I love your Bianco Antico. Could you tell me where in Canada you are?

We are in Toronto and will have off-white perimeter cabinets and a chocolate-stained dark island and dark armoire (for a pantry) and dark hutch. We too are having a terrible time trying to visualize the entire picture.

We have decided to go with Antique Brown on the dark island. I saw Bianco Antico and liked it for the light perimeter cabs. But it looked a bit grey and hubby could not visualize it. Later that day at another granite place, he fell in love with a granite called Juperana Golden Beach for the perimeter cabs. This one goes better with our HW floors which are a medium red oak colour.

So that is what we are doing. We have just tagged the granite slabs and have not yet paid a deposit for them, but I am always pining away to go back and see the Bianco Antico. Now after seeing yours, I am having second thoughts about the granite that hubby has chosen. As a granite, his choice is lovely, but my gut instinct keeps pulling me toward the Bianco Antico.

Here is a photo of the slab we saw:

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Here is the Golden Beach that DH prefers:

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Good luck with finding pictures - that is really tough and if it were possible, it would make everything so much easier (especially for us).

I'm no help with your photo request, but my sister also fell in love with BA, and I wondered how a fabricator would feel about it. The mica and crystal inclusions made the stone crumble and break apart on the samples we had...I wondered what would happen if someone used it for an island overhang, or if it would be fragile to move around the big slabs to cut and install. I'm not trying to be the voice of doom on your choice, because I truly don't know if it would be a problem or not. It seems like lots of stones have similar inclusions and are considered fine choices.

Best wishes.

we used something similar in our kitchen, called Bianco Romano. It had less movement in it, but the same colors - I wonder if it is the same thing? We were in AZ at the time, so maybe they called it by a different name there. I loved it; we had maple cabs with a coffee glaze. I have pics but they aren't too good for seeing what the countertops look like - check out the backsplash, as that is BR as well.
Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to post my pics! Can somebody help?!

Anna2006 - I live in Markham but the granite supplier is in Concord. I can see your hubby's hesitation with the particular Bianco slab you were looking at. It looks quite grey whereas the other slab you decided to go with is much more warm. I like the Golden Beach colour a lot, and we were going to go with a golden granite as well. But then we saw the Bianco Antico and were astounded by the beauty of it.

I think you just need to find the right slab. Do you like the third pic I posted (where the slab looks more swirly)? If so, it may still be available. How many slabs do you need? We reserved 4 slabs from the lot we chose but we may only need 3 as we will do a cheaper material for the counter on the "message" centre beside our pantry to manage our budget. Our kitchen's fairly large - 17x18. Let me know if you're interested and I can send you the supplier name.

redroze:

yes, it would be wonderful if you could tell me where your Bianco Antico is located.

I do prefer the first photo that you included in your post - it is absolutely beautiful! But I would like to see the slabs that are in your last photo. Although it is swirly, you only see it in 25" widths on the counters, so the "swirlies" will be split up anyway.

Thank you in advance for the info.

redroze - hopefully you will receive this message. I would love to know who your granite supplier is along with the address. I plan to go out looking one more time this Wednedsay or Thursday.

Anna_2006 - Sorry for the lateness in my reply! I actually went granite-hunting yesterday in the Concord area. I went back to Albano to see the lot that I tagged (images in my original post). The first few slabs were shipped away and I was frankly disappointed with the look of the remaining slab. It looked very different from the one in the front.

Long story short, I ended up finding an even nicer lot at Mondial. Bad news for you, is that 4 people tagged the same lot before me so I ended up getting the last two in this lot. They had another lot of Bianco Antico but it had waves.

Try the following places:
1) A&V Granite, on Keele south of Hwy 7. 70 Snidercroft. She had 2cm and 3cm slabs of Bianco Antico. They were quite nice with a very consistent colour.
2) Silverstone - They had some okay-looking Bianco Antico. They are a fabricator but have some in stock that you can look at. Can't find the card but you can google it.
3) Mondial - As I said, the nicest lot is already tagged but people including myself. You may want to look at the other "wavy" lot, or at least look at the lot I reserved from to get an idea of it. On Jane, south of Hwy 7, 215 Doughton.

I'll also post some pics in a sec.

Here is the disappointing one from Albano, from the same lot that I originally reserved. Now it always worries me when the supplier says "all slabs in the lot look the same" - SO not true!!! I don't like the sandy patches in it. If you like it though, I believe it's still available because I cancelled my tag.
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Here is the 3cm thick one from A&V Granite. Pretty nice.
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2cm thick slab from A&V Granite.
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From Silverstone. A bit pinky but okay overall.
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From the lot I reserved at Mondial. Very consistent in colour and pattern with enough variation, and so much lovelier in person. Love it!!! If you like this one, I would totally recommend going back. They have a really good selection.
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Close-up shots of the first slab from the lot I reserved at Mondial. Oh how I hope that the other slabs behind it look as perfect as this one!!! I think you and I are pining for the same inanimate object. =)

Good luck Anna!!

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Thank you soooo very much! The slabs at Mondial are truly beautiful. Actually, they all look nice and deserve a look. I agree that photos do not do these slabs justice.

I have not gone to these places. The Bianco Antico that I posted above was from New Age Stone on Creditstone (I think) - it runs parallel to Jane.

You are absolutely correct in saying that we are both pining away from the same thing. For me, it's just this gut feeling. Unfortunatley, with the many delays that we have had with this kitchen, I have been out to look at granite along Jane Street a few times over the last 4 months and my tastes have changed considerably. I started off loving granite with extreme movement, then moved onto the gold tones - Ghibli gold, Madura gold, etc. I finally took my teens out with me and they absolutely hated the golds = too orangey for them and old-fashioned. As a result of all of their input, I think that I have just learned to suppress any excitement about granite. But I have this nagging feeling that the right Bianco Antico might be perfect - elegant, quiet, understated, but still beautiful especially on light cabinets. This would look especially good in my kitchen since we want Antique Brown on a chocolate stained island, so it would end up being light on light and dark on dark.

Thanks for the names of the granite places - I am packing up the entire family and we will go on Saturday. Or better yet, I will drag them out one at a time as they finish exams this week and have some time off. I can't wait to go.

I think I went to New Age Stone. I went to so many that I lost track...honestly I wasn't impressed with the Bianco Antico there. It was too white for my tastes, too snowy (for lack of a better word) rather than warm.

Agreed. That's what I love about this granite. Elegant, cool yet warm, understated yet sparkly, with a lot of depth and character. In a word - stunning.

Good luck with your shopping. I hope your family finds a granite that you all love. My hubby and I happened to fall in love with Bianco Antico at the same time. We just had that wow moment. Although we butt heads on certain decisions, we tend to "love" the same things. Ultimately, I'd say you should keep an open mind, look at other granites, and inevitably follow what your heart tells you. You won't regret it.

I agree that the dark on dark, white on white look will look amazing on your kitchen. You may even want to consider Kashmir White for your white cabinetry.

Finally - I have to agree with your teenagers on their perceptions of the gold granites. I know taste is very subjective, and while there are a ton of beautiful granites out there, you and I appear to have similar tastes. The gold granites to me, always appear to overtake the white cabinetry so that they clash rather than compliment. That's why white or cream marble looks so nice with white wood, and of course marble is much harder to live with.

Trust your teens - the fact that they gave you that feedback shows a) They have good instincts because they are inexperienced enough to say what their gut feeling is and b) They know your taste and are trying to steer you from it. Take your husband to see one of the warmer Bianco Anticos. Hopefully it will knock his socks off.

Redroze, I was in Mondial also on Tuesday and put in an order for 2 slabs of Biaco Antico....I guess I must have been one of the ones ahead of you. I too have white cupboards, and read oak floors. A nice description on the net for this granite is "This new granite is a subtle mix of cream, bronze and silver colors in a large overall pattern. The flakes of quartz and mica in this stone give it extraordinary depth, and the combination of warm and cool tones make Bianco Antico appropriate for many color schemes. The name appropriately translates to "Antique White." also found this link http://www.marble.com/stone/Bianco,Antico,35.html

Well along with Anna2006, I too will be hoping I get a good slab and looks as wonderful as I think it will in my kitchen.

Thanks for the description Heidee! Let's cross our fingers that the entire lot has nice slabs.

Be sure to post pics too when your kitchen is done. I'd love to see them.

If you get a good deal on the bianco antico and I need cabinets in a walnut finish. Please forward them to me. I also fell in love with this granite at the home show. My kitchen is smaller. Its only 10 ft. by 5 ft. counters. Actually 8 x 5 because of the fridge and stove

What edge did you have done on your granite countertops?

Running out on my lunch hour to pay for our Bianco Antico! Ordered GE profile stainless cooktop, microwave and Delta "touch" operated faucet. Love the Blancodiamond 440179 granite composite sink (in black). Painting the kitchen cabinets black and possibly glazing them...any tips or ideas you have are greatly appreciated!

I am so excited about my new granite - I wanted to show it off somewhere!
{{!gwi}}From Kitchen-remodel

I an installing Kenmore Elite Stainless Steel, Touch2O Faucet, and a 10 deep stainless single basin sink. My cabinets are a walnut with a "fireside and chocolate" stain and glaze by Mid Continent.

My whole renovation album is here: https://picasaweb.google.com/kristi.mennenga/KitchenRemodel# ...and as you can tell we are still hammering out the floor!

I did the square edge on mine...