One more house building question for you moms...cream or black countertop?

[momee]

Large, window filled kitchen

U shaped

Tons of midday bright sunshine

Cream/mushroom colored cabinets

 

Virgnia Mist Honed granite (black)

or

creamy/brownish shiny quartz (brand and name yet to be decided on)

 

I don't like the movement of granite, so Va. Mist is my only option in granite

I'm not thrilled about the artificial-ness of quartz, all of them look so fake to me.

 

Older relatives say black will bring the eye to a stop at the countertops which I do not! want.

My younger friends say black will be so cool and farmhouseish, and that I should go for it.

 

Thoughts/experience with a dark countertop and cream/white cabinets?

[gardenmom5]

what will your floor be?

what will your backsplash be?

what are your appliances made from?

do the cabinets run to the ceiling - or are they lower?

 

 

I have dark granite (with no flow - there are many granites that do not have a flow - they also tend to cost less.) on paler cabinets.  I have travertine backsplash that goes clear to the bottom of the cupboards with a dark granite strip along the top as a contrast.  (with the very dark counters - it needs the contrast.)

 

It's okay - better since I had to replace my wood floor and did a silver mist quartzite floor tile.  I have mostly stainless appliances - and it does make a difference for pulling the visuals together.)

[hornblower]

I had white cabinets with black countertop & just a few months ago went with white on white (quartz)

I love it.

We were originally going to replace the black with black again but then I spent some time just scrolling through pages of google images & I kept coming back to a really strong preference for white on white.

I really suggest doing that & seeing what your eye gets drawn to.

[bolt.]

Black.

 

I have near-black slate countertop on my island, and with lots of light it's a really sharp look. Love it.

[Farrar]

Black seems to be the more contemporary choice these days.

[Orthodox6]

Cream. You want to be able quickly to notice any ants or roaches, as well as dark-coloured spills or crumbs. Forgive so practical an opinion.

 

Enjoy your new kitchen!

[Orthodox6]

P.S. I live in Texas, where my observation is NOT a negative comment on anybody's housekeeping.

[Arcadia]

Cream because I like to see any dirt for easy cleaning.

[Carol in Cal.]

I'd go with granite, because I agree that quartz always seems to look really fake.

But I wouldn't want black, even though it is striking, because it will make it difficult to see bugs, mold, or dirt.

I'd go with a lighter color, probably a mottled gray with a hint of gold tone in it for warmth.

Not beige ish though--ugh.

 

To avoid the appearance that you don't like, don't just order the granite.  Tell them you want to go look at granite slabs and pick yours out personally.  That is VERY common with granite, and then you really know what you're getting.

[momee]

"'I'd go with a lighter color, probably a mottled gray with a hint of gold tone in it for warmth.

Not beige ish though--ugh."

 

Mottled gray with a hint of gold?  While it sounds pretty and all those colors fit my decor (Pottery Barn-ish) I can't imagine them all together in one countertop. 

 

I'll keep all these comments in mind.  I agree the white on white (well, it would technically be mushroom on mottled gray) look sounds more my style.  I just think the black is so...i dunno...IN?

[momee]

"'I'd go with a lighter color, probably a mottled gray with a hint of gold tone in it for warmth.

Not beige ish though--ugh."

 

Mottled gray with a hint of gold?  While it sounds pretty and all those colors fit my decor (Pottery Barn-ish) I can't imagine them all together in one countertop. 

 

I'll keep all these comments in mind.  I agree the white on white (well, it would technically be mushroom on mottled gray) look sounds more my style.  I just think the black is so...i dunno...IN?

[momee]

Specifics:

stainless appliances, stained mohagany ish color butcher block on island and tad lighter hardwood floors.

[momee]

Color scheme for interiors I've been scoping out coming from alot at this website:

http://www.birchlane.com/index.php?refid=GX39778878748.Birch%20lane~e&position=1t1&network=g&placement=&device=c&gclid=COz2h4i668ACFa_m7AodyX4Acg

[whitestavern]

We have black honed granite and I love it.  We have reddish/burgundy cabinets but I think the black would look great in contrast with those mushroom colored cabinets.  I agree with PP that it's more contemporary, too. 

[Tap]

Stay with the white/cream family.

 

Modern trends are moving in that direction and you will have longer before your kitchen looks dated.

 

 

 

If you live in a dusty area or like to leave your windows open, stay away from black. 

[mom2samlibby]

We are building right now. Our kitchen will be white cabinets, dark stained island, and a cream/tan countertop (quartzite). I'm not a granite person at all, so I knew that was out. I had thought about soapstone, which I loved, but I didn't want my kitchen to be that dark. I pinned a bunch of kitchens on pinterest and then studied them and my eye was drawn to the white/white vs. the white/dark.

 

I personally like quartz, so that would have been my next choice - caesarstone buttermilk.

[cjzimmer1]

Black, nothing I find less appealing in a house than all white/pale/neutral colors.  I want to see some color!

[Liz CA]

I would not go with black anything because you can see every speck of dust on it.

[chiguirre]

Stay with the white/cream family.

 

Modern trends are moving in that direction and you will have longer before your kitchen looks dated.

I think Tap may be right about this. My house is 15 years old and has black granite counters. I like them fine and have, unfortunately, never had any trouble spotting insect intruders or spills. But, I think black may be past its prime since it was the latest thing 15 years ago. It may be the new goldenrod or avocado in another 5 or 10 years.

[Plateau Mama]

I have black granite with maple cabinets. My designer told me it was a poor choice. My cabinet guy said the combination was drop dead stunning. Every single person who has walked into my house has commented on how fabulous my counters are.

[MEmama]

We have dark brown counters (not granite) so warmer than black, and a lighter brown based granite on the island. I love the contrast with the off white cabinets and light wood floors, but it's not as stark as the black and white look. I think go with whatever makes your eyes and heart happy--we spends lot of time in the kitchen, after all, and it should reflect your style. :)

[Vida Winter]

One of my favorite colors is taupe - is that an option? Can you check out samples? If it came down to dark vs light I would go darker.

[Happy]

I've seen light colored cabs with dark granite countertops. Love them! Very sharp looking and sort of classic at the same time.

 

I agree to go to houzz or pinterest and see what catches your eye....

 

[kdeno]

I prefer quartz.  When you say your cabs are musgroom/cream do you mean they have a greyish undertone?

 

[Carol in Cal.]

You have to understand--I hike a lot in CA, home of Great Granite Mountains.

I assure you that the colors I mentioned are found in nature, all the time.

 

By greys I mean the light to dark mottled grey that is the backdrop for most granite coloration.

 

By gold, it occurs to me that  you might have pictured something shiny, which is not at all what I meant.  Rather, I meant the warm, deep goldish color that you see here and there in granite, that gives a warmth to the overall effect.  I hate the pinky beige color, and some associate that with gold. 

[kiwik]

Won't black get a bit hot in a sunny kitchen?

[lynn]

Go with what you love.  I prefer the cream over black though.  

[Ellie]

Dark floors, dark counters; light floors, light counters

[ErinE]

No black! Don't do it! It shows everything. Dust, water droplets, condensation rings.

 

Last house, I had black floors and black countertops. After cleaning, someone would walk through and the floors and counters would look dirty again.

 

Now, my house just has black countertops. I'm hoping we can renovate in a few years and get rid of them.

[VeritasMama]

Cream. You want to be able quickly to notice any ants or roaches, as well as dark-coloured spills or crumbs. Forgive so practical an opinion.

 

Enjoy your new kitchen!

See, I would a choose black so I could hide these things, lol.

 

I like contrast, so with white cabinets I would go with black quartz.

[Eagle]

What about white granite?

[Guest]

I had Giallo Veneziano 1 in my last kitchen and *loved it* because it HID minor stuff but gave a real warmth to the kitchen without being dark.  Our current kitchen has Venetian Gold and it is OK, but a little too yellow for me, but it is still a lot better than going too light or too dark, both of which show every little spill and crumb.  

 

(My previous cabs were warm birch and these ones are painted white--IKEA.  We didn't have a say in these latter ones, and while I like the cabs a lot, I would have gone with a much better choice on the granite.  That said, we also just re=did the counter in our beach house kitchen and ended up with a granite very similar to this one I don't like so much here.  But that is on top of (fairly cheapy) birch cabs, and they look 100% better with the gold-ish granite on them.  I'd look really hard at what complements your cabs and house-fashion be da***ed.)

 

[Wildcat]

If you live in a dusty area or like to leave your windows open, stay away from black. 

 

Add pollen-laden to that list. Around here, even if you keep your windows closed, in the spring that black counter top will be greenish thanks to the pine pollen and you'll be wiping them down several times a day.

 

That said, I strongly prefer granite over quartz (or any other material), so, for me, the color would be secondary to material (barring actual color like blue or green or pink, in which case material would be not even on the radar!).

[zimom]

I have black honed granite. I don't know if it is an installation issue but it looks TERRIBLE! Seams are visible. I absolutely hate it. I will never have the dull honed surface again.

[Miss Marple]

Like Carol said, go see slabs of granite in person.  It makes all the difference.  When we were building, my builders gave me options that they deemed most fashionable.  Because I'm not often a fashionable gal, I could not find anything in the samples that I liked.  So I asked them to take me to the granite supply place.  I found several slabs that I could live with, and one that I absolutely loved.  It was instantaneous "this is THE one for me".  Go look...in person.  BTW, the builders have deemed my countertops the prettiest they've ever put in and they admit that they had reservations about whether it would look good but were astonished at how beautiful they are.

 

ETA:  countertops are deep green (almost black) with black, gold flecks and a smattering of deep red flecks.  My kitchen has butter yellow cabinets on the walls and a deep red center island.  Yeah, I like lots of color :)

[Wildcat]

Like Carol said, go see slabs of granite in person.  It makes all the difference.  When we were building, my builders gave me options that they deemed most fashionable.  Because I'm not often a fashionable gal, I could not find anything in the samples that I liked.  So I asked them to take me to the granite supply place.  I found several slabs that I could live with, and one that I absolutely loved.  It was instantaneous "this is THE one for me".  Go look...in person.  BTW, the builders have deemed my countertops the prettiest they've ever put in and they admit that they had reservations about whether it would look good but were astonished at how beautiful they are.

 

ETA:  countertops are deep green (almost black) with black, gold flecks and a smattering of deep red flecks.  My kitchen has butter yellow cabinets on the walls and a deep red center island.  Yeah, I like lots of color :)

 

Your countertops sound stunning! I would love to see a photo, but I bet it wouldn't do them justice. The best description of mine are yellowy-gold and oak-brown tones with lots of black striping, black/maroon mottling, and black/maroon swirly things with shiny silvery flecks here and there. I know they sound strange, but everyone who sees them comments on how pretty they are. I love them, but it's impossible to see toast crumbs & coffee grounds on them, so once in a while we'll set a cup or plate down and hear 'crunch'. Of course, that particular feature comes in handy for sudden guests--- my counters always look clean. :tongue_smilie:

 

[Happy]

Like Carol said, go see slabs of granite in person.  It makes all the difference.  When we were building, my builders gave me options that they deemed most fashionable.  Because I'm not often a fashionable gal, I could not find anything in the samples that I liked.  So I asked them to take me to the granite supply place.  I found several slabs that I could live with, and one that I absolutely loved.  It was instantaneous "this is THE one for me".  Go look...in person.  BTW, the builders have deemed my countertops the prettiest they've ever put in and they admit that they had reservations about whether it would look good but were astonished at how beautiful they are.

 

ETA:  countertops are deep green (almost black) with black, gold flecks and a smattering of deep red flecks.  My kitchen has butter yellow cabinets on the walls and a deep red center island.  Yeah, I like lots of color :)

 

That sounds lovely. Well done on going with what you love.