Hi Tom,

My husband and I are replacing countertops in our home. We currently have honey colored oak cabinets and similar colored oak flooring. Our appliances are stainless steel. We have been frustrated because although we love the black granites many friends tell us that they are hard to keep clean so we have also been looking at gold tone granites such as jupanaro fantastico and madura gold. I am worried that the grey in the jupanara fantastico might not work with the honey colored cabinets. Any suggestions?

Jean

Hello Jean,

Juparana Fantastico granite is a beautiful color and goes very will with honey colored cabinets. Only with flat or shakers style would that the variations in this granite not blend well. Honey oak cabinets with raised
panel styles and are totally traditional and Juparana Fantastico granite with its grey veins (but usually more like silver/gray) and overall browns and cream tones is perfect to enhance the upgraded kitchen presences. I personally really like this choice and I’m struggling to consider what might be any reservations at all.

Black color granite would surely not be the way to go. Not only does it present the higher maintenance issues that I mention elsewhere on the blog, but black on honey makes for a totally cold and dull kitchen atmosphere.
The battle between urban and classical would wage in your kitchen if you mix black granite with honey oak cabinets!

Other colors that work very well with Honey Oak cabinets (in the classical sense) are dark greens, red/browns and whites. All other colors cause confusion.

Best wishes and thank you for supporting the Rock Blog kids!

Dear Tom,

After one a quick look at slabs shown in the yard of my neighborhood fabricator and many hours on the computer attempting to learn about granite and viewing the online samples, I discovered The Rock Blog! FANTASTIC!!!!

It’s out with my old custom almond “contemporary” kitchen cabinets (an oxymoron?) and in with new traditional, painted yellow cabinets glazed with brown in the lines defining the panels. The yellow cabinets will be installed above the countertops along one wall and base cabinets will be on three walls, two of which will have the yellow finish; one shorter cabinet will be in a cherry stain. Think of an open rectangle with an opening for the door leading into the dining room.

While the cabinetry will have a traditional flair, the appliances and sink will be in stainless steel. The kitchen opens into a huge dining room with a view of a cherry dining table and cherry wood surrounding banks of windows that extend the full length of the dining room. This same cherry finish is also on the French doors and another door leading to the porch. Because there is a window in the kitchen, the dining room decor is very much part of the kitchen. Also visible is a pale green Persian rug with swirls of three shades of blue and the same shade of the cherry wood.

My good sense tells me to consider a brown granite although I worry about replicating the brown and yellow color scheme of the 70s. Tan Brown worked well with the cabinet finishes, but it’s hardly exciting and I feel its dark color would overpower the cherry finish in the adjoining room. What do you think of Zion Brown or Juperana Ipe?

I am also wondering if any of the greens or blues would be good choices. Surely blue and yellow have long been a wonderful combination; just ask the Swedes. The Granitestock site shows an incredibly beautiful Blue Louise (not Louise Blue), blue granite that seems to incorporate both the yellow and the cherry color. Are there any problems with this granite? Availability issues?

Also on the Granitestock site are Prairie Green, Verde Tropical and Candais Green. Any thoughts?

Blue Louise is beautiful and surely would make for an impressive countertop, but is it available from most vendors? Can you recommend any other stones?

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I was planning to look at granite this Monday at a site that has a huge selection but will wait to hear from you. Donation will be made immediately.

Thank you,

Toby

Hello Toby,

Blue Louise is a wonderful color filled with deep rich colors that would go well in your decor. It is very expensive but is getting more common so I believe the price might be better at some places rather than others. It also vary in price by the size and quality of the slabs so check the slabs in person of anything you discover by making phone calls.

A more subdued and far less expensive color would be Butterfly Blue. The blue accents mixed with some blacks and deep reds would be a great way to set off the ‘yellow’ that you seem to love so much. Butterfly Blue also looks great with stainless.

A third choice is Red Dragon. This looks great with yellow and bridges the traditional decor with stainless very nicely. You need to see a nice big sample of this along with your pallet to really understand how it looks.

I don’t really think the other colors you mentioned would look so great. They each just seem to clutter the overall vision and look messy — sorry.

Thank you for supporting the Rock Blog’s World Vision kids and best to you!