oops - I dont' know how to edit my message,...was trying to say that I think I am NOW between baltic brown and tropic brown granite and have dropped the idea of quartz.

Hi there! I looked at your cabinets with the granite choices you have. I have just finished my search for granite and I have seen many slabs of both Baltic and Tropic Brown as I looked through the yards. I must admit, I really dislike Baltic brown. I do not like the "pattern" of it, or the color.

Of the two choices, I would choose Tropic. My friend just put in a kitchen of Tropic Brown with ivory glazed cabinets and it came out very nice. The color is warm and the pattern on the granite is subdued.

If you just decided against quartz, does that mean you have just looked at granite? If so, maybe you might want to consider looking around a bit more. If you really want to love your granite because of the island being a main attraction, there are so many beautiful stones to choose from that you might find something that you really, really love!

I'm with abfabamy... I am not a fan of Baltic Brown. The Tropic Brown is just ok to me. Personally, I would continue to search a bit more.

Neither. Both are too close to the color of the cabinets to accent them. And ever since I had a customer who commented about Baltic Brown that it looked like "bacteria under a microscope" I've never looked at it the same.

Look at much lighter counters like St. Cecilia or much darker ones like Tan Brown. Either would go with your maple much better.

i agree with mercy and greenD. keep looking, there are so many better options out there.
bring a door cabinet with you to put up to the granite slabs.
you will know when you find it because you won't want to ask anyone their opinion, you will just know!!!

best of luck!!

Neither. We had Baltic Brown in our pre-renovated kitchen and I disliked it a lot. The pattern was very busy and portions of it reminded me of mold.

When we renovated six-something years ago, I feel like Tropic Brown was everywhere for a while. It's also very busy but with a small pattern. It's just not beautiful to me. It's nice and just kind of a safe neutral busy choice. I feel like I see it in a lot of commercial spaces which makes it not special. It's also very brown given your other selections.

I think there are far too many other beautiful countertops out there to choose from. I'd keep looking.

I actually really like Baltic Brown, but I think I am definitely in the minority (and not just based on comments here). But no matter how much I like it, I agree with GreenDesigns that it isn't going to do you cabinets any favors. I think you are going to end up with a case of clashing neutrals.

Hmm..OK - so I know I don't want light, but I also don't want black. What is is low cost category and yet medium in color? I am also not looking for a "fancy" high end look - so I don't want big marble-like swirls.

You have a cabinet door sample, take it back to the granite yard and hold it up to all the slabs that appeal to you... even the ones that don't necessarily appeal to you. Sometimes those are the ones that will surprise you and you will love.

That's what I did. I also looked at tons of kitchen pics which helped me know what kind of "look" I wanted for my kitchen. But just walking around with the sample will help you narrow it down.

ALSO...get what you love! If you like Baltic Brown/Tropic Brown, don't let us talk you out of it! There are so many beautiful stones out there, I'm sure you will find the right one for you...have fun with it!!

When I was looking for my granite I surfed the web for whatever color I was looking for such as browns and then you only had to look at those online. I was interested in beige and light browns for my light cabinets and ended up with Ivory Silk granite, love it! : ) It helped a lot. I have tropic brown in a shower surround and don't really like it. It seems a little lifeless. I don't know if you have looked at Cafe Imperial sometimes called coffee brown granite but it's a pretty one. It's in the brown category but has interesting characteristics. Definitely not busy. Good luck!!!

I think your kitchen is going to be lovely.
Baltic brown can be very pretty.
However if you are still not sure here are a few
other ideas that might look nice with your
cabinet choice.
~boxer

Baltic brown

tan brown

copper canyon

golden valley

coffee brown (notice how different with a darker cab)

another baltic brown image

Juparana Aradis

antique brown

desert storm

beaches

Yellow River

Golden brown beaches

Golden noir

Giallo Venzeiano (looks like baltic brown to me)

Verniz Tropical

Lapidus

We have maple Kraftmaid cabinets in our kitchen. We have the Praline finish with mocha highlights. One of the granites I first considered was tropic brown, but DH didn't like it. He really wanted dark granite, and I was partial to light, so we compromised with a granite that is mostly dark, but has some light areas and also has some colors that complement our cabinets. I wanted a "warm" dark granite. This is what we went with:

Our granite is called Copper Gold and it's my favorite thing about our kitchen!

When I was looking at Tropic Brown, I noticed that some of the slabs were on the brown side, and some leaned more towards an orange color. Just something to keep in mind while you're looking! :-)

I understand your dilemma. I was looking for a level 1 or level 2 when we designed our kitchen. I originally chose Giallo Napoleon for my kitchen and Tropic Brown for my master bath. After switching vendors, I felt like I was being pushed into going with Giallo Fiorito which looks alot like the Baltic Brown pattern. I was against it, but wanted to stay within a certain budget. I went to a stone yard with several hundred patterns of slabs and spent hours looking with my cabinet door in hand. I ended up choosing the Giallo Fiorito.After seeing the whole slab of it, I fell in love. It wasn't what I had in mind in the beginning, but once I saw all the other choices and realized that a leval 1 granite performs the same as a any other level of granite, I am more than pleased with my decision. Go with your gut, you will make the right decision.

Here is a pic of the Giallo Fiorito in my kitchen. It resembles the Baltic Brown, and I've never thought it looked like bacteria or mold. I'm a biology instructor and grow plenty of cultures of both in Microbiology. However since reading the responses, I'll probably look at it differently! LOL!

Thanks for all the thoughts and pictures. I have been looking at slabs around town. I am actually not finding much more to add to my list because I don't want light or gold or peach. I haven't seen a slab of coffee brown/cafe imperial but I am interested in that - hopefully will still see it. That copper gold is really cool - haven't seen that either. I am going to bring my husband and I am really hoping something inspires him and we can go from there!