One more pic

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen

My posting skills are lacking. The 2 granites I am considering.
http://www.sensagranite.com/2006/images/granite/SantaCecilia_400.jpg
or
http://www.sensagranite.com/2006/images/granite/Ubatuba_400.jpg

Here are your pics. I'll leave comments to the pros! Love your dining room set and the warmth of the room.

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We have something similar to the uba tuba (bottom picture) and like it a lot with our oak cabinets. I've seen the other one (Giallo?) used as well and both are nice. The issue you need to consider is the cabinets and what their condition is.

As I said, we have oak as well and we put the granite on them without really thinking it thru. They're in really good condition and good quality, the grain and coloring aren't near as strong as some of the others I've seen but in retrospect, if I had a do over, I may have waited.

You can always change the doors and/or paint them, but once you put that granite on, you're pretty much stuck with the boxes. My point is, be sure at this point that you are going to be keeping them for a very long time before you make the investment.

If you're not sure, I would go with a granite looking laminate. The costs are a lot more affordable and they have one that is almost identical to the the lighter granite you're considering.

I do plan to change the doors at some point and am thinking of painting them (hard decision). Right now I need to replace my leaking faucet so thought I should replace the sink, and then figured I should replace countertop as it is lifting in a seam by sink. It is funny how a small project can grow. In the beginning I priced laminate. The low end granite at Lowes is very, very close to the HD laminate prices.

Not sure if you're only wanting granite. We just priced out granite a few stone yards. Sadly, Lowes came out cheaper. We did see that they have some Viaterra quartz for just 49.99 until the end of the month. We have 52 square feet and it came out to just 2800. SC Light (lighter than you have) was just over 4000 at the cheapest yard. We are probably going to go with the LG stuff. It's the cheapest quartz and the sale ones are all made in the us. I don't know if any of the colors would work for you. I haven't found any bad reviews.

The promotion will run from 2/3/12 � 3/30/12. The colors on promotion will be:

- Silver Lake
- Solar Canyon
- Kilauea
- Bourbon

Here is a link that might be useful: Viatera

I like your cheerful breakfast nook. The clock is cool.
If you painted your cabinets red, I would probably like the tan granite. If you paint them white, I would prefer the black.

Have you considered butcher block? It's even cheaper, and you can install it yourself if you own a saw.

Renee

I have the top granite (Santa Cecilia). It would go well with the warm colors you use. Be aware though that there is also a lighter SC with a creamy white background rather than the caramel.

We recently moved into a rental that has black granite countertops. At first, they seemed beautiful.

Then, eventually, I've realized that they show EVERY crumb and EVERY little water spot. Drop one Cheerio and the whole kitchen looks filthy.

I know now that I'd never install them, given the choice.

Hi, I too have oak cabinets and wanted new countertops. Making a long story short I changed the doors and had boxes painted same color (creamy white). My granite too is one of the more "reasonable" granites, it's New Venetian Gold. Both granites you picked will go both with your oak, and later if you change the color, so go with waht you like best. Here is my granite:
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Of the two you posted I like the lighter one but take a look at Cabo in the quartz. That color was made for your counters. It would go so well with the rest of your charming eating area.

Wonderful informative comments. I want to thank you all so much! I went to Lowes to check out the Vialera in the sale colors. Thanks kimico232! Now they are in the running with the great price. Lowes unfortunately did not have samples for me to take home. I am googling like mad. I did buy a 10% Lowes coupon from eBay so the price is looking even better!
yayagal - I love the Cabo but I am so cheap I want the sale colors. I did see ithinkiloveyou's pics of her Cabo on gardenweb and they are awesome.
Anyone use the sale Vialera and have color advice? I am leaning toward Solar Canyon.

You might ask if they will give you the sale price on Cabo, if that is what you prefer. Ya never know....

Just a word of wisdom from one frugal buyer to another; sometimes the cheapest option isn't always the best and that extra cost can pay off in other ways. It's more important to love the stone you put in and hire people who are competent to do the install correctly. When you consider the expense to have it and amount of time it will be in your home, you should really love the stone you put in instead of just choosing the cheapest one available.

The other really important issue to consider is fabricating & the install. Lowe's and HD contract with outside fabricators who have bid the lowest price for the job. On top of that, they pay Lowe's a brokering fee (of sorts) to find them what I refer to as low maintenance customers. By that I mean they don’t have to deal with you. The yards are either quite a ways away or they don’t allow customers to come to the site. You’ll essentially be waiving the opportunity to choose the slab you want or the fabricator who will do the job. I've heard that a lot of times those granite yards will either use the slabs no one else wants or a slab that has a lot of fissures or anomalies in it. Fissures or anomalies aren't necessarily bad, we had them keep the anomalies that were in our stone. One is fairly large, looks like the milky way and sits in the middle of our peninsula, we like it, but most people prefer not to have them. You also will have very little control over the measuring, cutting and installation as a whole. I'm not saying ALL Lowe's/HD installs are bad but what I am saying is you definitely run a higher risk of experiencing problems. Just Google Lowe’s and HD granite install reviews/ratings and read.

Granite isn't like laminate and it's crucial to have experienced people who know what they are doing. Good fabricators are worth their weight in gold and generally stay busy by word of mouth alone; they don't need to negotiate their prices in order to get work from Lowe's or Home Depot. You need a fabricator who is going to know the best spot to make any needed cuts and you want someone who can install it with seams that are flawless and smooth which is not easy. If you think I'm exaggerating, please go to the kitchen forum and read about the many different issues others have run into because of a bad a install or fabricating job. It’s really a bummer when it happens.

The bottom line is, you do get what you pay for and by just going with the cheapest company available you have to know they will be cutting corners anyway they can and your installation could very well suffer for it. I would also make sure that the cost psf at Lowe's includes the edges, sink and faucet holes. Usually, charges for the edges are separate and the sink & faucet cuts are free but I think the Big Box stores may charge for those as well.

I'm really not trying to rain on your parade, but reading your posts gives me the impression that you really don't understand that there are some important factors to consider, Granite is not cheap and while it's great to be sure you get the most bang for your buck, you also want to be sure you pay what's needed to get the best people for the job as well.

lukkiirish-thanks for the advice on using the box stores. Yes, they did say at Lowes that the fabricators would come from out of state--quite a distance. I was surprised as I thought they used local wholesale yards, and I would have been able to look at the slabs and choose mine. The thought of them using a slab nobody else wants sounds awful. i don't want to be disappointed. Do you think that quartz would be the same?

I have priced out granite at a local wholesaler. They sent the bid to a contractor we have used in the past. The local price was very steep. Their quartz prices started out so high that I didn't even ask for a bid.

I'm sorry trielders, like I said, I don't want to rain on yur parade and this isn't the case with ALL installations, but you should still know the risks you are taking. We were on a tight budget as well so I totally get wanting to get the best price you can. I have no idea about the quartz as it wasn't an option I was interested in.

That said, have you considered the butcher block counters like someone else suggested? Now if I had knows about them, I would have definitely considered them as an option. They are gorgeous. A year or so ago, someone did a kitchen redo using them and it turned out amazing. The butcher block at Ikea (for example) is super affordable and gorgeous. It really is an option you should consider as well. They are much easier to install, wear really well and would look good with any cabinet option you choose. I was amazed at the value when I heard how much they cost.

trielders, I agree with all that lukkiirish has said about granite. We have oak cabs and a soft gold color (not what's on the photo) on the walls, and chose Verde Esmeralda, a deep green which looks something like your Ubatuba, and which was not expensive, as granites go. If you like movement in the granite you may be able to shop around until you find a piece that has it. We found a slab with movement on one corner that just fit on the island. We like the oak and dark granite combination quite a bit; even found knobs made from the same stone. I'm not sure about the butcher block counters, though, seems like it would be a awful lot of wood when you put it with the oak cabs. This is an old photo of our kitchen, things are somewhat different now, but the cabs and granite are the same of course.

I love the movement in your island, susanka.

trielders, when you go to pick out your granite from a stone fabricator and installation facility, they have the slabs right there and you pick the one you want. There can be a lot of variation from slab to slab, even in the same "pattern" (not sure if that is the right term).

We used Alpha Granite in Austin, because we live there. I'm sure you can find some place near you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alpha Granite

Thanks, scottiegee. We enjoy it. Lots of little fossils to see also.

trielders, if you do like movement, I wanted to say that when we picked out our slab it looked like the wavy part was just in one corner, so we thought we'd have that in a corner of the island, and then later when it was actually measured we were amazed to see that the waves would occur pretty much over the whole island; it was a lovely surprise. Just to say if you pick a piece you like that does have variation do give a thought to where that will occur when it's cut, and don't discount slabs that at first glance look like they don't have variation in one area. Our quieter perimeter counters and wavy island are just right for us. Good luck!

DH wants me to tell you also, trielders, that dark granite may show fingerprints more than the lighter colors. It's worth it, I think.

Thanks Susanka, I agree, if the OP keeps the same cabinets and doesn't paint them, the woodblock counters would probably not be right but she had said she plans on painting them and maybe even replacing the doors and in that case, they would be a beautiful addition to the space.

Our cabinets are just like Susanka's with less grain and a more yellow tone to them. Our granite is Verde Peacock which is almost identical to the Uba Tuba in coloring only it has larger pieces of mica in it and those tend to have a blue tone to them. Ours has a lot of caramel mixed in it too which I really like. I know that some people say the darker granite is harder to maintain. I have a lighter granite upstairs in our master bath and don't find much difference between the two. The shine in them makes it so anything is going to show up in the reflections. I think the black or darker color gives a nice pop to the room and I like how it looks, I think with granite it's really hard to go wrong though.

Granite yards don't have pricing that is standard, each and every one has their own way of charging. Instead of going through your contractor, just take some time to shop around. Most yards have tiers that they charge for the different types of stone and what those tiers include can vary as well. They'll be much more willing to talk to you if you go prepared and know how many sf your counters are and don't forget to include the 4 inch back splash if you plan on having one. A lot of people skip that so the can install a custom one. Good luck!

BTW, beautiful granite Susanka!

Susanka, beautiful kitchen! Thanks for posting.

I am going to keep on looking to see what is out there.
lukkiirish-I don't plan to have the 4 in. backsplash. I would like to do a backsplash up to cabs.

Thanks for all the great posts. I appreciate all the advice from all so much!! Such talent on this Board!