I would go with a plain quartz (honed?)...there's already enough color and texture going on...maybe a walnut color like on the little island in the picture...or if you want to keep it ligther....a honey/creamy color to tie in with the wood BS.....

Love the stove. With the array of colors you have, my gut feeling would be to go with a countertop that isn't itself a color. Something black or "reads" black.

Soapstone would be perfect. If you aren't a soapstone person, another vote here for a plain, dark gray quartz like this Mystic Black Zodiaq. It isn't shiny. Love ours.

A homogeneous granite that doesn't have a lot of movement in a light creamy color like Giallo Fantasia or a quartz like Urban Creme Silestone. I don't think I would do a black counter with red cabinets. And I LOVE the red cabinets! It's great to see you taking the suggestions for color to heart!

Beautiful backsplash - I've saved it for inspiration - I'm thinking of possibly using tiles that look like bamboo instead of pine - but like you, wondering what to use for countertop. My first gut feeling was black but then gut reaction to that was that your kitchen is a bit dark and needs lightening, perhaps - so then thought maybe a grey - see how light you can go with grey - I definitely agree with others that I don't think you need more color or pattern.
Good luck - hope you show us what you decide (or at least tell us).

Kashmir white granite, mine has little flecks that would match the red beautifully and it has sweeps of grey that have an undertone of the pale green

This may sound crazy, but you might want to look at honey onyx.

Awesome fast replies, thank you so much! Live wire: I absolutely have taken the color suggestions to heart because they're correct, there would be wayyyy tooooo much woooooddd otherwise.
I like the quartz or granite ideas and initially thought black but then, yes, it needs a bit of lightening up maybe. I'm going to check out the suggestions above.

Cool!

Cherry red cabinets, horizontal white pine wood boards on backsplash, pale green stove.

Honed white marble. A carrara white or thassos white (honed) - not the fancy shmancy polished Calacattas and Statuarys.

That was the instinctive response I had.

I have been programmed to answer, "marble countertop with white subway backsplash." Just kidding, I was thinking buttermilk Caesarstone:

Stainless, absolutely! Segues into the Chambers with no problem, looks great with red, and ties it all together.

I would not add any kind of natural stone to the number of colors and textures you have going now, it will date very quickly whereas stainless is timeless.

I second the stainless idea. I love what you are planning to do!! Can't wait to see how it unfolds :)

deedles--what era is your home and what style kitchen are you going for?

If you like the style of your 2nd photo which has a primitive/colonial vibe (and not just simply the color of cabinets) then I agree soapstone (or a non busy, non shiny black granite or quartz) is a no-brainer. A soapstone ("black") counter with red cabinets would be quintessential (1700-1800's era) Colonial.

When you're talking about knotty pine & lap siding look ("8" boards laid horizontally") for your backsplash, that sounds like you're after a more contemporary country/cottage feel? Most lap siding (as kitchen backsplashes) I see are painted and have wood/butcher block counters...Would lightening up the backsplash with paint help you "see" what countertop you'd want there? Just thinking outside the box a bit :)

Thinking about what you want your kitchen to feel like (not just look like) is important here, too. Neither natural stone (or stainless steel, which I agree would also work here) would feel as "warm" as a wood counter for example.

Just trying to offer more food for thought :)

Stainless was my first reaction without thinking too deeply.

I had stainless counters in my 1940s house and I loved them! I think they would look very cool with your incredible stove and red cabinets.

isn't there a granite that looks like marble? that is, if you want granite.

the Kashmir white granite looks good also.

There are some very interesting combos of colors in recycled glass countertops by Vetrazzo. They have a somewhat vintage vibe yet are decidedly NOT linoleum or Formica.

Here's "Alehouse Amber with patina"

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Here's "Alehouse Amber" for a lighter look but still has the amber color and the green bits

{{gwi:1577909}}

Here's "Bistro Green"

{{gwi:1577910}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Vetrazzo homepage

I LOVE Vetrazzo and thought that is what I would be putting in my kitchen until I heard/read how easily it chips...sure enough...one showroom had an island of Vetrazzo...chips and gauges everywhere...and this was just a showroom where people are shopping, imagine the daily wear and tear in a kitchen with dishes, pots, pans, etc...

Soapstone.

Need to be careful about shade matching but Jerusalem Sand

I'm saving your pic of those fabulous red cabinets.

I like soapstone. :)

I think wood counters would look fantastic.

Without reading other replies, I thought:

A black counter... granite/quartz/soapstone (I would think honed would look best for you, but I am probably biased about that)

or, if black would be too dark:

A cream counter .... likely quartz to keep the movement to a minimum.

My first gut reaction is mahogany countertops but I realize that isn't very practical.

I think slate would look nice... linking to another GW thread with many pics via boxerpups

Here is a link that might be useful: Slate Countertops

I was thinking something a little more light brown than creamy like Caesarstone Baja or Champagne Limestone.

I like the buttermilk Caesarstone posted above. I think it will let your other color shine. And its lovely.

My first reaction was some sort of white counters. Quartz or marble would work if the marble was not busy. We have Corian, in Rain Cloud, and I think that would blend well with your scheme.

Gut Reaction!
Says soapstone,

Then I read the suggestons of stainless and thought.
Wow great idea.

And Onyx. Wow, that is clever!

And Slate might be fun, although maybe to similar to the
soapstone above.

Oh dear, I am over thinking this.
~bp

I thought of checking out samples of various pale greens and blending with the range. It wouldn't be adding another color and it is on a different plane so it wouldn't necessarily compete too much either.
Look at"
Transolid Peppered Sage and Matrix Bone
Durat colors 190, 211, 610 --if available in your area.

And Zodiaq Wintergreen
{{gwi:1577917}}

Or Silestone has Yukon Blanco which is white with a green cast although it may read too yellow compared to the range
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Hanex Hydra
{{gwi:1577919}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Durat

Mackeral! Thanks so much you guys. What I like from all the suggestions so far:

1. Dark granite or quartz

2. Soapstone. Love soapstone. Wanted it for my current kitchen. Husband freaked when the 12x12 sample arrived and it weighed like 70 pounds. I think he honestly had bad dreams about finding the kitchen in the basement.

3. Cream or lighter quartz or granite.
4. The marble sounds awesome. Esp. if I changed the BS to whitewash pine. Maybe I should do that no matter what I choose? Course I worry about the staining thing...

4. onyx I love, truly love it but I'm not sure we wouldn't beat it to death. I've heard it's kinda brittle.

5. Wood counter top if the backs plash changed to a whitewashed pine instead of honey. Might go for a reclaimed heart pine or something totally awesome like chestnut or elm?
6. Stainless makes me happy since I think it would totally stand up to my abuse, always look good AND I could have an integral sink with those drainy things at the side. It seems it could either pull in the stove nicely OR maybe would it kind of make the chrome stovetop seem less groovy? Not sure.
7. The glass counters are gorgeous, but I have also read about the chipping problem. They're pretty nice to look at though.

Okay, so basically I like parts of all the suggestions thus far. Kinda leaning towards changing the backsplash to whitewashed pine, which is very creamy on the sample I have. It's really beautiful. Does that change anyone's ideas if the backsplash is a creamy white? Does sound pretty with the marble. But then wood would *wud?) be beautiful... ack!

Have to sleep now before my night shift... I'll check in later. Maybe it'll come to me in my dreams.

Oh and to answer the question of what I'm going for: basically a kinda updated, comfy rustic. Not carved black bears rustic (not that there's anything wrong with that) but more... well, upscale but still homey if that makes any sense. A touch of cottage never hurt anyone, either, IMO.
I am going for stainless fridge and DW, btw.

Soapstone.

I know you want to run the wood panels hortizontally, but if I could encourage you to think for a second about dust and water (both for cleaning and if behind the sink), splashes and where they might pile up and worm their wetness into the crevices and work their way behind the panels...

Or this one, but it was an orphan slab of unknown name - it has the red and the green in it in a delightfully gaudy manner.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qOHrK7kEEFE/TxBhKT43UVI/AAAAAAAAKYY/EZHA6P_kOoU/s640/120113-IMG_20120113_084513.jpg

Let's try that with the picture:

I say concrete. IMHO that would look fantastic. I think it would tie all your rustic features together. Concrete looks beautiful with your warm wood backsplash.

This is what i'm thinking

Hmmm. Concrete? Maybe I could find the coloration in a quartz or grantite or something in the lighter realm. Don't think I could ever get DH to go for concrete counters.
p.S. Really like the floors in that pic.

LOVE that gaudy granite!

Bmore: I currently have a beadboard backsplash run on the vertical. The counter installers put a nice bead of clear caulk between the counter and the BS but still the crumbs congregate in the beadboard grooves. I would think running it horizontally would make that problem much less. And these boards are 8" wide so the first seam would be that far off the counter. Thanks though!

I can see the beadboard painted a cream to match a cream toned quartz.

My gut reaction, without question, to the kitchen as a whole is color, color, color, which is a fantastic, eclectic way to go. The counter tops should be a solid black material, either soapstone or uba tuba granite, for example. You have lots of color on the vertical planes, so a dark color on the horizontal plane will accent and ground everything and give the colors something to play off of. I wouldn't add another color or pattern to the mix.

I think soapstone...

I tried some combos
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{{gwi:1577923}} (Yukon Blanco)
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{{gwi:1577921}}{{gwi:1577922}}
{{gwi:1577926}}(Zodiaq Coriander)
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{{gwi:1577921}}{{gwi:1577922}}
{{gwi:1577927}} (Avonite Gulf Coast)
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Thank you, Palimpset. I really like the coriander a lot. That's quartz, I think. Where did you find the red door picture?

Yes, it is Dupont Zodiaq Coriander:
{{gwi:1577928}}

And the door is A Kraftmaid Maple door in Cardinal.