I don't know quartz but that is really cool granite and looks great with the floors and cabs! Oh, that's probably not helpful is it if you want something plainer.

You can get quartz in practically any color. Silestone has a lot of colors to choose from, and Cambria typically looks more like granite than Silestone, but still has a lot of small scale, uniform-looking models. I don't know about Ceasarstone or any of the other quartz manufacturers.

http://www.cambriausa.com/collection.cfm/all-colors

Here is a link that might be useful: Silestone's color choices

Odiegirl -- I am going through the same process. We were teetering between granite and quartz until I realized two things: (1) we are messy (3 teen boys) and unreliable for any maintenance like sealing, and (2) I really like a very consistent, not busy, look that quartz provides.

That said, we have cherry cabinets (like your floor) and light oak floors. The quartz I am loving right now is DuPont Zodiaq in Nutmeg. I think you might want to look at it for your kitchen. It has a taupe-y brown background, with quartz in warmer tones (including the color of your floor and your cabinets) so it would be a nice contrast, while still tying in your other colors. It has tiny mica flecks throughout, which I thought at first made it look to "sparkly", but when I got it in a 10 x 10 sample, I fell in love.

Nutmeg is part of the Private Collection, so it's one of the pricier Zodiaqs, but if you've decided to go with quartz then you are probably already aware that quartz is not a "budget" option.

If you are looking at Cambria, which would probably be less $$ than Nutmeg Zodiaq, I would suggest the Brownhill color.
Take a look

Here is a link that might be useful: Zodiaq Nutmeg

We're also looking at quartz, and choosing similar colour cabinets. I have fallen for a couple of the new Cambria colours: Linwood and Darlington to name a couple. They're not such "speckly" quartz, a bit more lifelike. Check out the 12x12 samples at a store, I think they're gorgeous. From what I understand, Cambria has one price level.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cambria

you didn't mention any color families you were interested in, but there is a Silestone color Gray Amazon that is a warm gray with brown wisps thru it. You have to see the choices in person because online you cannot see "depth" and some of the more expensive quartz have nice depth and would be a good substitute for granite.

do your research on these quartz products because I believe that one of the brands has had unhappy customers with chipping edges. They are not all the same quality.

I would also say, don't trust the colors on your screen. I wanted a cream color, and Cambria Windermere looked greenish on my monitor. However, when I ordered a 12x12 sample, it was cream, I do love it, and that's what we're getting. The Silestone sample that I originally thought I loved, Ivory Coast, was quite green in real life, but on my screen did not reflect that.

Thanks everyone!

marcydc - I know! Isn't that a gorgeous stone? A dealer here called it "Le Reve" but now can't get any more of it. My DH was in love with that stone. We found another stone we liked called "Jurassic Brown" ??? It is still a contender because it is pretty plain.

Adrienne2011 - I did notice that Silestone tended to be a little plainer while the Cambria seemed to try to mimic granite. I thought selecting quartz would be easier than selecting granite. What was I thinking? Too many choices!

jgs7691 - so glad to hear that I am not the only one. Thank you very much for the recommendations. I did not think about getting a 10''x10'' sample and how it could seem so different from the tiny sample. Great tip.

Co-Co - I really like those Cambria choices. They are not speckly as you say and have more of the swirlyness (new word) that we tend to like. Something like those might give us the pattern we like but more consistent color.

detroit_burb - I like the Gray Amazon. I was thinking more brown than white (it that makes sense). I think I need some touches of gray to blend with all of the stainless steel I have. I guess I really need to find some of these in person; looking at them on my laptop is just not cutting it. I did not know that the brands had different quality so I will be sure to research it. Thank you.

I will head out this morning to do a little shopping. Thanks again everyone.

Do you want any color accent or just want to stay neutral? I put Silestone Tealeaf in a kitchen and love it but that may be too much color for you but its less color than the granite you show.

My local tile store has a nice showroom with large displays of Silestone, Caesarstone & one other brand. They stock the samples so people can select BS tile with the samples handy.

You may want to find a good display and browse till you see the color that hits you. Take your cabinet paint sample w you.

I think a nice charcoal grey would look great w your yellow cabs.
I don't love granite at all. I like the cleaner look of quartz-stones.
The brand you choose should really be about finding the color you like. I chose Qortstone because their mid grey was just the right tone for my space. And it's nice that they run a bit cheaper than the others.

Your granite is really cool, but I'd rather see it on a wall as art than as a cluttered counter. ;0). That's just my opinion obviously.

paige16 - I think the thing I like about the quartz is that from a distance it looks a lot more uniform. I don't think TeaLeaf would be too much color. I am hoping to pick up the rust color of the floor and maybe touches of gray and black. I am glad to hear that you like your Silestone.

herbflavor - Giallo Quarry caught my eye because it has those little flecks of orange/rust I need for the floor, as well as cream, gray and black. That is a good point about looking tame once in place. I really did not understand that when I was looking some years ago and kind of dismissed that style quartz because of it.

We have decided on Cambria countertops for our remodel. Our contractor recommended Cambria as the most cost-effective quartz product. Plus, it's manufactured in the US, at a family-owned company in Minnesota - that matters to us.

Haven't decided on the color yet - I found that I really need to see the samples in my own home, where they will be used. The ones I thought I liked best did not work at all. One color that's a front-runner right now I dismissed with barely a glance at the store. The fabricator that I'm dealing with is fine with loaning me samples for a couple of days at a time.

I did a little shopping this morning and saw Zodiaq, Viatera and Cambria. I think the Cambria had more choices that I liked. I am still planning on checking out Silestone as well.

I like Cambria Somerset in person and the Burnbury online. clergychick has Burnbury and it looks great. If I can narrow it down to 2 or three I will order the larger samples as jgs7691 suggested.

Thanks guys.

I found some Zodiaq samples I have had for probably 4 years. I guess I have come full circle. Nutmeg is pretty good jgs7691. Autumn Light is obviously lighter but it looks good as well.

I'm pretty sure Cambria lets you order samples on their website. For free.

I am going with quartz in my new kitchen and picked out "Savory" by Zodiaq (Dupont). I think it would go great with your current choices, it has a tan background with flecks of color and mica throughout, so it has some sparkle, lots of tiny pieces of color to go with anything, and hides stains. I am using my sample as a tester and rubbed food coloring on it last night, and it all came off! It's hard to find as it is a pretty new color, I've only found it at one local store, but you can order a sample online. It is GORGEOUS but you really need to see it in person, and I picked it specially because it is quiet enough to go with everything, but has the tiny specks of color to allow you to choose any color and it would coordinate, besides making it practically impossible to find stains (or stain at all, for that matter). My KD has told me she will be using it herself in her new home after ordering my sample - she kept it at her house for a couple extra days even :).

That is a cool choice NatalieChantal. If your KD loved it that much after all the samples she has seen, I know it is beautiful. You are right about seeing them in person. After I got home from shopping this morning, I went online to look at the ones I liked in person. I don't think I would have picked any one of them from the online pics.

I am feeling so good about my quartz decision. I just think it will give my busy kitchen the calmness it needs. Just waiting on some estimates from the fabricator. Crossing fingers for decent numbers.

If you can wait a month or so, Cambria has some new colors coming out that will blow you away. They emulate granite, but you can get light, medium and dark colors.

With quartz you will get the ease of maintenance, but you will loose some heat resistance due to the resin binder within the material.

Silestone, Cambria, Zodiaq, Hanstone, Viatera and Caesarstone are all made with the same, patented manufacture process so it really all depends on the price and color.

Hanstone and Viatera are made in North America if that appeals to your buying decision

Andy
Countertop Review

Wow! Those new Cambria colors (coming soon, but to see on website) look amazing.

Those are really nice. I better get on with it though, before my GC quits and DH moves out.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Check out ceasarstone. Lots of beautiful, swirly colors :). I am not a fan of the specky/flecky = like the veiny much more. They have lots of those. Also Okite has more marble inspired choices - not sure of the price though.

It would be hard not to love Caesarstone. We started out looking for speckly in our search and slowly moved swirly. Maybe without knowing why, we had a feeling that it would be too busy.

I saw some samples years ago and if I remember correctly, even DH, who is anti-quartz now, loved them. Maybe Jerusalem Sand or something similar. I always loved the Espresso and I wish I had a spot for the Apple Martini.

I have never heard of Okite so I will check it out.

I'm liking the suggestions for grays in your space. It seems that with the very warm colors in your cabs and flooring, it needs something cool to balance. Of course the stainless will help, too. The quartz may have many options, but still not as many as looking at natural stones, and there is more consistency, so you don't have the difference from slab to slab like with stone. Maybe not completely easy, but easier. ;-) Having choices is good...You'll get there.

The Okite Collection falls within the Zodiac line. It's meant to emulate marble in that it's veiny rather than speckly or plain, as most quartz products are.

We have creamy cabinets and wood floors in a large space, similar to yours. We took the consistent warm approach rather than mixing in some cool, and went with Giallo Michelangelo (Zodiac Okite) for perimeter tops and Saddle Brown (Zodiac speckly with sparkles) for the island top.

By the way, our quartz tops have lived up to their reputation for durability so far. No issues at all.

Thanks rhome. I have been thinking about going the gray but I am worried about picking the right one. There are some great choices though. I need to get my best visualization skills going and get this job done.

thynes - thanks for telling me that Okite was part of Zodiaq. The Okite line looks great. I want to see if I can find it in person. I like the deep rich color of the Saddle Brown and it does not look like it would show every speck of dust. I am glad to hear that they have been durable.

Looks like Lowes carries Zodiaq and Viatera, while Home Depot offers Silestone. Cambria has been harder for me to track down as has Caesarstone. It has been hard to find one large showroom with everything.

We just had Cambria Linwood installed after much debating between the Windermere and Linwood...I was nervous because I could not find anybody who had the color installed because it was such a new color. I have to say it is absolutely beautiful and I am glad with the choice. It looks nothing like the website shows. It is more brown, tans and creams with little gold flakes. I am struggling with a paint choice though. What did you choose?

Odiegirl--

If you need to see larger slabs of some of these solid surface items check some of the local granite yards. Some of them also house slabs of solid surface material. I know Stone Connection up 141/P'tree Industrial definitely has solid surface slabs--Silestone I think. I'm sure in my search for countertops I have seen others also. I'm thinking Atlanta Kitchens, Bottega (International Stone) and Earthtones also had slabs of Quartz. I'm still searching so I'll keep my eye out for this.

Sorry I can't help with color choices as I love everything.

Stella

Odiegirl -- if you're thinking that you might like to add gray to the space (to balance all the warm tones, as rhome wisely suggested) then definitely think about the Zodiaq Nutmeg. It definitely has a greyish undertone to the brown, almost a mushroom-y brown -- although that doesn't sound as pretty as it is -- I think that's why we like it for our space (ginger cherry cabinets and red oak floors), although until rhome made that observation, I don't think I was able to articulate the reason. (Thanks, rhome!)

Da4Cramers -- could you post a picture of your Linwood countertops? I am dying to see that color; I've only seen the 3x3 piece but it's one of my favorites of the new Cambria colors.

Da4Cramers - This is so embarrassing but I still have not actually reached a decision. The Cambria Burnbury is tied with Zodiaq Vela Brown right now. I am very glad to hear that you love your Cambria. I love that the Cambria does not look as speckled as some.

I just boxed up some sample flooring and quartz samples to send to my designer friend tomorrow. She just can't swing a trip here any time soon. I think her goal is to pick out the countertop and the backsplash at the same time so I don't go through another 6 months of indecision.

missstella - Thanks again for another great tip. Stone Connection is literally around the corner (at least in Atlanta terms). I think it would help tremendously to see a larger slab. Earthtones is also very close. I see so many that I love but I sure cannot figure out what works for me.

jgs7691 - I know you guys are right about the gray; I just can't figure out which one. I think the gray would definitely give it a more contemporary look, which I would love. I am having a hard time finding one that blends with the floor. The Brazilian Teak looks brown in some lights and kind of red in others. I will definitely take a look at the Nutmeg.

I will let you know if and when I ever make a decision. That is what I get for thinking selecting quartz would be so much easier than selecting granite.

Here is a pic of clerychick's Burnbury. I hope she won't mind me posting it. It looks brown in some lights and more red in others. It has swirls of and orangey cream, and specks of black and gray.

Hi odiegirl,

Your deep cream cabinet color and floor stain color look similar to ours. I chose the Zodiaq "Mystic Black" because I liked the idea of a very neutral charcoal gray. (Also considered soapstone and jet mist granite.)

I've been very happy with it so far. (1.5yr since install) It isn't too shiny, too dull, too light or too dark. It sounds boring--but that's kind of what I wanted, I guess!

It has some very subtle sparkles that don't really show up in this photo:

Thanks shanghaimom. Your kitchen is one of my all time favorites. I need to go back and look at your countertops. No one would ever say anything about your kitchen is boring. I saw a big display of Zodiaq Saddle Brown that had the same little sparkles you mention. It was so pretty. My tiny sample does not do it justice.

Ok I'll try to figure out how to send it and try it tomorrow for you. I hope the color looks accurate.

Shanghaimom -- that is gorgeous -- and to think, I assumed that you had soapstone in that beautiful kitchen. That's what I get for not reading the thread closely.

Definitely a nice, low-maintenance option for soapstone lovers, and worth considering for your kitchen, odiegirl!

I liked your initial granite color can you tell what it is? I am thinking of doing Cambria on my island and a black granite on the counters.

Good luck! love your cabinet color!

newhouseorbust - It was an exotic they called "Le Reve". It was just amazing. Unfortunately the slab was saw was sold and they could not get any more. The rust color in it was perfect with our floor.

I ended up buying the Cambria Burnbury. I only have a stainless worktable for my island now but some day I will have a built-in one. It is hard not to be a little nervous but I feel pretty confident with my decision.

Let me know what you end up choosing. Best of luck!

We have white cabinets and went with Zodiaq Nutmeg. Here's a picture.

FujiF30Fan - What a great choice. Really pretty. I hope you love cooking on it.

I think I can only hold out a few more days without countertops. I must have my sink and DW back!!! Takeout is looking better and better.

Holding on by a thread here...

I think your choice is beautiful. I have the creamy white cabinets on the perimeter with Hanstone Magellan counter. On the website it looks really dark, but it is a lovely grey pattern which doesn't show anything (dust, food) and is not too shiny.

My island is a red stained wood (similar to mahogany in colour). I chose Zodiaq Bianca Carerra. I love each of them equally. I have had them for almost 2 years now and have thrown just about everything at them (messy and kids aren't any neater) and they look like brand new.

I think anything you choose you will LOVE. Good luck and enjoy your new kitchen. It will be fabulous!

Thanks londongirl. I am really hoping it will all come together. I am so glad to hear your quartz can take some abuse. DH never wipes the counters although I guess there is time for him to change his ways.

Odiegirl, can you tell me your cabinet paint color? I'm looking for a soft buttery yellow, and your shade looks like a good starting point. Thanks.

Odiegirl, can you tell me your cabinet paint color? I'm looking for a soft buttery yellow, and your shade looks like a good starting point. Thanks.

odiegirl13,

Hope you love your Burnbury as much as we do! I think it was a great choice for you, of course! Is it in yet? Can't wait to see the pictures!

And you are welcome to post my pics anytime -- so glad to know they are of use to someone!

--Amy (a.k.a. clergychick)