards.

Regarding the chips in this granite, they can easily be fixed by a fabricator with the proper experience.

Best wishes!

Hi Tom,

We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and also the floor ( kitchen / dining/ living room ). We have chosen Volga Blue for the counter tops and island. We are leaning towards natural maple for the cabinetry but are in a quandary for the porcelain tile color. We have looked at a light gray /gold color and also something in a slate pattern. Does that scheme make sense. We are a little concerned about how dark it may make the rooms look. To compound our issue, we have light sunset / brown pavers on a big deck just outside the sliding doors. Do I have to be worried about that? Or is the inside the inside and the outside the outside, and don’t sweat it. We would really appreciate your thoughts.

Keiko

Hello Keiko

I want to direct you to a webpage that has a photo of a Volga Blue kitchen with light oak cabinets: R Stone Restorations on GraniteStock.com

I really link this arrangement and because Volga Blue is so dark, strong, beautiful that you should blend the floor into the cabinets when using any other cabinet color but white. If you use white cabinets, then matching your exterior red/brown pavers in the kitchen would be perfect.

If you can not do a wood floor like the photo in the link above, search for a matte finish porcelain tile in 18×18 or 24×24 in a slightly mottled color which is just a little bit lighter than your cabinet color. The cabinets and the floor will appear to be the sample color because of the ceiling lighting and the difference in finishes. Since the floor is matte finish and rectilinear, the articulation of the cabinets will feature the countertops even though the floor and the cabinets are the same color.

You really do not want to add more colors in a Volga Blue kitchen. See other responses that I have written about Volga Blue (search it on The Rock Blog).

Best wishes and I hope that I helped.

Hello Tom,

My question is about what granite color to select for my 80’s kitchen: I have original honey oak cathedral type cabinets (still in good condition – plan to have them refinished, however, to get rid of any evidence of wear, possibly glaze to change color), taupe floor, bisque appliances that probably won’t be replaced in the near term. The kitchen itself is on the smaller side (12 x 16) but bright (eastern exposure, 3 windows). Decorating style of my house is modern-eclectic; taupe base, grays, blacks (stone coffee table, dr chairs, etc), wine accents, blue/sage green in places as well (adjoining living room & dining room), but those are pretty muted. Kitchen is brighter – still taupe base but watercolor with brighter colors (blues, yellows, oranges, pinks). I am drawn to Volga Blue and I’m wondering if I can make this work in my kitchen – with the right tile backsplash perhaps (taupe?)? Other colors I have considered so far are Tropic Brown, Verde Maritaka (really like the “flow” in this granite), Juparana Royale & Giallo Antico.

Help!!

Maria

Hello Maria,

Volga Blue from the Ukraine is beautiful with its deep colors and large opalescent features. It is best presented in a bright room and with the backsplash in the same color. There is just not enough surface area on the countertop alone to appreciate Volga blue and this stone on a full height back splash really give the best presentation. Furthermore, this color can look oily sometimes so you need to be an above average tidy person to keep the countertops wiped clean.

That being said, if you don’t see using granite for the splash, then Verde Maritaca with a cream tumbled travertine would look very nice with Eastern sunlight but I am worried about the Taupe floors. If you lighten your cabinets a lot, then the Verde Maritaca should compliment the taupe very nicely. This would be bright in the morning and charming at night.

I don’t recommend Tropic Brown with bisque appliances because it will just make overall décor in your kitchen very dull, too much brown/green tone with the tops and the floor will not work well with bisque. You should switch to stainless if decide to you go with Tropic Brown.

Juparana Royal and Giallo Antico are very similar as you know. Both these Brazilian granites match stainless appliances very well but are bright enough to use with bisque as well. With your cabinets this works very well and should compliment the taupe in the floor perfectly. I like either of these selections best with a very light travertine splash. Match the cabinets to the color tone of the splash and you will bring it all together. Wall paint can be white.

Best wishes!