Hi Tom -

I’ve just discovered your blog and want to thank you immediately for sharing your knowledge and experience. I am also happy to make the requested donation and have done so!

My husband and I are renovating our kitchen and would appreciate your help on a granite color selection. The kitchen is 20′x12′. We’ve decided to go with a traditional L shaped layout with a center island measuring 94″ x 38″. The top of the island will be flat, withoput a cooktop or sink. It will be used for eating, food prep, homework(!), etc. We have stainless appliances, including a stainless chimney hood, and a stainless sink. Our cabinets are maple wth a coffee glaze, making them a bit darker than natural, but no where near a medium brown. Our floor is an 18×18 tile called Ceramica Magica Red. The color in the tiles is varied, from a sand to a brick/terra cotta red with some very minimal sreaks of slate gray. It’s a tuscan feel and they go well with the cabinets. The 18″ backsplash will be the same, varied tiles, set on the diagonal, with a greater concentration of the Ceramica Magica Sand tiles in a “frame” over the range.

We have 48″ pass trough over the sink, into the family room. We are planning a granite slab there, as well, 48″ wide and curving to 12″ at its maximum depth.
We have added 8 recessed lights and a light over the sink. There will be 2 pendants over the island, so lighting is not an issue. The north wall has 2 large windows and an exterior door with no cabinetry.
This is opposite the pass through to the family room. We’ve chosen Burnished Mahogany (a deep brick color) for the walls. One final note, all of the floors in the rest of the house are hard wood and have been stained a dark brown (50/50 ebony and mahogany). The floors in the family room and dining room can be seen from the kitchen.
We took cabinet and tile samples to the granite yard and narrowed our search down to three colors: Vyara Juparana, Juparana Sand and Yellow River. We like the long “streaks” of the Juparanas and prefer a granite with that kind of movement rather than a tight pattern.

Sorry for the exhaustive detail, but we’d love your opinion on a granite color selection. We are open to anything. If you think our color palete is completely wacky please say so! We haven’t painted the walls yet but are in love with the tile and cabinets.

Finally, there is no formal eating area in the kitchen. We will be using the island for casual meals. We will have a 12″ overhang on the far end and a 12″ overhang running the the 94″ length.

We’ve consulted with several contractors and have built a knee wall backing up the cabinets making up the island. This reduced the overhang to about 8″ on the long side.

I’ve reviewed your site about overhangs but have not come across anything on kneewalls. Do you think the kneewall is adequate support for the long side of the island? I assume we will need corbels for the short side of the island and the overhang into the family room. Have you worked with granite corbels or are we limited to those fashioned from wood?

Pat

Hello Pat,Thank you for giving me a very detailed description of your kitchen and adjacent room finishes. The tricky part here is to use granite that is dark enough to compliment the stainless and has movement that will not clash with the movement in your tile. Still a very dark granite would not be very homey here with such a big island.

The big island without any penetrations is sure to be a piece of art. By the way, it is much easier to do homework on medium colors because they reflect the least amount of glare. But which one? Well, Juparana Vyara definitely matches the colors temperature of your cabinets and glaze and even has the gray streaks to go with the floor streaks. However, stepping back and looking at your kitchen without the granite, adding Vyara just doesn’t do anything more. Again, is blends well, but you need to introduce more light terracotta and less brown/tan to complete this kitchen. A couple colors that I want to suggest are Verde Fire and Sunset Delicatus. Both of these vary so you might hate or love the first slabs that you look at, but a light Verde Fire or a dark Sunset Delicatus would be perfect with the tile, cabinets, stainless and the adjacent dark wood floors..

Again, Juparana Vyara is a good blend so if you really feel strong about that, then that is a good safe choice. I don’t like the crystal structure in Yellow River and Juparana Sand is not as good of a choice as Vyara.

Regarding corbels, just put a few short small wood corbels between the knee walls to support the bending forces if someone ever sits on it. Knee walls are the great support but I would not rely on knee walls alone with over a 36″ span between them. Put corbels at 24″ apart between them.

In conclusion, I hope you evaluate adding light terracotta (avoid pink), mixed with other natural color inclusions in the granite countertops. Try to avoid washing the room out with more brown and tan shades.

I hope this helped and thank you very much for supporting the Rock Blog’s World Vision kids!

Dear Tom,

We have been in our home 16 years and have decided to redo the kitchen starting with granite countertops. Our refrigerator and stove are white and the microwave and dishwasher have black fronts. The sink will be stainless steel undermount. The fruitwood-colored cupboards have cathedral style doors. I would love to send a picture if possible. The cupboard knobs are brass and white. I lean towards earthy colors – browns, tans, etc. Even though we will be choosing flooring (hardwood would be my preference) and paint later, I am completely stymied as to what color to use. The kitchen has a cathedral ceiling (no sky lights) and a south/west corner window above the sink and french patio doors. I usually have the lights (ceiling-mounted floodlights) on while working in the kitchen. Samples we took home include – Juparana Royale, Cafe Imperial, Tropic Brown, Verde lab, Amarillo Veneciano. I’ve had the samples for a month and am no closer to making a decision. I don’t want a mundane kitchen but at the same time I don’t want a dizzying effect. Can you please help?

Donna

Hello Donna,

Your photos really helped as well as your comments about the color samples you have selected to date. I usually don’t recommend the color such as New Venetian Gold but your kitchen is closed in by three walls and needs to stay as light as possible. In addition, the color and veining in your cabinets also demand a more subtle, traditional granite color that is more set off by its shine and accents than it wildness. I think you pick this up by the range of choices you mentioned.

New Venetian Gold in its best quality selection, which is a warm brown color with deep garnet inclusions, would look beautiful and it compliments white fixtures very well. There is also a granite color called Giallo Ornamental that I want you to examine which is the only light granite that I recommend with stainless. Since you have the white appliances and stainless combination, these two granite are each great choices. The best complimentary aspect of these stones is the natural garnet inclusions that will bring color into your room.

I strongly recommend considering a darker reddish or brown/burgundy floor tile to compliment the granite. The darker color on the floor will bring lightness to the cabinets and the granite and the walls will lift the room is bright way. That would bring it all together. Keep your walls as light or white as you feel right about.

Just to cover the other colors you mentioned, let me go through them now. Juperana Royal Granite is one of my favorite colors and extremely striking with stainless. It looks like a modern million bucks when there is not speck of white in the room and dark cabinets. So! That does not work here given the color pallet.

Café Imperial, I hate it unless used as the perimeter granite in a large kitchen with another granite color as the island. This granite will bore you to death in your décor.

Tropical Brown, when selected in its deep brown color, is gorgeous with stainless. However, it needs natural light to be beautiful and not the best choice with white appliances.

Verde Labrador is always my #1 choice with stainless even though it is so very common. That doesn’t mean that it is the only choice for stainless, but I definitely hate Verde Labrador with white because it just kills its brilliance.

I hope that I helped you, Donna. Thank you for supporting the Rock Blog’s World Visions Kids.

I just wanted to say WOW!!!! I’m in the beginning stages of a kitchen remodel for a New York City Galley style kitchen. I’m keeping the ceramic tile floors (light tannish/brown-like sand color, very neutral) and the bisque appliances (don’t like stainless appliances). I love monochromatic, tone on tone color schemes so I will probably get Maple cabinets with a Bisque glaze. A few cabinets will have that frosted glass front. My question is probably obvious: How do I add some color without being locked into any one color in my granite countertop? I don’t want my entire kitchen to be beige and tan! Colors I love are golds, yellows, reds or greens. Not blue. My living area is eclectic with a black and white formica table and ivory “pleather” chairs, red sofa, black entertainment unit. Thank you in advance. You’re answers are always wonderful. – Rose

Hello Rose,

The answer is red. With maple and bisque, the only color that you can add without getting ‘locked in’ is red or rust. Gold is basic and bland without highlights, yellow is too fruity and Green is just bad with maple – too Crayola unless it is really dark.

With maple, introduce a brown/gold with soft accents of rust/red (not cherry red). Penta Gold Granite is a great choice. Amazon Gold is another with less red tones but great with bisque. These are both in the exotic variety but what I call ‘tone on tone with flavor’.
If you really like the rust/red after seeing some slabs, take a look at Typhoon Gold Granite. It will be on the edge of versatility but looks awesome with maple cabinets and bisque appliances.

Best wishes and thank you for support the Rock Blog’s kids!

Dear Tom:

I have been gathering info on kitchen counter choices for over 2 months. There are so many options and then so many conflicting opinions that I’m worried I’ll never figure this out. Am doing a new kitchen with white (I call them white white meaning not off white) cabinets and 2 islands one matching the white cabinets and one black. It is a simple design somewhat farm or country style. We are doing medium to dark random plank floors. I want to do a large custom copper sink but am flexible if it wouldn’t work with the counters.

What i want is white marble (carrera or calacatta gold) for the island counters and something dark like soapstone for the perimeter counters.. it is a large kitchen so lots of counter. My husband does not want me to do soapstone so am looking for a granite to give that soapstone look. I was told honed absolute black would work but then I read many horror stories online about it. What do you think of honed jet mist or virginia mist? are they the same granite? Also what about all these different finishes? Honed, velvet, suede, brushed? Do you think marble is ok for kitchen? The fabricator we are thinking about using says they recommend it if honed and sealed properly. My husband drinks red wine every night and one of the islands has a raised bar height end which will get heavy use when we entertain. If we could get comfortable with marble I sometimes think we should do all the counters in it.

Someone told me Donna Sandra Granite looks a lot like Carrera marble. Do you know anything about it? Could you please give me some ideas for these counters and also try and clarify for me what is positive and negative about marble and or granite. I currently have polished ubatuba and do not want the shine and sparkle look in my new kitchen. Thanks for your help you are providing a much needed resource on such a confusing topic. I think you’re great sending the money from this to such a worthy charity.

Sincerely,
Cathy

p.s. I should have told you I’m open to looking at any suggestions — color or surface. I do love copper and pewter and my kitchen needs to work with both of them.

Hello Cathy,

I will give you the facts in response to your questions and some personal comments. From that you can make decisions based on your maintenance expectations and desired color décor.

First of all, Carrara and Calacatta are both white marbles from Italy as you know. Before mining technology allowed granites to be extracted, the most popular choice for a stone kitchen countertop was white marble. Carrara Marble being the most widely available and least expensive became commonplace in Italy. Fast forward a couple hundred years and Carrara Marble on countertops still draws an old world Italian charm yet because of the lower maintenance alternative (granite) it comes with sacrifice. Unlike granite, marble is softer than steel and made of mostly porous Calcium Carbonate; therefore, it scratches and stains easily.

Unfortunately, you can not just seal marble and use cutting boards to eliminate the maintenance issues. Because Calcium Carbonate is acid-sensitive, marble will etch from acid in fruit juice and wine. Wine spilled on a professionally sealer marble countertop will still be stained overnight. The only exception to this is a when a topical sealer high in silicone is applied but this will leave your countertop looking polished, not honed.

If you do choose Carrara or Calacatta Marble, you need to be either extremely diligent to use coasters and cutting boards, or you need to have the Italian mentality and just not care about stains or scratches. It is true that the Italians really feel that the stains and scratches just show the classic antiquity of marble and the old world it renders.

Regarding Soapstone, if Martha Stuart didn’t like it, I don’t know who would. This is a very dense, non-porous stone but extremely soft. Your fingernail can scratch it. Basic Soapstone maintenance involves sanding down scratches and using mineral oil to even out the variations after sanding. If you THINK you might like Soapstone, then you don’t. If you want a divorce, then this is a good choice. I rarely find two people in the same room that like Soapstone.

Honed finished granite is problematic if not professional sealed. Granite is hard but the orthoclase minerals and the microscopic gaps between then can be somewhat porous. That issue is successfully avoided after it is professionally sealed. However, honed granites love to show smudges from wipe cleaning and thumb prints. Dark colors are worse than light ones. If you search Absolute Black Granite on my blog, you will see how much I discourage using Honed Absolute Black Granite. That being said, I do know the Virginia Black Granite very well. It is the same stone as Jet Mist. This was very popular granite for government building in the early 1900’s. I never thought of this granite for a kitchen countertop before but it might be the perfect color for those looking for a honed black that does not create the ‘flat black’ maintenance issues. If you use this granite on the perimeter and ask you husband to keep the wine off the Carrara White islands, then I really can see this combination working in an old-world euro-style décor.

Ok, but here are some other options to think about. First all, Donna Sandra Granite? In 18 years, I have never heard of it. It is probably a fictitious name. Basically, select a white granite color that you like and have it professional sealed. I suggest looking at Bianco Romano Granite or White Springs Granite. If you can find White Springs in your area, that would be the best choice. These granite colors are from Brazil and you can see swatches of them at www.GraniteStock.com.

I do like the Jet Mist honed choice. I think that is a very good choice. Bianco Romano or White Springs would compliment the Jet Mist well. With this color combination and the described décor, a flat edge detail with minimal overhang would be best. A copper sink on the white granite would look granite. On the Black surface, I’d highly recommend white porcelain as copper won’t work at all.

My best wishes!

We are redoing our kitchen and are building a 122″ island. We would like the island to have glass bricks serving as a riser for our raised bar. The bar area will over hang about 12″. This overhang will have granite (Juparana Beach) on top of the glass bricks as well as on the counters. I have a couple of concerns:

The Glass bricks are 7 3/4″ square X 4″ wide. Will this raise the bar up too high? (I don’t know what the standard rise should be.)

Will the glass bricks be strong enough to support the granite?

Should the granite be supported with something on the overhang (corbels)?

Dorothy

Hello Dorothy,

Thank you for a very interesting entry. This is the first time that I have heard someone using glass block to support a raised granite countertop. First of all, the height is correct. The normal height of kitchen countertops is 36″. Raised upper countertops are usually 6″ higher at 42″. Given the 4″ block plus the thickness of the granite and subtop, the finished surface should be at just about the right height. The height is actually driven by the normal height of bar stools so stay as close to 42″ as possible.

Now the more difficult part of your installation is the support intended. Resting the granite on the 4″ wide glass block and extending it out about 8″ to make 12″ overall will not be adequate support. You need to create another form of support that is positively affixed to the cabinet and let the glass block be for décor only. Although the procedure is complicated, you can do this by having a steel support designed and bolted to the cabinet and then use 2″ wide block on both sides if the steel riser, instead of one 4″ block. Basically, you would sandwich a steel plate on both sides with glass block.

The vertical steel supports should be ¼” thick and have vertical legs that are about 3″ wide each, at about 12″ apart. These will need to be bolted in to your cabinet. At the top of theses vertical plates, you would need to have a large plate of 3/16″ steel welded to them at a 90 degree angle. This will be an adequate platform that the granite will sit on. Talk to your local granite company about this plan and see if they can do it for you.

If the information above seems way over your head, here is another option that might just accomplish your design intent. Have a wall built for the upper countertop which is typical to industry standards. This would be framed out of wood and a plywood subtop screwed to the top stud. After you are done with the drywall covering, install glass tile for the backsplash. There are beautiful glass tile options in sizes from 1″x1″ to 6″x6″. Here is an example of very low priced glass tile that is beautiful: http://www.daltileproducts.com/series.cfm?series=119.

I hope that I have helped and thank you for supporting The Rock Blog’s World Vision Kids.

Hello Tom,

Suzanne from FLa here, we are weekend DIY warriors. Finally after 6 years of remodeling a 52 year old CBS Fla 2 story- we are at kitchen/greatroom. We are stuck with a flagstone fireplace in the /beige/golds/rust tones. We have chosen carmelized bamboo floors in kitchen/great room, new stainless steel appliances, L-shaped kitchen now gutted.

White plantation shutters, decorative mouldings on doors and windows (painted white) Window in kitchen replaced with hurricane impact -facing WEST. “European white” walls (light taupe) We may have to change that color a bit.

We believe we have settled on arctic RTA white cabinets – nice balance with bamboo floors- we plan on an island-with same granite. Im not too keen on wood floors and wood cabinets (too rustic)

Last week we took a piece of the bamboo floor to the local granite yard/fabricators we went to each slabe with the bamboo and narrowed it down to to Baltic Brown and Lapidus Granite (matched tone of bamboo beautifully) I also like the “movement” in the stone. We chose the stainless undermount sink to match appliances. A friend keeps telling me to go lighter (creme) or whitish granite.

Although we chose the Lapidus Granite to pick up on the floor and fireplace. The samples they cut for me from slab, pick up beautifully, I am wondering if my match the countertop with floor tone/paired with white cabinetry was incorrect. I dont see Lapidus Granite paired with white cabinets too much. I can still change that as well.

QUESTION: What do I do with backsplash? Would a continuation of the lapidus to bottom of cabinets be overkill? Or should I go towards a tumbled stone or jerusalem stone look or glass tile?

Thanking you in advance fo any input you can afford me.

Suzanne

Hello Suzanne,

Natural wood cabinets with bamboo floors don’t look good so you instincts are correct here. I really do like natural wood cabinets but never with bamboo floors. They just clash because of the natural grain in each.

I have recommended Lapidus Granite many times with bamboo floors so maybe you saw that somewhere else on the Rock Blog. White or even black cabinets really are the best compliment. I am concerned about the white color your mentioned. Hopefully the white you mentioned is a bluish softer white, rather than a yellow or gray-white. Hold a piece of paper up to the cabinets and consider what hue you see in the cabinet finish. Any range in the blue-white would look great. Yellow-white would just be ok and gray-white would be cold, dull and just ugly.

Lapidus is one of my favorites when it is selected well. You may have found many variations of Lapidus as it is extremely wild. Because of the wild veining movement, you definitely want to carry the granite up the walls to the bottom of the upper cabinets. This is really important so that the heavy movement rolls right up the wall for a complete look. Many homeowners ruin the complete picture by only putting Lapidus on the countertop and then mashing it with some mottle travertine tile on the splash wall. Tile splashes are great for more monochromatic or bright colored granites, but not highly variegated granite like Lapidus. A good place to see Kitchen photos are in the Kitchen Galleries at www.GraniteStock.com and www.HomeGranite.com.

Lastly, Baltic Brown is a far stretch to the simple side from Lapidus as you know. I do like this color but only with Stainless fixtures and appliances. Baltic Brown does not go that well with white cabinets because the darker browns are just too overwhelming against white. It is like dark brown shirt, with white pants…I don’t think so!

Regarding glass tile, I love it but not with Lapidus. That would be like putting pin-striping on a S500 Mercedes. Lapidus is the right choice. Let this stone be the art and function in your kitchen.

Best wishes and thank you for support The Rock’s Blog’s World Vision Kids!

Hi, Tom,

My introduction to World Vision was through my mother. She has never been well-off yet has sponsored a child since her college days… 55 years and still going!

We need help choosing a granite color (and maybe advice on floor color). What shall I tackle first: the kitchen design or the granite choices? Let’s go with design.

We have purchased traditional style cherry cabinets with a sable/nutmeg finish, no glaze. Our kitchen (remodel) is a galley style, about 10′x17′. One side has a pantry cabinet/3′ of granite/sink under window/5-6′ of granite; the opposite wall has stainless steel refrigerator/2′ granite/range with black ceramic cook top/2′ granite and over a bit is a 42″x48″ island.

We’re thinking of tumbled traverine for the backsplash. The walls are painted light beige/tan. I should mention the other appliances are stainless too. Until I read some of the postings I hadn’t thought of anything but a stainless undermounted sink–should we consider black?

The ceiling is 8′ and the kitchen gets no direct sunlight as its window faces east but is under an overhang. After the remodel the kitchen will open northward into the family room (which also gets little direct sunlight). That said, we live in So. Cal. and actually do have mostly sunny days.

I like movement/pattern in a granite and would like to walk into the kitchen each morning and say, “Wow, that’s a fabulous work of art!” My wife prefers subtle but distinct movement (not sandy looking) and wants “blend” and “balance” so the kitchen won’t look too “busy.” Help!

The first granite I chose was called Crema Beach (that bold chunky look!). There was some concern that it would be hard to decorate around. Next we considered Incas; right colors but maybe boring. We were trying to stay away from yellows, so we thought of Bianca Romano. I think a roman ogee edge looks nice.

Since we suspect travertine is too slippery for our two large dogs and three pool-loving kids, I’d like the floor to be medium dark porcelain tile that sort of blend into the cabinets. My wife is concerned that will be too dark.

Thank you for considering all of this!!

Paul

Hello Paul,

Thank you for the great explanation of your intended remodel. It is very helpful to get so many details.

Let me start from the ground up. Dark porcelain floor tile would really close in your galley kitchen. I would not recommend it. In addition, dark colors are just flat out hard to keep clean. Being a Southern California resident myself and father of small children, I can confidently say that you floor will always look dirty if you choose a dark color. The sable/nutmeg finished cherry cabinets are screaming for a lighter color floor.

That being said, I recommend looking into a travertine designed porcelain tile in a color that matches the tumbled travertine backsplash that I will mention a little later. Some of the best porcelain knockoffs of travertine that I have seen are at Bedrosians Tile and Marble www.Bedrosians.com on State College Blvd in Anaheim. Don’t go with natural travertine for kitchen floors. It is just too high maintenance in an area that involved cooking grease and other food products that love to stain natural travertine. I would avoid the really light colors and choose a classic mid-cream cross cut travertine design in 18×18 format of porcelain tile.

Now the floor needs to work with the cabinets and the granite. Think cream, not bone or gray. Cream will work with the cabinets. The floor is somewhat mottled now so I want to recommend the following granite colors for the countertops. Juparana Gold Rush, Indian Parana, and African Ivory. These granite colors will open the kitchen and present style and artistic intent. In gallery kitchens, tile on the splash is the way to go. In your case, tumbled or hone travertine in a 4″x4″ size is the perfect. These granite colors have black accents that have just the right amount to go with your appliances. They have the background hues to mix with the tile splash and the dark cabinets. You can see swatches of these at www.GraniteStock.com and you will notice they don’t look the same. You can also see some good travertine backsplash combination in the online kitchen gallery at www.HomeGranite.com.

One of these granite colors should ‘move’ you. That should be the catalyst that makes your decision. That feeling is what will make you enjoy the granite every day and for many years.

Lastly, I do like a black sink in this décor rather than a stainless sink, except if you choose the African Ivory. It is not a décor breaker to use stainless but it really would put the final splash of style in the kitchen. Go with the Rroman OG if you have raised/recessed panels in the cabinet faces. Go with a flat edge if the panels are flat.

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

Thank you for this helpful site! I am about to have a granite countertop installed in my kitchen. It will sit atop new base cabinets, and 18″ below new wall cabinets. The cabinets are properly secured to the walls. The cabinets have stickers warning to “remove shelves before installing countertop.” Is that a good idea for some reason related to installation, or is it unnecessary? Anne

Hello Anne,

Those stickers are usually for two purposes. First, you always want to remove the shelves before installing cabinet bases in order to make the cabinet lighter and easier to screw into the walls. Secondly, when installing the countertops, access to the bottom of the countertop is sometimes needed to fix the top and supports in place, especially at the sink. I can also confirm that that granite installers have been known to step on shelves to get leverage!

Basically, shelves and drawers should go in last just to keep them dent free and clean. I don’t see a major issue here, but basically the manufacturer wants you to have a nice beautiful product when you are done.

I’d like to send you a bottle of premium granite cleaner for your generous World Vision donation. It is anti-bacterial and great to use just before guest come over. For regular cleaning, just follow the simple cleaning and maintenance tips on the Blog. Send me your address and I will ship a bottle out to you.

My very best wishes!

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 (see links above) 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.

My best wishes and thank you for donation to The Rock Blog’s World Vision kids!

Hi Tom!

What a wonderful site you have! Thank you for your opinion and expertise. I need to pick my stone in a few days!

We are remodeling the kitchen and here are the details:

The kitchen is a long room with water views and lots of natural light. It is a great-room style with 9 ft ceilings in the kitchen part and 9-14ft cathedral beamed ceiling in the sitting area. There are windows on all sides but east. The flooring is old chicago brick (terra cottas, yellows, grays, a touch of black). The u-shaped perimeter has creamy white cabinets with carved wood details, fluted columns, rounded corner posts, shaped toekicks, glass front uppers, white fireclay apron sink, stainless steel pro appliances. In the center is a 10ftX4ft mahogany island with chunky turned posts with seating for 4. The desk cabinets are creamy and have a mahogany top, and the sink and rangetop sit on mahogany trim like a drip edge.

I am thinking a darker hardware on the creamy white perimeter and polished nickel on the island. We love wrought iron and old copper and will have a chandelier over the island and possibly a hanging pot rack. I’m still undecided on the backsplash, pending the granite choice, but had thought I’d go simple with white or cream subway tile.

The main prep and cooking areas are on the perimeter, but lots of eating and fun will happen on the island! The walls are painted a warm buttery gold and the ceilings are a pale gold. All the trim is the same cream as the perimeter cabinets. The adjoining rooms are similar but with cherry floors. It is a gulf coast house, and we are casual people.

We would like to use 2 granites that compliment each other. I love the pale creamy granites with soft swirly movement for the island, but don’t know which one is good or what to mix with it on the perimeter. I hope our kitchen is a warm classic yet casual look with country french or tuscan influence. What granites do you see for our room???

Thanks so much for your help,

Margie

Hello Margie,

The décor is very classy. A medium perimeter granite and darker on the island would give your kitchen a finished custom look. I like subway tile, but I just don’t see it here because of the less than contempory decor. There is a lot of articulation in the cabinets. To compliment this well, choose fine/medium grain granite that has large vein movement and contains rusty accents of deep red, grays and blacks. The edge detail should be upgraded to an OG Bullnose to be consistent with the overall kitchen details.

Colonial Dream and Arandis Granite work well for the perimeter and the center can be a dark color like deep red, deep green that compliments the perimeter granite and the mahogany base it sits on. Let me present a few combinations that would work well.

I would match the hardware on the island and the perimeter cabinets. This brings planning and connection to the kitchen which is already quite busy. Go with a darker hardware, perhaps even gun metal which goes great with stainless appliances. Now back to the splash again. I would run the granite all the way up to the upper cabinets. You really need to avoid introducing another element in the kitchen. In addition, veined countertop granite as I mentioned above really looks great when matched with the veins in the countertops.

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