I agree they both work and both have similar coloring in them, but my eye captures the darker stone since it picks up your floor color best. What are your intentions of a 'splash and wall paint color?

From your pictures as shown, I vote for using the Juperana Dark throughout. (Gosh, it's so easy to choose for somone else when shown samples. LOL)

Quick responses here! Thanks..

jejvtr: Yes, I agree that we should go with the same stone all around DH wanted to use a busy granite on the island and something else on the perimeter. I don't like that idea. That's why I suggested looking at other granite.
All appliances are SS.
Thanks for the heads up on the space between the doors. We have addressed that.

debi - The wall color is BM Adobe Beige We had to go with a light color because we didn't want to take away from the Post & Beams which are the highlight of our whole house. But I may change that later. Too many decisions right now.

As for the backsplash we haven't even touched on that yet. We DIY and figure that is something we can do later.

Thanks. That's two votes for the darker. I was leaning toward the Crema. It has a lot more of the grey to PU the apppliances.

I think the light works better with your kitchen. Compliments the floor, both cabs, stainless and works beautifully with the post and beam design. It seems to tie everything together well whereas the dark doesn't do that for me. I find the dark too heavy for the feel of your room and it appears to have an orange colour to it (monitor?).

Thanks biner. The darker one has a lot of rosey/red in it. That's probably coming out a little orangey on your monitor.
That's (3) for dark (1) for light

Love the Jupranara Dark with your woods and even your appliances. That gets my vote.

Jodi-

I love the crema...hands down. Maybe if I saw the slabs it would be easier to decide but the darker stone seems like too much organge and the ligher one picks up on your colors as opposed to adding another color? Make sense? Hey, any more photos of your kitchen, from a wider angle? I'd love to see the whole space in one photo!

My vote is for the crema. The lighter one picks up the colors in all elements of your kitchen. The darker one seems to blend best with the just the island. It does give a warmer feel, if that is what your are trying to achieve.

I vote for the dark. I like either stone with the cherry cabinets but much prefer the dark with the maple. I like more of a contrast between cabinet and stone whereas others prefer a match. I have somewhat similar but stained maple cabinets and was initially looking at a lot of creams; I ended up with typhoon green when the granite guy pointed out how a dark rich color made the cabinet color "pop". I also considered a bordeaux that looks a lot like your juparano dark. Check out Sue-b's kitchen on the FKB; granted her island is marble, but she seems to use similar colors to your choices on maple cabinets. Kind of a good compare and contrast with your selections.

They are both really nice & match in different ways. The dark looks a bit more "peachy/salmony" on my monitor...do you like that color?

I personally think the Crema is a richer looking granite, but it is hard to tell with only the small samples.

Do you get to see the slabs before you choose? Maybe that would make it easier for you. We were undecided on our granite & chose something completely different when we saw our slabs. Just a thought! ;-)

I vote for the Crema Bordeaux.

JoAnn

Light is my vote. I find the dark a little too rosey.

I definitely preferred the Crema with the island, but when I saw the other cabinets I wasn't so sure--I thought the Juparana might look a bit better. Not much help, huh? If I had to choose just one, it would probably be the Crema.

Of course, as others have said, it depends on the look of the entire slab.

This is like a horse race..... Crema is ahead by one .....

slc2053 - I will try to get some over-all views. It's such a mess!! But ya'll understand what it's like.

jt562 - The dark jupranara is actually more of a mauvy/pinkish color. I'm not crazy about it. That's why we are having the vote. A he said/she said thing going on here. We did look at the slabs. Each one is different.

JoAnn - The Crema is definately a rich-looking granite...which is part of the problem. Our house is a timber frame and gives a more rustic feeling rather than rich, but I still love the Crema.

japper - I will check out sue-b's kitchen, thanks.

Keep those votes coming!!

Another vote for the dark. It looks more homey. The lighter one looks like a more elegant granite to me.

After looking at your second set of pics I'm going to vote for the Crema. I think it works better with the island.

I vote for the Crema, especially since you aren't in love with the darker stone.
The rosy color is nice if you really like it, but I think staying more neutral is wiser if you aren't positive.

THE darker color is richer looking, imhop

Rather than vote, I'll include a 'visual' so you can see Crema
Bordeaux with natural maple cabinets and stainless appliances. My floor is Brazilian cherry.

I personally feel the contrast between the Crema and maple cabinets is sufficient. I/we couldn't make a decision on a tile back splash so we chose to have 6" granite backsplash, and just painted above it.

another vote for the darker one

OH I LOVE the Crema!!!

Isn't it funny that so many think the other one provides more contrast. I think the Crema does and yet picks up the colours without blending in as much as the Juparnara.

Love your timberframe!!! That said; the Crema is my favorite too.

Great contrast with the dark island and a beautiful compliment to the maple. Happy decision making!!!

There's obviously a lot of interest in this thread. I hope you'll post back and let us know what you decided. And, of course, post pictures when it's been installed.

my vote is for the darker one by far - no contest

I vote for the Crema. I think it will look better, by far on the cherry island and just fine with the maple cabinets. I dunno, I think people are missing all the colors in the crema when they vote against the "light" one. It's not so white that it will wash out the room, IMO and I think it will really show off the cherry island; it manages to both contrast and pick up some of the same colors at the same time. I think the juparana is going to look samey, yet not quite match that island, if you know what I mean.

C'mon everybody, support a sister! She really wants the Crema! ;-)

Tough decision here. I don't think you can go wrong with either stone. I find them both beautiful and interesting. I do like the darker one when shown next to your floor, but the crema next to the island. The "cherry" color of wood brings out the burgundy colors in the stone. We considered Crema, and one of the reasons was how great it looked next to the stainless appliances. If you are worried about "busy-ness", does the Crema seem less busy than the juparana because it is lighter? Maybe think about your cannisters, towels and other accessories. Will one granite be more versatile?

I vote for crema

I prefer the Crema.

Thanks so much to all...but it is as close as the Presidental election is turning out to be. Right now Crema pulls ahead at 13 and Juparana 9. We are supposed to go to the granite yard on Fri. Hopefully it will be a sunny day and we can see all the choices.

It is very interesting to hear the various interpretations of the colors.

Ashlander: Thanks for the visual. Your Crema looks like it has a lot more black than the ones we saw. Maybe it's the lighting. I also like that the Crema has touches of grey.

Sandsonik: You have picked up on the colors in the Crema. In reality it has more tan/brown that does not show up on the sample piece. That's what ties it into the cabs.

tamjo44: It IS a tough decision...one that can't be reversed and one that we have to live with, hopefully, for a long time. I am listening to the comments about the warmth and homeyness of the Juparana and that keeps returning to my thoughts. I do want our home to be warm and inviting. OH DEAR!! Please be sunny Friday.

Of course I will keep you all posted, but don't stick around waiting. This is a slow- moving project because we are DIY'ing our TF home. I've posted a link to pics of the house to those of you that are interested. There aren't too many of the kitchen yet. I will add more later.

Here is a link that might be useful: Timber Frame

I have crema bordeaux in my master bath and coffee bar area, and Ashlander's pic is representative of the stone. I love it and think it's one of the prettiest granite slabs I've seen! I wouldn't really call it light. It has a lot of cool tones with the greenish blue and it also has warm tones, mine has some red running through it. I love the "quartzey" parts and it also has quite a bit of peach/tan tones in it. Hopefully you will get to pick your own slab. Good luck, the crema gets my vote!

Amy

Love how this thread is generating lots of opinion
Another thought.....
I would request your fabricator hone samples of both stones - very often the take on a totally different look - and with your setting it may add a nice dimension

good luck

I am casting another vote for the Crema. I think the pink in the other is just too much.

LOVE the crema.

Flowerchild -- I've been "lurking" and taking in all the information on this forum bc I'm getting ready to attack my 1986 kitchen. The pictures of your house made me join - I had to tell you how much I love the beams, pegs and attention to details. It's going to be just gorgeous! Nice scenery too. Posting this note from Houston so I'm drooling over the snow... Oh yes, and I vote for Crema, a good balance and it pulls together all your colors well!

My daughter has crema with her spice maple, which I love. I have lightly stained maple cabinets and the Crema would look really good with my cabinets. I have Costa Esmeralda (I am a greenie), but I would certainly be happy with Crema. However, I think the Juperana Dark was very warm looking. You will be living with your granite for a long time so I suggest you select a granite that will wear will and that you will not tire of.

YAHOOO!! Crema is in the lead. I hope everyone is being honest with their choices...Please don't vote for Crema just because I LOVE it!! I have noticed many posters use LOVE when speaking of the Crema. Believe me it does grow on you. I can't walk by W/O touching it.
On the other hand the Juparana does give me a fuzzy, warm feeling but it sort of blends in with everything else.
Sure hope we get to the granite yard on Fri.

jules: WELCOME to the Forum. Great people here. Thanks so much for the compliment on the P&B and "detail". I don't know if you have read other posts but you might be interested to know that we are DIY' ing most of the house. The kitchen is total DIY, except the granite of course. I've been waiting for this kitchen for two years. We are so close.....I have to keep DH focused on this...

Another vote for Crema ... I think it has enough dark & light in it to compliment both the island and perimeter cabinets!

By the way, one word of advice I got when chosing my granite, was not to look at it in full sun light. Why? Because you don't have "full" sun in your kitchen. You usually have indirect sun in a house, maybe a couple of spot of direct light, but mostly not. It'll look a little different in the direct sun than it does in indirect sun. Just a thought.

Christy

If you are only going to do one stone, I would do the crema. I like the JB with the island, but not with the maple. I also like the idea of the crema on the maple adn a black on the island. I know you said you only wanted one stone and I'm being a troublemaker, but black on the cherry would be very rich.

We are not going to the granite yard today...yukky weather. Not a good day for granite viewing. I'm disappointed.
But at least we will get the rest of our cabinet hardware on today...that's good.

Since you didn't go and choose one or the other yet, I'll add my vote for Jupenara Dark because I see your kitchen as warm and happy. I love the movement in the stone and think it will be easier to take care of. I also think the entire combination is something you'll never get tired of.

We are having our granite countertops installed tomorrow so you know I've been where you are now. We picked Bianco Napoleon but our kitchen is black and white with parquet floors. Hope ours works as well as I think it will. Good luck to us both.

I will also add my enthusiastic vote for the Jupranara--I'm so enthusiastic that I think you should count my vote twice :)! My SIL has it in her kitchen and it is absolutely FABULOUS. When she showed me the sample she had picked, I was shocked. I thought it was weird and pinky and couldn't believe she had chosen it. She said, "Wait until you see a big piece of it." Boy was she right! It is stunningly gorgeous and, in fact, it has become my favorite thing in her whole house. People hang around it and want to touch it. It's so warm and inviting--and I don't even like granite. Her colors are similar to yours, although her cabinets are lighter. I think it would be just wonderful in your kitchen.

These two choices are so different that you really need someone with photoshop expertise to make a mock-up for you to get the feel better.

Flower
Sometimes "yucky" weather is conducive for stone viewing
1. You will get better/quicker svc
2. Bright light is not a good rendering of the light in your kitchen - good Photography is typically taken either at dawn or dusk

Also, wonder if you considered requesting the stones to be honed for samples

good luck

holligator: I feel your enthusiasm for the Juparana. It IS beautiful in the whole slab...It is warm and that is the feel we want...It is a tough decision. The Crema does have more of the gray to tie in with appliances and it is a beautiful match for the Cherry island.

jejvtr: Yes, I would think it would be better to see the slabs when the sun isn't glaring but it poured rain all day. The granite yards are only open till 4 or 5 weekdays and only till 12 or 1 on Sat. It's annoying because when does the average working person get to go? Can't take off work to shop. And weekends are so busy especially if you're building a house. We are going to ask for honed samples. I can't wait to get this part done!!

Thanks to everyone for your opinions.

I JUST had crema bordeaux installed 2 days ago. The stone sample you have was one of the choices. But higher up in the numbers where I went, were the richer colors - the gray shows but so do the other colors. Put is this way, my stones are numbers 20 and 20. When I went backwards in the numbers I saw "your" color at around 12. My stone actually turned out to be quite neutral. I have put every color and pattern of odds and ends from my old kitchen and it all looks surprisingly GREAT. There is a lot of salmon, red-cinnamon and a rustic orangey-gold (very toned down - not bright or shiney, like a butternut colored cinammon gold, if that makes sense). My cabinets are very rustic and the slabs I chose really marry the prettiness of the stone (which is gorgeous)with the rusticness of my kitchen. Since the colors in the stone stand out a little more than your sample stone, the gray is basically the background. It is ever soooo pretty in my kitchen. EVERYONE, even the stone installers were amazed! You may want to ask around to see the darker or more colorful Crema. I would post pics but not quite there yet.

Best of luck with your choice. Your pics look great by the way!!

gng

gng ; Thanks. I will be looking for your granite pics. There were many slabs at the yard when we went. I hope they are still there when we go back.

I'll post soon - maybe the weekend. The other contractors need to finish up some details and of course the new things I've decided i can't live without. Good luck when you go shopping!!

I vote for the Juparana Dark, to me it looks warmer with the two colors of cabinet.

Crema B. for sure. I don't see too many accessories/decorative items that will pop with the reddish hue of the dark one. Good luck and post photos of whatever you choose.

I vote for the Juparana. I love how it picks up both the floor color and the island color. It is a beautiful stone. Our granite is Medura gold but an unusual lot that has TONS of color....the same hues as the Juparana you've shown only in fine veins. I'll try to post a picture when they are done installing (which they are doing right this moment.).

Go with the Crema. The Juparana might isolate your island and might look odd. Crema ties everything together.

Wow...it really goes back & forth, doesn't it?

I was checking in to see if you decided yet or not.... ;-)

Yes, it does go back and forth. We are supposed to go to the granite yard on Mon. if they are open. I sure hope a decision is made. DH likes to think, and think and thiiiinnnnk again. I usually look until I see what I like when I see "IT" then it's difficult to get me to change my mind. That goes for anything I shop for.

jt562: I will keep you all posted.

mpwdmom: I have been thinking of accessory colors too and I agree with you. The Crema has more interesting colors to pull from. The darker wine color in the Crema has a grapey tone to it that I like. Not really burgandy more very dark grape which I could see some nice greens with for a contrast. The J. Dk. has black, tan, or rust as possible decor colors. Not very original.