i thought i wanted either marble or soapstone. my dh was really against it and he doesn't normally give an opinion. i didn't really like many granites that i had seen.

i then saw costa esmerelda (my slabs seem to have veining like marble and a very light grayish/green color). it was the only granite that i liked for my kitchen.

i now LOVE it and am glad that it is a little different than my original vision. it still has the same "feel" i was going for but now i can't imagine having anything else.

i would say keep an open mind and go with your gut. if you see a slab that justs knocks your socks off, then don't get pigeon-holed into your original vision.

speaking of myself, i can say i have a definite style that i like, so i don't think i would have picked something too opposing from that. was my granite my original vision....NO....but it also isn't a far stretch from what i was thinking.

hope that helps??????

My thoughts were more of "I'll know it when I see it" I have black cabinets which are very contemporary so the only thing I didn't want was black granite. When I finally found my granite which is white beaches it totally changed my color scheme in my house (in fact so much so, we had to find a new color paint and have the painter repaint) I don't regret it at all and feel like this was a better choice for my house than what was I initially had in mind.

I went to the granite yard way too early. I fell in love with the labrador antique slab. But when my cabinets came in the sample I had really looked washed out and didn't go well with my dark burgundy cabinets. Also the cost of labrador was prohibitive.

So we went with Black Impala and that really compliments the cabinets. The one 110inc x 55 in slab was enough for all our counters. The island still neeeded something. We found a remnant of labradorite bianca at the fabricators. So the island granite cost us nothing and looks so fantastic.

I'm loving these. Please keep them coming. :)

I set out with my color 'vision' first (dark cabs, white counters). I would have loved to do marble, but frankly, don't know how I would deal with stains, chipping and etching.

I found my vision, but after months of hunting. Finding a 'white' stone is challenging. I found unbelievable quartzites - but out of my price range (although DH told me we would have gone for my favorite if the slabs were big enough - darn!!!!).

I was set on finding a stone that I loved. Truly this might have been the hardest part of building a house for me. I found some unusual slabs of Bianco Antico and decided it was time to go for it.

I learned that if I didn't feel like 'tagging' the slab right away, it probably wasn't the right one!

Ours is a seriously convoluted story...

At first we were going to paint our cabinets because we thought the wood was too far gone to be saved. We also were only planning on living here for another 3-5 years. We had an idea of what we wanted for a color scheme and found a granite we both loved (it was Paradise Blue or Blue Paradise at Home Expo) and built all our colors around that.

Then we decided that the cabinets were salvageable so we decided to strip and stain. Then Hubby decided that the granite we had picked out (and that I loved and STILL love) was too dark. Mind you, this was AFTER we had bought the paint to do the entire kitchen.

So deep breath, regather, regroup. We decided that we should start with the granite because paints and stains are much more malleable. (As DIY we weren't tied to what the cab manufacturers had.)

So then began the Great Granite Hunt(tm). We went to so many yards I lost count. We hunted and researched online. We fell in love with marble but shied away because of what we were told (though we had not yet found this site). We both fell madly in love with Azul Macaubas and all its variations but it was way, way beyond our pocketbook. I fell in love with Deep Purple but Hubby didn't like it. Eventually we decided on Arcobaleno. It's very much a compromise on many fronts but we both enjoy it.

Luckily the paint/color scheme we originally picked pretty much worked with this granite. Due to all the compromises we made as a result of budget constraints and vastly different tastes the kitchen bears only a faint shadow of my original vision, but it's coming together OK.

Well, I have quartz, not granite. And the quartz came first - even before the cabinets!!!

See, the problem was that (for whatever valid or invalid reasons), I had decided I wanted quartz, and at the same time, I thought most quartz colors looked "flat". So I hunted first for a quartz color I would like - some sort of tan or brown. It wasn't easy. I collected a *lot* of samples. Seriously. A *lot*. Finally found it in the Zodiaq Smokey Topaz - gorgeous stuff!

*Then* it was off to find cabinets that coordinated with the quartz! (And *that* was a saga in of itself. :-))

Boy am I glad *that* stage is over!!!

I just knew that I wanted something fairly uniform without a lot of movement and also something that looked warm. I found it in the third slab I looked at. It's called yellow antico and I haven't seen anyone else with the same granite. Looks great with creamy white cabinets and natural oak floors.

I selected a honey-stained cherry cabinet so I knew from the beginning I was going with a green granite but not as light as Costa Esmeralda but not dark like ubatuba. When I visited numerous slab yards, and saw so many beautiful slabs, I almost wished I had selected the granite first and then choose the cabinet stain. Cabinets are stacked up in the living room still in boxes, so we are weeks away from being finished.

The cabinets came first for me. I have an open floorplan that dictated some of my decisions - existing stained wainscoting, existing hardwood flooring, etc.. Then I took a cabinet door with me to the granite yards. Initially I wanted a uniform granite until I saw slabs that looked like pieces of art. DH and I decided the upcharge for the exotic granite was worth it as this would be the focal point of our kitchen. After long hours searching, we fell in love with a variation of Yellow River called Aspen River.

I think we both had some leanings towards a black granite, way, way back, before we even got to the planning/design stage, but no real locked-in "let's go get a black granite" plan.

The first yard we went to was the one our KD recommended/used, and it was small (although we found out after the fact that they had a larger yard or warehouse elsewhere--live and learn!). The only stone the guy had that he recommended with our cab sample, was Baltic Brown, and neither of us liked it (no offense to those who have it, it just wasn't for us).

We went to a large yard recommended by a good friend, and saw some awesome looking slabs. We knew we wanted something that looked great, but didn't want anything that competed with or outshone our cabinets (cherry, with a light stain). We eliminated some gorgeous granites because the movement in the stone overshadowed the wood grain, or the colors in the stone (while stunning in some instances), just clashed horribly with the color of the cabinet sample. We narrowed down our choices to 3 or 4, and then down to one. It was a Tropical Brown that had very vivid and distinct coloration and we liked it a lot with our cab sample and in and of itself. Unfortunately, that yard/fabricator did not have the best of reputations, so we then tried to search other yards for the same stone.

In the interim, we chose our fabricators, who sent us to a few different yards where they have accounts. At the last yard, the young woman showing us around did show us some different slabs/lots of TB, but told us she wanted to show us something different that she thought would look great with our cab sample. We placed our cab sample with DH's SS travel mug sitting on top of it (to "represent" our SS appliances!) on the warehouse floor, in front of the granite slab. The three of us stepped back and said, "I think we've found our granite--that's the one!" And it was!

We came full circle, back to our unformed leanings--a black granite (it's called Labrador Golden Flake). It actually worked much better with our overall visison for our space (and with our dishes!). We love it just as much today as we did the day it was installed (nearly two years ago), and can't imagine anything else in our kitchen. It made us smile then, and it still makes us smile every time we walk into our kitchen!

In my world, there are only two colors, Blue and Not-Blue. I prefer Blue. So, to answer the question, color or granite first, the answer is "Yes!"

Once I knew that blue granite exists, I visited approximately 23,542 granite yards to find the right blue granite at a realistic price. White and gray were going to be my fallback colors, and I had a couple of white granite samples lying around just in case, but I'm happy to report I didn't need to go there.

I was debating maple vs white cabinets for years before the renovation (and still sometimes wonder if I made the right choice on my "grass is greener" days). I never really considered blue cabinets though -- painted cabinets (other than white) have never appealed to me.

fwiw, I did an exhaustive search but I never really saw white granite slabs with veining. Most white slabs that I saw had small dark commas (too elongated to be mere speckles). If your heart is set on that look, you're probably thinking of marble.

What a great question! I started planning and completed my kitchen about a week before I found this site... Anyway, I was at a work function that was held at an upscale kitchen design showroom. Several display kitchens were set up as food stations -- very fun!

Anyway, while wandering through this amazing showroom, I stumbled on the granite that I fell for -- before looking at or planning a single other thing in my kitchen. It was night time and the black galaxy granite that I saw was twinkling in the lights and it looked so pretty against the traditional styled cabinets it was paired with.

After that, I kept looking at other granites for a few weeks but I kept going back to the black galaxy... even though had I not seen it that night, I doubt I'd have chosen it on my own in a granite yard! I found a millions pics in magazines and online of very dark or black granites with medium stained wood cabinets and lighter stone floors -- that's what I decided I wanted and did get with the black galaxy granite.

I do love it without a doubt! However, it wasn't until I was done and found this site that I discovered the beauty of soapstone ... which I will consider years down the road when it's time to change. For now, I do love the look of my kitchen -- it turned out so pretty and very warm. Luckily for me, I have 2 huge windows that bring in lots of light so I could do any colors in my kitchen. As warm as it is, the light really balances it nicely and I love the sparkle I have with at night with my black galaxy... really it looks to me like a brilliant night sky.

I knew that DH (the cook so he gets his way in the kitchen) wanted natual cherry cabinets (he still does not know that I had a subtle glaze put on them LOL) but aside from that, I had no ideas.

We were in looking at cabinets at two different show rooms and each had some chunks of different granites. I had originally thought we'd be doing something black, but I saw this fabulous granite called ohhh heck I don't remember the name anymore, but I loved it and designed the whole kitchen to highlight the gorgeous black, amber and white in the granite (fabulous waves of pattern). We spent thousands on stuff to do this, after having paid in full for the granite. Including having a tile backsplash made to match our granite.

Fast forward...the granite place went out of business, sold our granite (fully paid for by us) to someone else. Then we had to scramble to find a granite that matched the tile that matched the original granite heh heh which we did finally do (Thunder Wave) and actually we like it better, but it was ugly for a while there as we searched for the perfect color and patterns.

So our granite came first, and last heh heh

When we redid our kitchen, we kept our oak cabinets. They were in great shape and they were the country style I like and that goes with our home, a colonial. I really, really wanted a copper backsplash, so I knew I had to pick a granite that I could use copper with. I found Jungle Green granite, a sort of pale sage green with veining and large dark copper parts to it. Not salt and pepper granite, but lots of movement. I love it. It does not show water marks because it has come white in it (we have very hard water with a lot of dissolved solids in it from a well). Lots of water spots. But I love my granite because it goes so well with my dark copper backsplash.

I picked my door style/stain and backsplash tile (Fire and Ice) first, followed by my granite, followed by my floor color. I don't think this is the recommended sequence.

My original plan had been to do a classic soapstone/white cabinet kitchen, and I wanted to use Ikea cabs. But, DH was not crazy about any of the Ikea white doors, and I started to think that they might not look too well in our south-facing kitchen, with the wear and tear that our kids would provide. Instead I chose Ikea's Tidaholm black/brown door, picked the backsplash at about the same time, and took samples of both when I hunted for granite. I found my granite almost immediately-- nothing else looked as well with the door and backsplash. I don't think I would have given this granite (Madura Gold) a second look if I hadn't had my door and tile sample in hand, but once it was installed it became one of my favorite elements in my kitchen.

After looking at tons of kitchen magazine and the finished kitchens on GW, I was drawn to white kitchens with dark countertops. I learned about soapstone on GW, but was afraid of the care, fell in love with Ocean Green granite (couldn't find any) then found a beautiful slab of Nordic Black Antique, which was fabricated incorrectly, and ended up full circle back to soapstone, casting my cares to the wind! It's funny, though after going through all of this and still not being totally finished, I realize now that I'm cooking and back to regular life, that I could have been happy with any of those stones, (though I do love my soapstone) and that I tend to obsess and over analyze my choices. That being said, I'm currently obsessing over backsplash and pendant lights....some people just never learn :O

My backsplash tile came first. I have a "feature wall" that faces the family room, so I wanted the tile to be pretty special. After I picked out the tile, I found a granite that matched it. Since I have a two-level really large island, I wanted to break up the granite and did creamy silestone for the lower part of the island

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_stBSi1LvzSg/SZHeD6FCf_I/AAAAAAAACfM/5oXjQQmx4hc/s1600-h/t+530.jpg

And, oh, here's the long drawn out story of finding the right granite to match my tile. I originally found a granite in Portland called Mombasa that was perfect. Since I live in another state, I thought I could find it in my hometime. No such luck, and I ended up going with Kodiak. It turned out better than Mombasa in the end.

Part A
http://empire-homes.blogspot.com/2008/07/granite-plan-b-or-c.html

Part B
http://empire-homes.blogspot.com/2008/08/kodiak-i-guess-it-was-just-meant-to-be.html

My original vision did not have granite in it...I wanted something simple
no movement... and then I saw Costa Esmeralda.
I didn't look at anything else!
vic

mom2reese that kitchen is gorgeous. Have you posted it before?

That light fixture is really cool.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

I had an idea of the cabinets that I liked - white on the perimeter with a stained island. But there was so much variation in colours of white, and stained browns, that I knew the cabinet colours would have to come after the granite. Basically, it's easier to tweak what's not natural (cabinets) based on something that's natural (granite).

We looked through magazines and found for the cabinets we wanted, most people did a medium toned granite with a warm yellowish golden hue. The first granite yard we went to, we saw a slab like that was warm, golden and very uniform and speckled. It was the right colour but it didn't wow us. So we walked around the rest of the warehouse and a granite stopped both DH and I in our tracks. Bianco Antico. It had some uniformity but some variation, and there were inclusions of quartz and crystal that made it look so unique. It looked like one of those caves with the rock inclusions, and we were excited that we could actually have something so stunning in our own home!! It was a hands down winner. We still visited other granite places but nothing compared.

Everything else - our cabinet colours, hardwood stain, curtains, etc. - everything relates to the granite. It was a really good approach, I feel, because if we had committed to a cabinet colour first, we would have been limiting our options in the granite. I can honestly say that if we didn't go with Bianco Antico, there weren't any other granites that we loved enough, so we probably would have gone with a Caesarstone and *maybe* Marble. So don't limit yourself just to granite.

Well I am back after a bit of a hiatus (family stuff took precedence). The old kitchen hopefully will be demolished early in March.

Regarding our granite -- which by the way I was talked into by my husband and contractor -- we picked the cabinet color first -- cinnamon spice on birch and then the granite. Our color scheme revolves around our wood floors (1920s home). In the kitchen we have white oak and in the dining room there is a parquet floor with multi-wood borders. The ones in the dining room have a light birch, oak, walnut, cherry, and mahogany in them. We are opening up the kitchen to the dining room.

We originally were leaning toward a light green granite but once we thought about our cabinet choice we decided we wanted a light granite. I reviewed a zillion kitchens in the finished kitchens blog (thanks starpooh -- what a resource). I narrowed it down to about six and then off to the granite yard. My husband was drawn to a Saint Cecilia Light slab that had a white background rather than the creamier yellow of the others. So if all goes well that is what will go in the kitchen. When we brought the sample home we realized we had picked the right granite as it picks up many of the colors in the floor.

We have not picked the paint yet as we want to see the cabinets first. We are leaning towards a lighter beige but we will see.

I fell in love with a floor that I saw at a friend's house. I decided it would work perfect for us and after that everything was picked out to match the floor, including the silestone countertops. Our cabinets arrived yesterday so will be posting photos in the near future.

Please add mom2reese's kitchen to my list of "I could be very happy with this kitchen!" Wow, wow, and wow!!!

PS WOW!

I've finally been able to get back to the message boards. Gosh it is annoying when real life gets in the way of my computer time! LOL.

Wow, I love all the stories of how you approached your granite selection. Happenstance has certainly played a roll in many of the final selections. I recognize many of the granite names of the light granites as ones I have been looking to check out.
BTW pbrisjar: I happened to come across the Azul Macaubas and you are right it is beautiful. That is one stone that could definitely make me veer from the white, and as mentioned by gglks I think it could still fulfill my vison, however I won't even hazard a guess as to the price of it, so it is not an option. Costa Esmerelda is also a gorgeous stone.
All the choices are beautiful, and I love hearing how you came to have them.

I'll be heading out next Wednesday to hit the yards (locals don't have what I want)and hopefully will be able to tag my slabs in this single trip as I'm 2 1/2 hours away (not to mention I hate driving into the city).
bluekitobsessed: only 23,542 yards huh? And here I am hoping to do it with 3!

I have a list of possibilities which might speed up the process a bit. Has anyone come across Siberian White, Polar White, and Bianco Primavera or Alabama White. I realize that some may be names given by the local yard as the last 2 I've never come across except for 1 site, and that was in the US.

Thank you Mairin I agree with your sage advice. I'll go with my gut and if I don't feel the tug to tag it right there and then it likely isn't yet "The One!".

mom2reese: Your kitchen is fabulous. All aspects of it are exceptional and your crown molding is very similar to what I want. May I show your photo to my cabinet guy. The molding he showed me is too curvy for my tastes and not really what I wanted for my shaker style cabinets. I was going to just go with his recommendation but after seeing yours I realize that I need to speak up or I likely will regret it. I feel if he can see an example of what's in my head then he will be able to come up with one that will be in scale for my much smaller kitchen.

Thanks everyone.