nope..not a problem unless you plan on sleeping on it..or walking on it with bare feet.... you will love it... dont give the fact that its cold a second thought.... isnt your toilet cold?? its stone... lol lisa

Granite does feel "cold" to the touch IMO. However, it also feels real / natural (which it is) and that balances it out. Unless you plan to nap on your conters, you shouldn't have an issue.

Granite can be heated just like bathroom floors. I am not joking...

I like the cool touch of stone. I use wood trivets to place warm dishes.

I did notice that it felt cold, but I expected it, so was not bothered. I have no eating area with granite, so plates are not a problem. But I made biscuits yesterday, and having granite to play with dough is AWESOME!!!!! And it makes me happy to look at every day. Seriously.

From a food prep perspective, cooler counters are a plus, from a pastry perspective granite/marble counters are a huge plus - great for rolling and keeping doughs cool.

From a staying warm perspective, it shouldn't be too bad. You're probably not going to be touching these counters all the time (particularly if you're wearing long sleeves). You can do a lot of your prep work on a plastic or wood cutting board which won't be cool to the touch. Plates can easily be warmed for 3-5 min in the oven and then won't cool on the granite and will actually help keep the food warm (place mats help too). I don't know if you're a coffee or tea drinker, but if you worked with a hot mug nearby you could always warm your hands on it. I am hoping you'll get it and love it!

FYI - I am getting granite for the first time and what I've actually been warned about is that plates and glasses will break more easily because the granite is so hard and does not give. Hope I don't break a ton of stuff before I get used to it.

I dont have granite yet, but I do have lots of ceramic tile flooring(kitchen, laundry room, entry) which is similar I guess... cold. I too walk around in sweats and ALWAYS have socks on..in the summer, if I dont have my shoes on and am being "comfy" I keep socks around just to warm my precious feet.
As far as breakage, I know that when I have dropped a glass or a plate ( or a good china sugar bowl on thanksgiving about 15 years ago) on the ceramic tile, smithereens is what you get. It doesn't have a chance to not break into a million pieces.

In my old kitchen I had granite counters, a granite topped desk in the kitchen and a butcher block island. The only place the granite bothered me was at the desk. My wrists when I typed always rested on the granite and the cold hardness of the granite bothered me.

I would definitely get granite countertops again as there was never a problem there but I would not use it again for a desktop.

Not sure about how it would be for eating off of on an island.

We have limestone and granite floors in our bathroom. I had really wanted to put in a floor heating system, but the budget ran out. Now, I have to admit I actually enjoy the feel of that cool floor in the morning. It kinda wakes me up slowly. Also have had some foot problems over the years, and the coolness is soothing.

Yes!

We finished our kitchen remodel about a year ago, and I remember thinking at the time that the island felt cold in the morning. (I usually sit at the island and read my mail while waiting for the coffee.) I was kind of surprised that no one had mentioned this "feature" of granite, given the sheer amount of detail available on this site.

I still notice it, but only in the mornings in the winter/early spring. (We're in the midwest, where it snowed last weekend.) At night, we turn our heat to 62, and so the house is cold when I get up. But after I turn up the heat (66 or 67), I don't notice it at all. I doubt that I'm actually heating the stone, most likely taking the chill off of me, but it works.

As for the reports of the granite bringing down the temperature of the food, I've not noticed that.

Like you, I am always cold and wear socks and slippers, along with a sweater inside most of the time, and DH is always warm (we're in Philly). I wondered the same thing about getting granite with it being cold all the time since we had laminate before this. However, I'm surprised that it doesn't bother me. Sure, the inital touch is cold, but knowing that, you get used to cool myself off (told you it was weird). This might sound weird, but, I remember last summer which was our first summer with granite, I would actually spread my arms all over the granite when it was hot out just to get cooled off (I don't like air conditioning because you have to close up the doors/windows). And remember, in the winter in North Jersey, you will usually be wearing long sleeves, right?

I think placemats are a great idea if you feel it's necessary.

I thought the coolness of our granite would bother me in WI. I often feel uncomfortable cold and wear lots of clothes. The coolness hasn't been a problem for me or family.

Friends of ours have a new granite topped island that is warm, really! There's a heating element grid installed underneath the stone, just like under a floor as pharoah said. They said it only cost a few hundred dollars for this feature, I was amazed.

I do have granites on my kitchen and my small computer desk. Granite on the kitchen is not a big deal, since my arm rarely touch the granite, but for the computer desk, since I have to type and browse internet all the time, my arm kept hanging on the side of the granites, it was so freezing cold, I went to some store and bought a very thick rubber place mat so that my arm doesn't touch granite directly, now it's a lot better.

Maybe you wound want to reconsider about the bathroom counters?

kay_from_ca - didn't mean to mislead, granite is probably not going to significantly affect the temp of food unless the food is warmer and directly against it a thin layer (or thinly spread out on a high heat transfer metal like aluminum sheet pan). I'll have to run a couple of little experiments when my kitchen is finished. It absolutely does make difference in helping to keep doughs cool when rolling them. It is also great for tempering chocolate or making fudge which both require rapid cooling without moisture (I know this isn't a consideration for most people though).

.

I had to chime in here! We just got granite installed on the counters and on the island where my husband and I eat dinner. (Gave up on the table :) ). I do not like eating at the island now. I rest my arms on the edge of the granite, and it is very cold! I will take a napkin to rest my arms on.

We are getting granite in our new home but I am seriously thinking about putting hardwood where the island stools will be. Maybe put in an 18" wide strip of hardwood and then start the granite. I have seen that done on a couple of kitchen websites.

The down side is that the granite will not "show" as well. The designer who is helping me is totally against the wood idea since she thinks the granite should be showcased. Not sure what I am going to do.

Ginny

Yup - I was bothered initially and I'm bothered every winter (in Minnesota). It's on our island and very cold on the forearms if you lean on it unless you have something thick on the arms. We eat at our island and in the winter I make sure to put a trivet under our plates - coasters under coffee cups - etc. as I do think things go cold quickly.

People suggested heated floors which I didn't find to be of interest. Had someone suggested heating the island counter I might have done that. If I were to do this again I would.

I will add that we have a setback thermostat and turn our heat down at night and during the weekdays. Under those circumstances the only time the counter seems to get "warm" in the winter is on Sunday.

I have also disliked the cold feel of granite for an island. I think it's no problem for peripheral counters in the kitchen or in the bathroom. But I don't like it for eating on, and especially if kids will be doing homework on it or you will be reading the paper, doing paperwork, etc. I would definitely put the electric mat underneath. I am now trying to decide between a heated stone/quartz or wood top for my island.

Yup,

We noticed the coldness. I like being cold (that time of life), so not an issue for me. DH was noticing his coffee was getting cold in the morning- so I did buy corkbacked placemats, and that seems to do the trick.

If it's going to be a problem for you and one of your DD's, I'd seriously consider the undercounter heating. They just may end up taking a nap!

Yes, and it still bothers me. Weird thing is that if you put a package of frozen hamburger on the granite, it thaws much faster than it ever did on the laminate. Any plate of hot food you put on there cools off much faster as well.

The first time I touched it, it was about 20 below zero and I'd have to say that after wiping the snow off, it was a bit chilly. In comparison, in a home the stuff seems almost steamy :oP

It never bothered me in the house in Texas. It's much like a rock, bring it up to room temperature and it won't feel quite so "cold" as it does outside.

Since it is after the fact, would it help to place an electric blanket on it, turned on... I hear some folks in cold regions actually place these blankets on cars parked in the garage just to help start them in extreme cold weather...

Me, being in California, 'am able to put up with the cold slabs... cold but bearable...

/venkat

This bothers me too. You're not the only one. Seriously, I would try to be creative with a wood overhang - maybe have a convex curve of granite meet a matched curve of wood. Like a quarter moon in the night sky O). Could be really beautiful if done well. The surface could be continuous or 'stepped down' for a different effect.

I have granite in my rental and up here in Maine it really is too cold for me (I'm also an easily-chilled, sock-wearin' type). For my new kitchen I am selecting a different material.

I second the idea of selective use of granite - great around the stove where you want to cool hot pots down, great for pastry-rolling in a separate section, but too cold (and unresilient) for me in the prep and eating zones where I use a lot of glassware.

I don't like the cold feel of granite, either. The heated counter idea is nice, but I wonder how long it takes to heat up, how much energy it uses, and I wouldn't want to prep food on it (produce would wilt, butter would melt, etc.) Would you leave the counter heater on all day? We went with Ceasarstone in a honed finish, which is cool to touch in winter, but not as cold as granite, and feels reasonably comfortable to me year-round.

I have never noticed my granite feeling cold.

There are other options to granite if you decide that the coldness factor is really a problem for you. I have Richlite which is not at all cold to touch and very comfortable to lean against. There are certainly other options as well. I have granite in my bathroom and when I put a cup of coffee down in there, it does seem to cool off very quickly.

We had our granite installed in November and yes it does feel cooler than the laminate we had before....but everything in our house feels cold during the winter. I'm in the Hudson Valley region of NY and we keep our heating turned down at night and during the day when we're both at work. Now that it's spring everything around here is warming up a bit including our countertop.

If I'm not mistaken, quartz doesn't get cold like granite - maybe that wold be a better choice for you.

Can anyone confirm this?

Nicole