Which kitchen would you prefer?

[Upgradable]

We are doing some light remodeling and updating of our house in anticipation of selling in the next couple of years. You know, then things you always wanted to do but never got around to. Our kitchen needs some sprucing up, so we're going to be painting cabinets. Uppers will be soft white (matches existing), lowers will be dove gray. Our walls are a nice, neutral, soft green. The tiles are 12x12 white with some navy accents.

I'd like opinions on counter tops. For resale value, it will be granite. I was leaning toward a dark counter with sparkly speckles. I've also had suggestions on going with more of a gray with black and white speckles. We also have an island that I will be topping with butcher block.

I'd love to hear opinions and suggestions. My friends on FB are tired of hearing from me.

 

[packrat]

Not ME lady! I loooove home projects!

Is butcher block not a good option for resale, to do all the counters in, instead of just the island? (wood/butcher block is what we'll be using for ours--but we're not looking to sell at any point)

 

[movie zombie]

the lighter granite, please.
as a homebuyer who bought a home with dark granite already in place I can tell you I still don't like it.

 

[hlmr]

Another vote for lighter coloured granite. Dark can be very elegant but is not for every kitchen/everyone.

eta: I have a cream colour based granite with lots of splashes of colour, but my walls are a dark gray/brown. It is so much easier to change the paint colour to suit.

 

[dk168]

I had Nero Absoluto granite as a worktop in my bachelor flat and it was a nightmare to keep clean. Therefore, I would avoid dark with sparkly speckles like Star Galaxy myself.

My current kitchen in the house has Nero Impala which is light and has a natural pattern that does not show up watermarks and other marks as much.

If I had the money at the time, I would have chosen Blue or Black Pearl, however, it would have cost an extra 1k GBP, and could not justify the expense.

By the sound of the colour scheme, I believe Blue or Black Pearl may suit. Good luck with your kitchen refurb, how exciting!!!

DK

P.S. I would list kitchen design as one of my hobbies.

 

[texaskj]

My mom has dark granite and it's really pretty, but has a tendency to show water spots.

 

[arkieb1]

I've had Blue Pearl, Black Pearl, a Greenish hued Pearl and this time I decided to go for something different which is a greyish white granite with black and brown flecks and it's a nightmare to maintain. Never had any problems with the Blue Pearl it was my favourite, the current paler granite shows up stains, is prone to absorbing oil and things more (yes it has been sealed properly) and just generally is more work. Having said that it looks more modern and younger and fresher in some ways too, I think because it is not as dark overall and it has a less formal look to it so it works better with a more modern look.

 

[NOYFB]

We have uba tuba granite and I love it. I'm not a fan of lighter granite colors myself.

 

[Upgradable]

If we were staying I'd have a colorful recycled glass counter. But it is way too "eclectic" for a quick sell.

I'm happy to hear about the upkeep and cleanliness issues. Thanks for sharing. I love hearing it all. But if you're not careful, I'll keep asking.

 

[jess719]

This is the granite that we have. I absolutely love it. You can't see crumbs or spots, and you can go either light or dark with it. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Upgradable]

Jess, that's really pretty, and would go with all the other stuff I've got going on! Does it have a name? I didn't know granite's had names. Place names do make sense though. I googled Uba Tuba earlier today and was floored that it was an actual city in Brazil!

 

[Upgradable]

Here's a shot of the kitchen. Wall will be soft green, top cabinets same color, bottoms will be dove gray. Now I have to choose the counters.

 

[jess719]

I'm sorry. I have no idea. We picked from samples the design studio had when we were building the kitchen. (I wish we could restain or replace the cabinets, but oh, well) I'm really jealous of your update!!

Does your granite suppliers have samples for you to look through, or giant slabs for you to take a look at? By us, they have huge warehouses of just granite you can wander through.

 

[Upgradable]

Hubby went and looked at the giant slabs today. I can't get there until Monday. I just wondered what other people preferred. After all, if I'm selling, you'd be buying!

 

[pregcurious]

I have Black Pearl, and I love it. The variation in color makes it easy to maintain.

Based on your colors, however, I would go for a gray.

 

[Gypsy]

I personally like a Kashmir White Granite for what you are describing.

if you want to paint the walls a River Valley White Granite would be ideal.

 

[packrat]

countertop pictures people!!

 

[ame]

I'd probably go with a mid-range gray or dark gray.

 

[TooPatient]

I haven't seen a butcher block counter in person but have seen the butcher blocks my grandparents use. Some are quite high quality and others just cheap. The wood (even in expensive ones) seems to soak up stuff and look gross if you aren't constantly cleaning and making it look nice. (I don't remember what all they did but the finish dulled too so they had to do more then just clean after use)
Personally, I'd be happiest with nice granite all over and then a couple of big butcher blocks on top that are easy to move or replace.

LOVE the lighter granite options. Not too light, but like the picture Jess posted.

 

[mypatience]

My suggestion is for light colored granite. We bought our house with this kitchen and while it is very nice I do not like the dark counters. They show every single water spot, crumb and haze from cleaning! I would go light all the way if I ever got the chance.

 

[ringbling17]

We have both a lighter and darker color. We just replaced our granite island in Nov.
The original granite is called Florencia bordeaux but when we tried to get a larger granite top for the island, we could no longer find the match bc the quarry closed down. It has salmon, pink, brown, grays and whites on a cream background.
So we opted for black galaxy instead for the center island. Love the black galaxy. Doesn't quite match but we felt like the contrast would make more sense and seem like it was done on purpose, rather than trying to match the color and failing.
We kept the original counter as well so if we ever resell, the new owners have the choice to put it back.
Black galaxy is nice because its not as porous as other granite, so it doesn't need to be sealed. It also doesn't show any water marks or oil stains. We did shop around though bc there are so many variations for it. Some are blacker, grayer, more sparkly. Less sparkly. Also the sparkle flakes come I different sizes.
Once we decided on it that we could no longer purchase florencia bordeaux, we went to 6 different warehouses to look at slabs, we still had to pick the best black galaxy.

We looked at quartz but the difference in texture/ finish was too different.
I prefer darker colors with darker cabinets and lighter colors for white cabinets.
Look at houzz.com for ideas.

My dream kitchen would be cream cabinets with chocolate stain and crema bordeaux granite with a waterfall or long ogee edge.
If money were no option, I would redo my kitchen tomorrow. I actually dislike my kitchen.
When picking out granite you have to decide if you want to purchase from a warehouse that will supply, template, fabricate and install or buy the slabs and find a fabricator seperately.

Its important to make sure you find out where the seams will be for long counter areas. You don't want a seam over a dishwasher. There is no support there. Also I would probably ask for no seam around the kitchen sink. It would be so obvious and get banged up/ chipped from so much exposure/use.

Lastly pick a granite that doesn't have a lot of resin. Florencia bordeaux is very porous so they fill in the holes, crates with resin to smooth it out. I really dislike it because I can feel areas that were filled in. It funny bc it is a higher level granite and I would never have pcked it in a million years.

 

[JewelFreak]

If your cupboards are dove gray, I'd go with gray countertops. Also depends on how much light your kitchen gets -- if not flooded with it, dark counters don't work too well. I have black quartz in mine & LOOOOVE it, but my kitchen has a big window over the sink & a bay window too, so tons of light. Otherwise, I would've chosen something less dark.

--- Laurie

 

[Upgradable]

We have a giant 8' x 8' skylight right above the island, so light is never a problem.

I just googled Gypsy's suggestion of Kashmir White and I really like it!

 

[momhappy]

We have granite not only in the kitchen, but also in all 5 bathrooms. We have all sorts of colors (black, brown, green, & white). I love the look of granite as well as the durability/practicality too.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Upgradable, my suggestion is to go into the granite warehouse with an open mind and just take a look around at everything. You may be surprised by whate strikes you! And seeing a whole slab of something is MUCH different that seeing a small sample, especially if the stone has any large "visual texture" (like waves of color that are well defined in the stone). If possible, take a sample of the cabinet colors, but absolutely know that things will look different in the lighting of your house than they do at the stone warehouse. So, the flip side is, if you really like something ask them to hammer off a tiny piece and take it home with you. Even though it will be small, you will have already seen the whole slab so you'll just be looking for color at that point in your own space. Also, if you pick a granite with a lot of variation and there is anything you really love or hate (like a big splotch of something ugly) make sure you have them lay out a template showing where things will be cut. That way maybe you can have anything you don't like cut out (like in the area will the sink cut out will be).

Happy stone hunting!

ETA: If you're keeping the navy accets (and I think you are based on your posts) make sure you take that into account with the granite. The Kashmire white that Gypsy suggested in a lovely stone (one of my best friends has it in his kitchen and it is fabulous) but I don't know how it will look with the blue. Just my two cents.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

We have a giant 8' x 8' skylight right above the island, so light is never a problem.

I just googled Gypsy's suggestion of Kashmir White and I really like it!

Yep. That's the one I've suggested to you over and over.

 

[ringbling17]

...

 

[Upgradable]

My intent here was really just to get a head count of who liked what colors. If we're going to sell, you'll be my potential buyer.

Should we dive into what kind of backsplash each of you like? It's like being a poll taker!

 

[recordaras]

That Kashmir White is so dreamy!
Add me to the plethora of dark granite haters. I hate, no, absolutely detest it - it takes me ages to get the counters shiny and non-streaky before a meal (and I can't eat on streaky granite ), but that lasts all of 15 minutes, after which I have to go through the process all over again.

ETA: after some googling I think we have Black Galaxy

 

[Mayk]

This would be a nice one for your cabinet color combo. When we picked recently they had this one in the yard...this was our second choice.