If you have granite countertops...what color?

[missliss55]

We re-did our kitchen in June. We used venetian gold for our countertops.

Here is a pic:

http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=180889790/PictureID=3971543198/a=45552815_45552815/t_=45552815

Good luck!

[LD92599]

Thanks for the pic - VERY helpful and i LOVE your backsplash - did you get the tiles from a "big box" store or local?

Laura
Mom to Will

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[g-mama]

We have Uba Tuba, which is black with gold and green accents. Our cabinets are a warm maple color. We love it!


~Kristen

Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03
Marco 12-05

[emmiem]

Dark granite colors show fingerprints, dust, and grease easier than the tan colors. We have Golden Leaf, a tan coloration with black and brown flecks in it. We have natural cherry cabinets with a chocolate glaze and a neutral tan/white/brown tile floor. I love it.
http://luda.co.uk/italy/granite/images/golden_leaf_sa_500.jpg

[gatorsmom]

We have a granite called Uba Tuba (which I know they have at Home Depot since I saw it there). It's really similar to your top sample but has a little more green fleck in it. I really like it.

My MIL has your bottom sample there in her kitchen. It's gorgeous too. She has dark brown-stained cabinets (not sure what kind of wood they are) and the cabinets and granite look beautiful together. They get a lot of light in their kitchen, though. I think if it weren't for all that light, her kitchen would seem dark, kwim?

Lisa
Mom to Gator July 2003
And Cha-Cha July 2005
and surprise! twins due 11/07!

[missliss55]

Thanks.

We did both the granite and backsplash from a local tile store. The backsplash is 2x4 tumbled Travertine (Chiaro is the color I believe).

[MarisaSF]

I think we have that second one you pictured. It was installed by the previous homeowners in 1998 and, to me, looks very dated. I would go for a lighter color... or a more solid color if you're doing dark.
I can look for a photo if that didn't totally turn you off. ;)

[asha]

This is very interesting. We had chosen the first one for our bathroom. Later we changed the blue color scheme to a tan one and picked the second one. We have the second one currently.

Laura,
The water here is pretty hard. So, it leaves some deposits near the faucet. Gets hard to maintain with these dark colors. My kitchen has golden leaf. Of course the kitchen sink gets lot more usage, but the counter still looks way better than the bath room counter.

The dark counters just get dirty very soon. It is my son'd bathroon, so I cannot even maintain it too much. It is not like I can ask a 4 year old to wipe the counters everytime he washes his hands. IME, light colors hide the specs, finger prints etc way better.

I have a light counter in the kitchen and a dark one in the bathroom and I really wish I had chosen the light one for the bathroom as well.

Hope this helps.
Asha

[Marisa6826]

Another one with Ubatuba and Maple cabinets.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a103/marisa_and_sophie/trash/Verde_Lab_Ubatuba_lg.jpg

-m

[emily_gracesmama]

we have the second one with cherry cabinets and bruce hardwood floors which are gunstock color, done in 2001 when we built. i was concerned it would be too dark but it's not, however if i did it again now, i would do it in a lighter color with lighter cabinets, like the pic that missliss55 posted.

[LD92599]

DH & I went to the granite yard a few weeks ago and chose several lighter, tan/black speckled samples. Then the other night i got an itch to go back and look at darker colors. We were in Home Depot and i loved these 2 colors by Stonemark.

Blue Opal
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/lkibala/BlueOpal.gif
Sapphire Jolie
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/lkibala/SapphireJolie.gif

However after going to the granite yard again i'm not seeing these "exact" colors and i'm back to the tans! We chose a few darker ones but once we brought them indoor they just looked black!

So, what color countertops do you have? Anyone willing to post pics? Our cabinets will be Maple Spice from Lowe's!

TIA!

Laura
Mom to Will

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http://b5.lilypie.com/fS0fm4.png

[galvjen]

We have Tan Brown granite which is similar to #2 you posted. Our cabinets are oak and backsplash is slate. Flooring is off-white tile.

We consulted an interior designer and he recommended a dark coutner with our oak cabinets.

Jen

[mommytotwo]

We have Venetian gold in the kitchen and a dark green with a caramel brown coloring (forgot the name of the granite) in the bathroom. both rooms have cabinets similar to a maple spice and we really like them.

A PP mentioned having hard water deposits near the faucets -- we've noticed the same thing with ours. Does anyone have suggestions for removing the hard water deposits on granite and on corian?

Thanks!

[noahsmommy]

We have Santa Celcia with traditional oak cabinets. It was pretty hard to find a color we liked to go with traditional oak coloring (we didn't replace the oak cabinets that came with the house when we bought it.) It's a great mix of cream, black, greys, with hints of gold and purple. If you like, I can post of photo of it. We have cherry wood laminate floors, so the purple flecks in the counter top go well with the flooring.

Can you pick which slab of granite you want from the factory? We ended up bringing our cabinent door to the factory, and handpicking the slab that we wanted. We went in wanting Uba Tuba, and came out with Santa Celcia! Granites slabs are so different, even among the color family themselves, that I would highly recommend going directly to the granite supplier.

Ann

http://b4.lilypie.com/452Zm4/.png (http://lilypie.com)

http://b2.lilypie.com/UKgRm4/.png (http://lilypie.com)

[kijip]

This is the only pic I have of my kitchen:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=420932&mode=full

The granite tile is black, grey, tan and cream with flecks of something sparkly. I don't much are for it. I love my kitchen over all, but the granite color is one of my least fave things in the house. I agree that
something either all lighter or all darker looks nicest. Mine is too much of a mix but the builder put it in, and I am loathe to replace brand new counters (though the thought has crossed my mind!) I like the Blue Opal one pretty well that you pictured. Sort of depends on your cabinetry too.

****Rocking out while parenting my smart little munchkin Toby. Just trying to do good in the world, a little at a time. Words to live by: it is *never* the wrong time to do the right thing :)

[nfowife]

We have black painted cabinetry (though our island and hood cabinetry is a dark brown stained maple) and dark stained-concrete floors. So, we knew we needed a light countertop becuase otherwise the room would be a black hole! I love our countertops. They are busy enough that you really don't ever see any dirt on them unless you look at an angle in the sun. Sometimes I have to look really hard to find the places that need to be cleaned up! Plus we also have really hard water and it doesn't show up. We have black w/blue flecks in our powder bath and it's much harder to keep it clean and shiny with the hard water issues. The color is called Giallo Ornamental.
Here's a pic from when we first moved in:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h15/nfowife/DSC01309.jpg

[LD92599]

We're 95% sure we're going to stick w/ the lighter tan color w/ the dark specks. Our cabinets are due in at the end of the week so once I have one in my hand i'll go back to the granite place and decide for sure.

Next up is the backsplash - originally i wanted the 4" granite backsplash and then paint above it but the contractor included a tile backsplash in the allowance so now i'm search for tile - thinking of subway tile in a solid color or a speckly one by Daltile i saw in Home Depot.

Too many decisions!

Back to packing up the kitchen for a bit!


Laura
Mom to Will

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