I've looked at way too many kitchens in the finished kitchens blog, and I've never seen a marble island and said to myself- ohh... much too cold for that room. Now, perhaps the coldness doesn't come through in the photos? Mostly they ones I can remember have wood floors, so maybe the red tile floors make the difference, I can't say.

However, I really like the contrasting countertops that I've seen in the blog, and in the pics it never seems 'busy', it just seems 'right'. Not that matchy ones seem wrong, mind you. Still, it's the safe choice.

I personally like a different top on an island, especially wood. If I had room for an island I would have picked a different top like the pic below. I don't think it would look to busy i think it would look great. You should do what you want. Maybe someone can photoshop it for you so you can get more of a visual or take a look on the finished kitchen board, you will see lots of nice ideas.

Tina -- Don't Match!

Not because I'm against matching, but because you are right: a black countertop on your (antique) black island will just be too much in your kitchen. I (personally) adore white marble on a black countertop -- yum yum!

And I have to respectfully disagree with the tile store woman who told you that with the saltillo floor marble won't work. I think saltillos are a wonderful, warm neutral. You'll then have the antiqued black vertical plane (the antiquing makes it "warm") of your island with the marble countertop, which is just a great "punch" to the black of the island, while carrying over the white of the rest of your cabinetry. I think the marble, along with the black countertop atop the white cabs, will really marry your space.

Stick with your guns.

For what it's worth (admittedly, not worth much as I've no pictures and no countertop at present), we too shall have white perimeter cabs with calacatta countertops, a black island with a butcher block countertop and ebony-stained oak floors. I can see it in my mind and Tina, I am really excited! The countertops won't match but I trust it'll be great.

I am also excited about your space -- your backsplash is going to be so fabulous. I've always loved this kitchen because of its backsplash:
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Good luck -- trust yourself. You clearly have lovely taste!

There is something to be said for both ways, and a black with white marble is a classic combination. I suspect white marble has been done with terracotta tile floors in Europe for many years. I think a darker or redder terracotta is easier top work with than an orger one.

Now, Carrera tends to have more grey in it, and that's probably why you are hearing "too cold." But it will be on top of your black island, not right on top of the floor. You could look at white venetino, which is not as grey overall. Use your accessories to pick up the warm feel of the terracotta -- perhaps with rich and warm colored pottery or bright sunny accents.

If you are uneasy about it, you could look for a granite that is white/light green and maybe picks up some brown or black in it. It would be a way to go lighter on the island top and tie in your green basksplash tiles.

When you put the sampes together, do YOU love it?

In general I do not like the whole "island has to look different thing" except with these colors. I like really like the reverse between countertops and cabinets when it is white and black. I love the look of dark perimeter counters (personally, I'm a soapstone fan) and a marble island. I wouldn't do it in my kitchen because my island is my workhorse and I wouldn't want to baby the marble - if that's not a concern for you go for it.

I tend not to listen to people who can't see the pictures I see in my head anyway :-) My husband after x number of years is starting to see them, but for years I had to promise him to trust me, it will all come together.

I love marble, but don't have it. What I do have is a black island with a mahogany butcher block top. Been using it for 2.5 years and we don't baby it, except for the occasional oiling. We do use a cutting board.

If you're inclined toward a wood top, I think it will be great with your terracotta floors.

Have you looked through the Finished Kitchens Blog for ideas? There are so many island tops that are different from the perimeter counter tops.

Here is a link that might be useful: FKB

I wouldn't match, especially black on black surrounded by black. The marble you are considering might look too formal with your floor tile, but the wood should look great. You'll have to decide about babying either marble or wood.

We chose two different countertop materials for our kitchen, although the cabinet wood is the same throughout. We have stainless steel countertops on our perimeter cabinets, and granite on our island and a coffee bar around the corner, facing our family room.

We thought about the same issue when doing our kitchen but ended up with the same color counter on the island. Probably just to make life easier.

I think it would have looked nice either way, I've seen it both and never said, oh that should match or why does it match. We actually thought about doing the hood in the white to match the island but backed away from that.

Our matching counter island--->
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How does one access the "Finished Kitchen Blogs" ??

I went with what works for my spaces. I have perimeter counters of granite, an island work space of maple butcherblock, and a raised bar (okay, it's not done yet) of varnished mahogany. A friend had a conniption fit about 3 different materials, but others calmed me down with the "how you use it" talk. (Also 2 woods are both wood!)

What's YOUR vision?

BTW, dsommerl, finished kitchens is www.finishedkitchens.com. Check it out - it's great!

From the sounds of your vision, you have two counters in mind. black on black would be too much IMHO. Also, I agree with the other posters that saltillo tiles are a warm neutral. The red in saltillo tiles can look a lot like a warm wood floor. BTW -- are you going with real saltillo or ceramic made to look like saltillo. If you're planning saltillo, a word of advice (we had these in our house when I was a kid). Saltillo tiles can develop air pockets over time, and you can wind up with the ocassional bubble or small holes that will need to be filled in. When you fill them in, the filled in holes will show. Also, these tiles are porous, so unless you seal the tiles (not just the grout), you will get stains. We (and by "we" I mean my mom) had to reseal about every 6 months. Not sure what sealers are out there now, but the sealer we used had a sheen to it and kinda changed how the tiles looked. Also, because these tiles are hand made, they can be a bit uneven and can be harder to stand on, so you may want to invest in a gel mat for your prep and clean up areas in your kitchen (where you would do a lot of standing). That said, I have always loved the look and may go for a saltillo-look ceramic if we decide to go the tile route when we redo our floors. I think the pretty reds will be beautiful with white or cream cabs and a black island.

bump

Doesn't marble go with everything? ;-) Sort of like cashmere or simple diamond earrings. (Having said that, even though I might like to, I have none of those things...)

I think tone on tone can be elegant, but I sure don't think marble is too cold to go with the terracotta tiles. It is the contrast that gives it interest. I don't like rooms that are all warm colors...Not that black on black is warm either!

dsommerl, Click on the "FKB" link provided by wonbyherwits above to get to the Finished Kitchens Blog.

If your island will be the same color as your other cabinets
for example, all white, then use a different color. However,
if your island is a different color for example, black, use the same color on the island top as your other countertops so
as not to have too much contract. Just my two cents worth.

Carolyn

Dear Forum,

Thank you all so much for your opinions and encouragement. It really helps. (Beautiful kitchen, interj!) I know that, at the end of the day, I should have what I like -- trouble is, I have a tough time visualizing these options and my past experience with doing what I like doesn't always serve me well (ha ha -- I have made some disastrous choices!) Maybe it will be easier once the demolition is over and they've cleared the room! Then I can take a picture and mess with it in Photoshop. In the meantime, I'm trying not to have regrets about going with a black island which seems to have limited my choices and bumped my budget! But there's no turning back on that.

I do visit the Finished Kitchen blog often for inspiration, though I'm not too successful translating what I see into what I've got, if that makes sense.

Soooo, in reviewing my choices, I have:

1. Put the white marble back in the mix -- maybe the stylish lady at the tile store was wrong!
2. Consider wood -- My DH doesn't "get" this idea, so is giving it the thumbs down, but I've always loved wood in a kitchen, so...
3. Consider matching island top and counters. Maybe the black on black will not look as oppressive or weird as I imagine (am going to get some samples and put the Caesarstone next to the black cabinet finish to see the effect).

Thank you all again. I don't know what I'd do without this forum.

Tina

I always hesitate to post a photo of my previous kitchen since it is now owned by someone else. However, we had a black island with a deep charcoal/black Corian countertop on it as well as the cherry perimeter countertops. We loved it.

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wonbyherwits -

Thank you. That picture is worth a thousand words. I love it.

T