Welcome!

I'm not all that good at recommending stone by name, but I do know AWESOME. Can you get a sample?

Regarding busyness--something I have in spades in my own kitchen--sometimes more is more. That is, putting something calm with something busy creates more tension than putting something busy with busy, and tension is the part of busyness that people shy away from. A certain amount of tension is good, but you need resting places when you have it. OTOH, when you have a lot of busyness, it kind of all melds together like white noise, and you actually have less tension and less need for a rest.

Weird, huh?

That's all a convoluted way of saying try your AWESOME granite before you dismiss it, and don't over think it. If you like the way it looks, go for it, rather than worrying that your mother-in-law or the neighbors or someone will judge you for it.

OMG! First I have to say I love your dogs!!!!! They are so sweet. :)

What about Antique Pearl from Zodiaq? It's light, gray based but will pick up warmer colors quite simply. It's one of my favorite by Zodiaq- seems to just go with everything.

I am struggling with counter tops too. You'll find TONS of advice and I am sure you'll be well on your way soon!

Plllog, great advice, thanks! I especially like the part about going for what I want and not worrying what the neighbors think. :)

Dmwbcc, thanks. We're quite fond of our little doggies too. :) Antique Pearl does look like a great color choice for us. I will definitely get a sample.

Thanks for the welcome too!

Pugrolls-

I would suggest that you keep an open mind in your search, and look
at all possible products (Natural Stone, Quartz, "Green", Solid Surface,
and Laminate)
Since your DH likes/loves to cook (me too!) - your countertops will
be exposed to a lot of substances that could stain or effect the "look"
of the tops. You are really doing yourself a lot of good by coming
here to GW for advise and opinions - just remember that YOU have to
be IN LOVE with the product that you settle on - and YOU will see it
every day - just like your DH - so in a sense - you're looking to
"marry up" with another "member" of the family - OK - an in animate object
YES... but still - you WILL see it every day, and you'll need to LOVE "it" -
does that make sense?

I myself am partial (for my OWN personal use - mind you) to Natural Stone -
God made it (forget this "mother nature" crap) and God does REALLY GOOD WORK -
so FOR ME - it's Natural Stone....

That said - there's TONS of Granite species that you can consider - you've
rattled off some good ones - but here's another thought - since your DH
will be giving your countertops "their and YOUR money's worth" and presuming
that you are still leaning towards Natural Stone/Granite - have you considered
a Textured or Honed finish as opposed to Polished?

this may be something for you to consider - in light of the specifications
and performance requirements you're looking for in your countertops.....

If it's Marble you want - there's Danby, Cararra, Calacutta, and Soapstone too.

I did a podcast on Marble in Kitchens - you might want to check it out to
see if you are still a good candidate for Marble....

hth

kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Naturalstone101 Podcast - Marble In Kitchens?

Pugrolls-

In your search for a Fabricator - (Since you are in the Pacific NortWest) -
there's some guys that you will want to contact that are members of the Stone Fabricator's Alliance - they are all top quality guys and will treat you right....

Depending on where it is you live - I may know "who's in your neck of the woods"

There's a link below that will pull up a map of the world, and you can
zoom in on where you live and see who in the SFA is near you - to contact

hth

kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Stone Fabricator's Alliance Map

Such cute dogs! Look at the character on their little faces. Just want to give them hugs.

I love, love, love bianco antico. I'm not a big granite person. Prefer marble or soapstone. But when I saw bianco antico in person, I just wanted to lick it. The caramel flecks in it were literally so yummy. Did you try a sample with your cabs?

Pickle2:

Have you ever seen Mascarello? OMG - it's like MY PERSONAL FAVE!!!

to me - it's "Oh Baby, Oh Baby... Ohhhhh BABY!!!!!"

Delicatus. I think its amazing with darker cabinets.

One does wonder about your poor dogs when you have a user name like pugrolls... Somehow, all I think of is pigs-in-blankets.

I guess I've been here annoying everyone long enough now that I can say welcome, too! ;) It feels like I've been here a year when it's only been a month or so I'm guessing! I'm in the NW too (Pdx).

I know there's something gross about suggesting that which one plans on getting (or has) herself, but oh well: stainless? It looks almost white at times, but doesn't stain.

When my contractor suggested it my first reaction was no no no way. Will look too modern in my 1913 house, will scratch or dent too easily, will look cold and uninviting. Then as I started researching and looking in magazines and reading online comments, I completely changed my mind. It's pretty cutting edge right now IF it's not in an uber modern house (if the kitchen has a more classic design)...as are zinc and pewter countertops. But even if it goes out of style later - as all things do - it can't, really, cause it's too useful and all chefs use it. If you get a good quality 14 gauge steel, it's VERY unlikely to dent (I've had an 18 gauge cheap on atop our portable island which has taken a LOT of abuse for going on 8 years now I believe, and it's fine - and we have 3 boys! We have an extra identical top still unopened in cardboard (long story) in our garage, so we thought we'd just abuse the one on there now since we can, and it looks great, after years of scratching and the occasional dummy cutting on it. I don't usually bother polishing it up but when I do, which simply requires drying with a towel as opposed to leaving wet after going over with a sponge, it has a beautiful glossy glow - and shockingly WARM - not cold. Maybe it's cause it has a higher nickel content as I've read many do. Most of the time I just leave it w/ the more matte look. Because it's stainless it's not seen as a color by most - it just sort of blends in, in a noncommittal way...hard to describe. Also if you're tough on it like we are, all the little scratches become one big scratch over time (I guess like a patina) and besides, just sorta buff out. Also hard to describe but you definitely don't look at it and see scratches.

So we're about to have stainless put in for our new countertop - along w/ a farm sink and old fashioned faucet to go with our original old cupboards, and in order to avoid having TOO much stainless (as well as to continue to mentally draw people back in time), the island's top will be replaced with wood. Or one could do marble which also looks great w/ stainless near by. We're having marble 2x6 subway tile (mostly white looking without a lot of veins) for the backsplash. What's also encouraging is that everyone who's gone this route absolutely raves about their stainless and has no regrets. :)

So my long-winded point is that it looks GORGEOUS w/ dark cupboards, and isn't too dark or too grey, as one might think. It's ideal to prepare food on (obviously) and it cleans up beautifully. It's low-mainteanance and isn't overdone (in appliances maybe but not for countertops), and it goes with pretty much everything. The only thing I'd avoid is doing all your surfaces in stainless. I'd pick something else for other parts - or at least the island.

Here's an example with cherry, even though it's just a cheap island:

http://www.faucetdirect.com/home-styles-9100-1072-home-styles-create-a-cart-with-stainless-steel-top-on-medium-cherry-cabinet/p992860?source=shz_992860

And here's an example of how it looks almost white sometimes:

http://www.faucetdirect.com/home-styles-9001-0072-home-styles-cuisine-kitchen-cart-with-a-stainless-steel-top-on-medium-cherry-cabinet/p992834?source=shz_992834

Scroll down here to see a pic or two of a dark wood kitchen w/ stainless:
http://diamonfusionomaha.com/pdf/betterhomes.pdf

Here are some pics of darker cabinets w/ stainless, however this person went for a more modern look which you'd just have to see past if you're going for a more traditional look (if you wanted less modern, you'd probably not have it become part of the backsplash and you'd have your pulls/knobs be of another material, for example):

http://picasaweb.google.com/tofudog415/KitchenRemodel#5224598759990234850

And finally, this is one of my inspiration pics (my cupboards are white):
http://picasaweb.google.com/quapaw/Our1890HomeAndKitchenRemodelRestoration#5252785683535247410

Ok - I'm done w/ my rant! ;)

Welcome!!! Love the dogs. Our son lived in Seattle for college and then for years afterwards; he told us that pugs were the "dogs associated with Queen Anne Hill." I don't know if that's your 'hood, but I thought I'd throw that in, since you're Pacific NW folks.
We are Bianco Antico people (there are a number of us on GW, and we are a happy lot). We have white cabinets, though, cork floor and deep russet walls, so the BA doesn't seem busy to us at all. I looked for white granite (Bianco Romano) everywhere, and it was all too gray-looking until I found the BA at Oregon Tile and Marble in Portland. You may want to look there. There are some wonderful granite yards in Fife and Olympia, too.
The thing about Bianco Antico that we all seem to like is the white-white of the granite, and the espresso/mica/cinnamony rivers, too.
Good luck! You'll love this website. It was immensely helpful when we tackled our kitchen last year. Be sure to scroll through all the finished kitchens. You can get really specific with colors of kitchens, and also be sure to use the search window too---"white granite" and so on. You'll be delighted with others' generosity in posting great pictures.

Another PacNW person here! Welcome!

I've never seen a yellowy Kashmir White, so I'm surprised to hear you've seen some that can be described that way. Usually if there's a complaint from someone, it's that it's too gray. But I second the suggestion for Bianco Romano which is gorgeous, too. More variation from slab to slab than with Kash Wh, so you'd want to find 'just the right slabs,' but also more interesting.

My sister loved Bianco Antico, but had trouble finding backsplash tiles she could love to go with. The background was too warm for white tiles and too white for creamier, tanner, or grayer choices. That was a problem she found with a lot of the whites that aren't quite white.

I love the Zodiac Cloud White that Parsuzi is using with darker cabinets. A good way, it seems, to put a contemporary slant for your hubby on the warmer cabinets.

Here is a link that might be useful: Parsuzi's kitchen thread

Hola! Your kitchen idea looks great.

I really like the look of Ceasarstone "Misty Carrera". I am one of those who likes to cook and I love the look of marble, but I would need something that doesn't etch and wear. If I were looking for a whitish counter, I would check into this:

Wow! I KNEW it would be a great idea to join this forum! So many fantastic ideas I had never even considered. (Stainless countertops? Mascarello? Misty Carrera?)

Donnakay, too funny -- I do happen to live in Queen Anne. We didn't live here when we got our first pug, but since we moved here and got our second pug, we have certainly noticed quite a number of them in our 'hood! :) They're such practical city dogs, but have a whole lot of "big dog" attitude, which is one of the things DH and I love about them.

What I haven't done yet but intend to do next is get one of my cabinet doors and start holding them up to sample counter top materials. (Visualization can only get you so far).

Thanks again for all your great suggestions and support! I can already tell that I'm going to like it here. :)

~PugRolls

precious puppies! i love dogs!!!

Oh, and bmorepanic, thanks for the suggestion of Delicatus. I hadn't seen it before, and I'll try to see if I can find it in my neck of the woods.

As for the user name, I've had it for quite a while. At one point my oldest dog got too fat and we got in trouble with our vet, so we started the "Pug rolls reduction program," which mostly consisted of me walking or jogging with them every day and limiting their treat intake. "Pug rolls" then became a big joke in my house, right around the time I signed up for an online forum that required me to have a screen name. I've been "pugrolls" ever since! (And thanks to the Pug rolls reduction program, which is still ongoing, both of our puggies are in great shape).

I too have Bianco Antico. It's faaaabulous. It really goes with a lot of colors. You can put pear green with it (which is my accent color in my house), chocolate brown, creams, whites, silver, gray, taupe, etc. etc. It is one of those granites that although it is busy, it is really open to a variety of decorating ideas.

I struggled with my backsplash for quite some time with this granite. Yes, I think I'm close to being blacklisted on GW for all of my questions. But as I was closing in on the final tile--a miracle happened--I won a backsplash after entering my kitchen in a contest. The tile I won is perfect for my space.

Bianco Antico varies from slab to slab--no matter what the fabricator says. I did not want one that had a lot of black and taupe in it. Mine is primarily brown, with taupes and grays in it.

Here's a picture of mine:

oh and another:

We saw wonderful slabs of Delicatus at Pental. It was several months ago, but I think it was something they usually have.

rhome410, I just discovered Pental! I was completely overwhelmed by all of their delicious backsplashes. My current fit is choosing the countertops, but I'm sure once I get that figured out, choosing the backsplash will be the next thing to give me fits.

Ok! Congrats on the pug health plan success.

When you were in that area, did you happen into "Statements?" It's one of my favorite backsplash tile stores. Others I liked:

Seattle Tile in Ballard (15th Ave and 77th or so)
United Tile in Renton
Art Tile, 85th and Roosevelt

I also loved Ambiente Tile on 65th (just up from Green Lake). Some beautiful tile and creative ideas, but it was pricey.

Oooh, pugrolls, I read your post about living on Queen Anne and shivered. Our son lived there for three years and loved every minute (SPU alum, too). Pental is the place I went to in Fife. I was obsessed with Bianco Romano, though, so I didn't discover BA until months later. The people who have posted about loving Misty Carrara or Nougat seem to be purists, liking the uniformity of that white. Consumer Reports is high on quartz, and many people here are sold on it.
Again, be sure to look at Oregon Tile and Marble, online. They were super helpful to us.

OT to Donnakay2009: Yay, SPU, Donnakay! My dd is about to become SPU alum (graduating in June), and my son starts his jr yr there next fall. :-)

PS to Pugrolls...When I referred to 'that area' in my previous post about the tile stores (Statements Tile, in particular), I meant the area where the Seattle Pental is...around 6th and 7th Ave S, between Fidalgo and Front. You may have noticed that there is also an Oregon Tile and Marble...and I just remembered, DalTile has both a slab yard and a nice tile showroom. LOTS to see all within walking distance of each other. Sorry if I'm telling you things you already know... Best wishes and have fun!

Donnakay and rhome, we're actually very close to SPU -- close enough for us to have a bunch of kids driving through our neighborhood making us shake our fists and curse "all those crazy whippersnappers!" ;)

rhome, I JUST discovered "that area" this weekend. I went to Seattle Granite to check them out and learned that they don't have slabs as big as I'll need, and they recommended that 'hood. I'd never been, but I can tell I'll be spending a whole lot of time there in the future!

Thanks for all the recs!

Greetings fellow PNWer! I live down south in Olympia. I'm also new to the kitchens forum, but was GW member on garden forums years ago. I LOVE Biano Antico in photos, but don't remember seeing it at Pental in Fife. Good to know some slabs run more brown! Please let us know which granite you choose!

love the dogs!! what about bianco romano. We did it and I'm sure it would look great with the espresso cabinets.