Critique my idea of two toned granite counter tops

[raqsfam]

I'm wanting to put in new counter tops...currently we have blue laminate. Its the thing I liked least about our house when we bought it. Our cabinets are natural maple and refinishing/painting is not an option.

I was thinking of doing a white/light granite on the island and then black/charcoal color granite or soapstone on the rest of the counter tops. The only photos I've seen of this look are with cabinets that are white. Would this look OK on maple cabinets or should we just go with one color. As of right now the kitchen is kind of boring an uninspiring.

Thoughts on this?

Here is our kitchen currently:


Here is what I like...only opposite

[grey56]

Would you consider painting just the island? Make it look more like a piece of furniture? I think that is what makes the two tones of countertop work well. Thoughts?

[niknik]

We had dark granite countertops and carrera marble on our island in our old house, we actually had similar cabinets and it looked nice. We did end up painting our island dark though..

[simpsongal]

I'm on the fence. I think the inspiration pic works b/c it's a classc 2-tone, black and white, which is carried through the cabinetry and other accents in the room. I think your space might look a bit disjointed. Painting the island might help - you can always do that after installation. Something else to consider - when we were picked granite the expert said the lighter the granite the less durable it is. If you put light granite on the island you might have to support the overhang with corbels.

I like the maple cabinets. The hardware makes them look rustic -- is that the look you're going for?

[raqsfam]

Feb 7, 2013 13:10:15 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

I'm on the fence. I think the inspiration pic works b/c it's a classc 2-tone, black and white, which is carried through the cabinetry and other accents in the room. I think your space might look a bit disjointed. Painting the island might help - you can always do that after installation. Something else to consider - when we were picked granite the expert said the lighter the granite the less durable it is. If you put light granite on the island you might have to support the overhang with corbels.

I like the maple cabinets. The hardware makes them look rustic -- is that the look you're going for?

You are probably right...I'm not really sure of the look I'm going for, the hardware was here when we moved in and can certainly be changed. I really just want something other than the blue laminate! From searching online I'm drawn toward the lighter granite with the maple cabinets. I think a black might be two much with the cabinets. Any suggestions for something inbetween?

I like the way this looks...

[simpsongal]

I agree re: black being too stark w/maple. I like your second inpiration pic w/nickel pulls (and I'm typically in the 'nickel is overused camp'). It's a little lighter and more glamorous, rather than rustic, KWIM? Taupey colors might be a good direction. Taupe plays well with just about everything.

I have considered using two different granites but using an expensive graphic one on the island and a more uniform one on the countertops (probably similar color families). I like that idea, particularly b/c the island is the big expanse of granite that gets the focus in the room. It's cost effective too.

[kitty]

I think it would look okay but maybe not as spectacular in a regular sized kitchen as in a huge kitchen ala everything on houzz.com. Is there any reason you wouldn't want to go with a light granite everywhere?

I would definitely switch out your hardware to something a bit lighter in feel and color. The darkness of the hardware was the first thing I noticed even before the blue laminate. Another idea would be to add some crown to the top of your cabinets. We did this to our similar cabinets and it made them look soooo much less boring. If you can find the manufacturer inside one of the drawers, you can probably just take a drawer and figure out what finish it is and order some matching crown (unless you are good at DIY matching stain colors).

[susieq]

We have black granite with darker cabinets. While it looks very nice it is a pain to keep clean. If you set anything on it it leaves a smudge. If you have children like we do this can be frustrating.

In our rental we did light butter cream cabinets with a multitone granite that was light. Some might think it is busy but I prefer that to having to clean my counter tops every time I pour a drink for one of the kids.

I will see if I can PIP for you.
Here is the rental...


I will have to dig deeper for the one of our house.

[gtkim]

We have natural maple cabinets.  We have a dark well veined granite for all of our regular counters, and a black granite for the bar top and it looks fabulous.  I agree with pp though about the black.  I'm constantly wiping it.

[raqsfam]

Thanks for the input!

[SusanBAnthony]

I tihnk a white-ish color everywhere would be beautiful, especially if you got rid of the black knobs. I love that look. Our new kitchen has similar colored cabinets, and a similar tone of granite countertop (so of beige-y). I think it is pretty boring, never going to change it, but I would never have chosen it. I wouldn't do black anywhere, just bc with the kids and with cooking a lot, I wouldn't want to keep up with keeping it clean.