Oh, the walls are NOT yellow!

Personally, since it seems to be a compact space; I'd prefer the whole kitchen in superwhite. If the pic is a representation of your floor, I think that would look really great.

Here is me picking through the window at the floor color :)) they should apply something else tomorrow so it will get a bit darker

thank you for your opinion! here is the whole space

and the ceilings are 9 ft where the kitchen is and 10 ft where the big windows are

I don't know about the granite but I have a farmhouse sink and a stainless prep sink and it doesn't look strange at all.

I personally would not mix those two counters. I love both of them but not together. Actually I think I would do one counter with your layout. As for which one, I really wanted to do superwhite with my white cabinets but every sample I brought home etched. Most GWer's seemed to warn me of its non practicality in a kitchen. Although there are many who have used it...hopefully they'll weigh in on its durability. But maybe you don't cook much or have family members who don't clean up after themselves like I do!

So basically, my opinion is one counter and either would look great. I don't think mixing sinks would be an issue.

Agree with keeping the counters the same. If the 'island' were out in the middle like an island usually is maybe not, but since it runs from the wall I'd pick the same.

Totally can't help myself so forgive me for touching on layout, but do you really want that little sink right next to the stove? I could picture ending up hating that being in my way really quickly when I'm trying to spread out and cook, esp since the clean up sink is on the other side. Have you considered going with one sink since your space is smaller?

lcskaisgir, etching or staining? my husband would go nuts if it stains! We are considering honed so you can't see etching that muchâ¦I actually LOVE marble and i love how it stains and etches (i am crazy, i know), but my husband hated it so i thought super white would be a good alternativeâ¦

deedles, i thought i really really needed the small sink, but now that everybody says its a bad idea i am having doubtsâ¦.But how do i drag every pot to the stove and back to the main sink and don't ruin my hardwood??? The pot filler is not an option anymore, we just don't have time to move the pipesâ¦i can only close the pipes and don't do anything there at allâ¦.its either 2 sinks or 1â¦
and also, the two 12 inch cabinets together do not make sense if i remove the sink :(

I think i'll do positive reveal granite and order custom size wood board so it can fit "inside" and can stay there when sink is not in useâ¦

This post was edited by YuliaO on Wed, Jan 8, 14 at 23:22

I would do one granite (I'd pick the Jet of the 2 with the white cabinets) and get rid of the prep sink. It's not that far to your main sink and I think you'll regret the lack of landing space on either side of the stove. Those spots are constantly used when I'm cooking.

Our hardwood floors are 103 years old and there is no path worn anywhere; I really wouldn't worry about that. Not to mention you'll probably have some sort of mat or rug that will protect quite a bit of that floor.

Mentally walk through prepping and cooking a meal and think about where the cutting board will go, the spices, the utensils, the olive oil, the potholders, where will you want to hurry up and set down a hot dish from the oven? That really helped us think about where to put things.

I would definitely get a sample of the superwhite slab and bring it home to test. The etching was pretty bad on all of the pieces I brought home (which was a lot because I was adamant I would find one that didn't cuz I loved it so much). People that are knowledgable in this area have said that superwhite is actually a marble and is usually mislabeled. Actually one stone yard I visited starting labeling it as marble after having labeled it as a granite for a long time because they found it to behave more like a marble. Most others labeled it as a granite or quartzite. I do believe that my samples also stained with red wine. Good luck!

I think it would look funny doing 2 different counter tops in your space. Like the others said, I'd test out the superwhite b/c some times they mislabel it and it's really a marble and not quartzite. There are other threads from some geologist that talks about that on this forum.

I think that sink is a bad idea, too. And in a really bad spot. Think about cooking - a person is constantly putting things down next to the stove - utensils, boxes of rice/pasta/whatever. You won't have room for that - even with 12 inches before the sink you'l constantly be knocking things into the sink. I think if you got rid of that small sink, you'd find yourself prepping almost completely in that lovely expanse of counter top to the left of the stove.

And what will be dripping all over? The space between the two counters it, what, 3.5-4 feet? It's 2 small steps. You fill the pot, turn and put it down. You finish boiling the pasta/eggs/potatoes, you turn, take a step, and dump it into the sink. My sink is 42" to the left of my stove. I never (well, extremely rarely! :) ) spill anything on the counter? And maybe you wash some veggies. You either put them on the cutting board and turn to the other counter, or you chop them right next to the sink then turn and drop them in the pan on the stove. Either way they are on the cutting board? There are TONS of people who have a prep sink behind them on an island and use only that - they have no sink next to the stove.

All that said, are the cabs already ordered? If yes, can you move the stove down and put a 12" cab on either side of it? Seems that shouldn't be hard and would require little to no changes for the stove wiring/venting?

AND, I'd go with one color. Honed black will show a lot of fingerprints probably, and super white etches (though maybe not so bad since it would be honed). I personally love super white!

get rid of the little sink and use one type of countertop, same reasons as state above...

that little sink looks sooo in the way of "busy work", would annoy me...

definitely need one type of counter, kitchen would have no cohesion at all, and i personally would pick something else completely....not a fan of super white in looks and durability...& jet mist is just so-so..but out of the two, i would go with JM

i do like the idea of a honed granite since your cabs will be shiny...

KathyNY76, the cook top can't move over because the venting is already in place.

That said, YuliaO, have you considered doing an asymmetrical vent hood so that you can move the cook top over? Something like this very sharp-looking set-up perhaps:

[Industrial Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/industrial-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2113) by Berkeley Architects & Designers WA design

Of course, cost could be an issue but it's doesn't cost anything to inquire what is possible.

Count me as another vote for one counter choice only. I love Super White, too, but a local supplier told me they stopped carrying it because the shipment they got etched so I had to cross it off my list. For now. I'm hoping that by the time we get around to remodeling our kitchen, there will be a new batch, perhaps from a different source, that won't etch.

THank you for all your opinions! I really appreciate all your inputâ¦

we've decided to go with all super white! I am so excited, i had to fight my DH a lot, he loves black countertops. But i won, yea!

Still keeping the prep sink ha ha :)) I am really curious to see what i say in 2 months - "well, all those people were right, damn it!!" or "i am so glad i didn't listen" :) :)

I have a plan of making a board that fits into the sink and is the same level with countertops, it can stay closed if i need the space. Also, we have 36 inch BS range top with griddle in the middle, and that part can work as landing space, as well.

Lisa_a, i loved the idea of a hood like this one! but my DH said he does not like it at all :(

Yay, glad you're getting your Super White!

I had an idea that might help you test out whether a small prep sink will work or not. Find a plastic bowl or tub in the approx size and shape of the sink you'll be able to fit into a 12" cab, drill an appropriately sized drain hole in the bottom (I think someone posted sinks this small would have something like a 1.5" drain hole,) and fit a piece of PVC pipe into it. You'll need to caulk it to seal it. Then put it in a sink or over a bucket, pour a pot of water into your mock-up sink as if you were draining pasta water or a pot of boiled potatoes and see how well it works. Or doesn't. It's not going to be fool proof dry run (er, uh, wet run, haha), obviously, but if the mock-up doesn't work well, it's likely a good bet the real thing won't either.

btw, our pop-up tent camper has a small sink in the kitchen area, and after the first few mishaps, I learned to pour a pot of water very slowly to keep water from splashing all over the place. The sink is wider than a small prep sink, its depth is similar to the depth of old SS sinks. In other words, shallow. That's my experience with small sinks. YMMV.

Was about to suggest that if you HAVE to have the small sink, go with a fitted cutting board for it--do realize that you need a positive reveal in it if you're going to get it to be exactly level with the granite. SOMETHING has to support the wood, it doesn't just hold itself up. And pick your faucet carefully, you don't want something that's always in your way & can't be swiveled away or whatever.

In my current kitchen i have small double sink, and the smaller bowl is about 8 inches, so for the couple of days i was testing itâ¦I would not want it as my only sink of course, but should be good enough for small tasks. I will make sure to report back when we finally move inâ¦

meganmca, i was just reading about positive reveal! i am going to call my granite guy and ask if they can do that..

I read your other thread and what got me was when one of the kitchen designers pointed out the 1.5" drain! Whoa! It's not the sink size but the drain size! I'd definitely do what Lisa suggests. The other thing I didn't understand was why you feel your big sink is too far away. I don't know your aisle widths, but it appears you can just turn and take two or three steps. That's good counter space you're wasting to save three steps.

You said:

i thought i really really needed the small sink, but now that everybody says its a bad idea i am having doubtsâ¦.But how do i drag every pot to the stove and back to the main sink and don't ruin my hardwood???

I really don't understand what the hardwoods have to do with it at all. A kitchen floor is going to get wear and tear regardless.

In a modern kitchen I would not even consider mixing countertop materials. But maybe that's just me. I think you could go either way really. Have you looked at a sample of the super white with the Ikea cabinets? IF the white in the super white looks good with the Ikea cabinets, I might go that route because I'm a huge sucker for super white quartzite. I also have a bathroom with white cabinets and marble countertops and I love that combination of white and gray.

Why not do a gray/silver siligranit sink if you do super white? I think black would look a little odd, kind of a black hole.

This post was edited by pricklypearcactus on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 10:47

I guess we all post here looking for input so my input is yay! for the one color counter and BOO to that prep sink. But, of course, I've had lots of suggestions for things that I discarded, but have to say I pay attention to GW when there is an overwhelming consensus against something functional. Or glaringly un-esthetic (is that a word?)

If you really decide to keep the sink and cover it, can you at least get a wall mounted faucet that can swivel flat? That faucet sticking up out of the counter 12" away from your stove will be a giant PIA in short order. Am I hearing you say that you really wanted a pot filler in the stove back splash that you now can't have there? Why not have a wall mount pot filler next to the stove that can reach to at least the outside back burner and forget the hole in your counter (sink)? Like this:

[example one[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/wolf-range-and-sub-zero-refrigeration-traditional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~618877)
[example two[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/customers-new-kitchen-sink-area-traditional-kitchen-philadelphia-phvw-vp~846389)
[example three[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/the-traditional-cook-traditional-kitchen-detroit-phvw-vp~1131119)

This post was edited by YuliaO on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 23:25