Black Galaxy Granite. Anyone Still Use it?

13 years ago

When I first saw BG ten years ago, it was everywhere (if you could afford it!) Granted I don't see a lot of it these days but what I see isn't as pretty as it used to be. The blacks aren't as black and the gold and bronze sparkles are smaller and more sparse. In 02 we remodeled our kitchen. We have Baltic Brown countertops. It's nice but it was my first (and uneducated) experience with shopping for granite. I thought what the store had was all there was to be had! (lol) I don't dislike it but would have chosen something else had I known there was 100s of choices. Anyway, in 07, we knocked out a wall and added a peninsula to the kitchen. We were lucky enough to find a near perfect match to the BB for the peninsula. Nearly 4 years later and the base of the peninsula is STILL NEKKID because we couldn't decide what to wrap it in. I wanted BG all along and thought of 3/4" squares on a 12x12 mat. DH didn't like the idea. Last week he asked what I thought about BG in 4x18" strips/planks laid out (I think) like a wood floor pattern. YES! So I made a call to my favorite granite guy and asked him to find me the blackest BG with the largest amt of good size gold and bronze flecks he could find. A trip to Dallas, a visit to 3 vendors and 2 weeks later he called me to tell me he had my sample. I drove 50 miles trying not to get my hopes up. OMGosh!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's the most perfectly patterned, blackest black and full of sparkles I've ever seen in a BG granite! I could have kissed him! :) But it's almost too pretty :o I'm going with it anyway because it's "what I love". I'm thinking since the granite will be under the countertop, that it won't be as visually breathtaking and won't fight for attention (and WIN) with the Baltic Brown. This can also act as a tip for those just starting to look for their dream granite. DON'T choose a slab (or tile for that matter) from the samples in the store. Always choose your slab at the granite yard. No two are alike. And if it's tiles, see if your granite guy will work with you and find current samples. Here you can see our poor nekkid bar base (lol)

Monica

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Comments (5)

blfenton
13 years ago
None of my business and this is not what you are asking and you probably love it so ignore my comment. Would you consider getting rid of that wall paper border above your cabinets? Your backsplash, flooring, counters, and DR paint colours are all colours of now - and everything flows really nicely.
You've done a great job of keeping the Baltic Brown current (I thing it looks great in your space) and putting the Black Galaxy on the peninsula would be cool. I'm just wondering though , is that a black appliance by the peninsula? Would it clash? I can't tell what that is.
The green above your cabinets is feeling really heavy. The green around the archway is better and maybe without the border it would be ok. It's just feeling an dlooking really 80"s. Sorry.
monicakm_gw
Original Author
13 years ago
You're right, it wasn't the topic but I'll explain anyway. First, I don't have the distaste for wallpaper as is popular to have right now :) Our (hopefully)near future plans are to rebuild the drawers and re-face the cabinets and when we do, we'll be covering the soffits in a wood to match the cabinets, giving the area a taller and cleaner look. An example below. Yes, that is a black appliance. It's a trash compactor. I'm pretty confident it won't clash with the Black Galaxy (as it's 97% black). I've seen many black appliances in BG kitchens. I never thought it looked bad. Thank you for the compliments :)
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Definitely turning off the overheads will reduce the sparkle. My BIL and wife have this in their kitchen, and while it is very pretty, it IS sparkly! When they use the overheads, it really does glitter. So you have gotten some great ideas about a backsplash and decor items. What is the hardware like on the cabinets? If it is kind of non-descript, you might plan for something more eye-catching to act as the Ã¢ÂÂjewelryÃ¢ÂÂ on the cabinet and draw the eye there. To me, with stainless steel appliances, I would not add any more stainless in the kitchen area. You need warmer, softer things, You say the family room area is very neutral, so I am wondering if you couldnÃ¢ÂÂt pick an accent color that both areas could share, which would unify them but also pull the eye away from the countertops. Perhaps a warm coral red, or a lighter mossy green (or turquoise or plum). Think about a warm wooden bowl on the counter with apples and pears or eggplants. A small ceramic lamp in red or green with a warm burlap shade on the counter. Instead of a stone backsplash, paint the walls a warm tone like the couch, and hang some small art right on that wall space. Pillows on the couch in the warmer coral or green. A lampshade on the family room area in the red or green on a black or wooden lamp. In the family room area, also consider adding some touches of the stainless, but in a more traditional pewter or nickel. A great pewter pitcher filled with twigs and green or red berries or leaves. A wall mirror in the pewter/brushed nickel finish. Frame all the family pix in similar black frames, some with silver accents or banding. Finally, a black-background area rug in the family room with touches of the other colors to bring the black down to floor level.
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miniscule
13 years ago
We have Black Galaxy in the kitchen and the family room which opens to it. It's been in for a couple of years, and love it. Some photos are attached, but it sure is hard to really capture the flecks with the reflections today!
blfenton
13 years ago
Thanks for explaining. I think the black galaxy under the peninsula wwouldn't overwhelm the baltic brown but in fact would help to support it. Your table already mimics your idea with the brown on top and the black table apron and legs and your bar stools are black. I would certainly, if possible, mock up a sample, first put it beside the compactor and then near the right bar stool and see what it looks like with the dining room, under the granite etc.
Oh and apparently wall paper is back in style but more as feature walls.
monicakm_gw
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you for the pictures Northsong. It's sooo pretty and I know that at night it's even prettier. Ours won't be getting any direct sunlight.
We live in Texas and when we added a 22x24 den and a humongous Austin Rock fireplace, I had our granite guy carve the state of Texas out of BG to go on White Austin Rock. I only wish that piece of rock was as pretty as what I'll be picking up next week.

blfenton, I took my clue from the black base and the brown top of the dining room table for the Black Galaxy base :)
Monica

Black Galaxy Granite. Anyone Still Use it?

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Black Galaxy Granite. Anyone Still Use it?

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