I like the granite option but have you considered laminate?

I would do the concrete, with the understanding that if it doesn't turn out right, it will be ripped out no matter how much DH pouts.

Why? It is interesting and unusual. You can choose the color, and I wouldn't necessarily go jet black, maybe look at the range of grays, from charcoal to dove. The material is humble and just rustic enough.

My next choice would be the wood, but are you sure Ikea still has it - some have recently reported otherwise. Anyway there are other sources for wood countertops.

I would not choose the granite. You've been there done that. The material does not fit any but the most strained definition of ''cottage''. (You know, when people pack their 500 sq ft kitchen with herds of SubZeroes, packs of Wolves, $2,000 faucetry and $50K of cabinets, and then declaim it ''cutely cottagey'').

I vote for the butcherblock.

Asthetically, black is the most interesting to me, unless you really love the all white kitchen. But I love having some contrast and think it would look nice with the green walls. The butcher block could be nice as well, warming up all the white, but you need to be comfortable with a wood counter top (there are many threads talking about how well it works.) I don't think it would be too much wood, with the white cabinets.

Someone mentions laminate. If you are nervous about the concrete, you could try the soapstone look laminate which I heard is really nice. I don't know what the cost comparison is, but could imagine it would be a lot cheaper than granite, have the soapstone look and allow you to change it out in a few years. Or use the money you save on the counter to get something you really would love to have in the kitchen (or elsewhere.) Good luck.

I would be nervous about the concrete. How about Jet Mist granite? It is black with white streaks that can look like soap stone especially if it is honed. My second choice would be wood, but not a butcher block per se. Maybe a wood with a darker finish?

I would do the butcherblock, but stained with india ink and waterloxed like brickmanhouse did. It looked like soapstone and the waterlox protected the surface. I am doing this this week for my bathroom vanity if I can get to IKEA.

Here is a link that might be useful: brickmanhouse ikea countertops with india ink

I like the wood but I love the contrast of a darker
color like the concrete. What about a dark stained wood?
Safe for food prep of course. Oh I just viewed Cleo's link.
Yup, that idea. I second that great idea!

The only issues with Concrete are the sealing and potential
chips from a dropped spoon or even turning quick with a
pot.

Go for the indian ink look! That is lovely. Thanks for the
link Cleo. That is one great kitchen.
~boxerpups

Dark, dark wood is my vote. If you go the dark wood it will set your cabinets off nicely and won't compete with your floors. Instead of Ikea which I understand is having delivery issues with their wood tops, what about going to your local lumberyard or HD and see what they have available and can do for you.

I have that chandelier in my dining room. I take the shades off in the summer months for a more casual feel. I hope you like yours as much as I like mine.

I think something that looks like honed granite or soapstone would look really elegant (but simple) with your white cabinetry. I did see a picture of some honed grey stone in the june issue of House Beautiful - but it is probably some fancy dancy expensive stone.

don't do polished granite - I think all of your other choices would look better!

I love your choice for the green! It is fresh but also very soothing!

Oh wow, thank you all SO much for your replies! You are wonderful and have given us lots to consider!

remodelfla - You know, we never thought of laminate! Thanks for the suggestion! I took a peek online and there are some pretty cool soapstone looks, but I'm concerned about the seams and the "green" factor (we're trying to make our home as low VOC as possible without going broke). Hmmm...

johnliu - My DH likes your vote! That is pretty much exactly what he wants to do - Give it a shot, and scrap it and go with wood if it doesn't turn out right. I had no idea that Ikea was having issues with their wood countertops - we need to look into that (eek). And I completely understand what you mean about granite not fitting a cottage look. Thanks for your reply!

dianalo - Thanks for your butcher block vote!

sparklekitty - (Cute name!) Thanks for your suggestions! Yeah, the more I look at the photos, the more I agree that the dark counters give the nicest contrast. I'm thinking that we should go this route one way or another.

ellendi - I would love a matte finish dark granite like Jet Mist. A terrific suggestion, thank you! For a while I had my heart set on Nordic Black granite in an antique finish (which I learned about through this forum). I absolutely love the look and low maintenance, but unfortunately, it seems to be pretty pricey. :( Is there any chance that the Jet Mist would be $30ish a sq ft? I don't want to get my hopes up, but I'll look into it.

cleo_2007 - Wow! What a creative idea and gorgeous kitchen (with exactly the look we love)! Thank you!! Staining the wood dark...inexpensive, cottagy and contrast. Verrrry interesting. We will definitely need to explore this idea further! One of my goals for the house is to keep it as low VOC and non toxic as possible. I'll do some research on the India Ink. Waterlox, while awesome, I think is pretty high in VOCs. (My nose has been off the charts sensitive ever since I got preggo with our now 17 month old.) But - maybe there is a low/no VOC food safe Waterlox alternative. ? I'm excited to look into this more.

boxerpups - Yes, the India Ink idea is definitely growing on me! I was concerned about the maintenance for the concrete as well. I'm really hoping that I can find a durable yet no VOC alternative to the Waterlox and we just might be in business! I suppose one down side would be that a scratch would reveal the lighter wood underneath, right, and it would probably require at least re-sealing annually? But, granite needs to be resealed, and soapstone oiled (for the dark look) - so I could probably talk DH into that. Very exciting, indeed! Thanks for your reply!

blfenton - Thanks for your dark wood vote! I didn't think of trying other places aside from Ikea for the wood - we'll have to look into that! Great suggestion - thank you!

dawn8b - You have marvelous taste! ;) I'm glad that you love it too! It's funny, I bought the shades to try and make it look more casual - I should have saved our pennies and left them off, lol. Oh well! It is beautiful either way. Thanks for your reply!

sadiebrooklyn - Another matte, dark contrast vote. Thank you! And thanks for your compliment on the green! We did use it in the kitchen in our last house, and I adored it. It is the one color that we are using again. (It makes me feel like a little bit of our first home traveled with us.) We renovated our last house for sale and I was sad that we didn't get to enjoy the new kitchen for very long, but, I am very excited about all of these ideas for our "forever home's" kitchen.

I'm off to research how to create a dark wood, budget and eco friendly countertop in our kitchen! But please feel free to keep those suggestions coming!

Thank you all, again!! :)

I like darker countertops, and I think your kitchen will be lovely.

bellajourney

Okay-if you want non VOC, I have a product for you. ALthough I have not used it personally, it is an all natural, no VOC sealer for wood countertops. It is called Rubio Monocoat (see link below). I ran across the product when I was thinking of using reclaimed wood as a countertop.

There are lots of colors and effects. If you want a black finish, you would use the pretreatment black followed by the regular sealer. I may be doing this one instead of the waterlox myself since I am pregnant. I read waterlox should not be done in full sun outside and I think the fumes would be too great even in my garage.

As far as the Numerar countertops from Ikea...my local stores are all out of them as well. But you can order them online it looks like. Unfortunately, the shipping is almost the price of the top.

Whatever system I use, I probably won't get to this for a few weeks. I am planning on ripping out and reinstalling the bathroom in about 10 days so the counters will be 3 weeks away. Also keep in mind, there appears to be a 36 hour dry time for the black pretreatment before the final coat (if I remember).

Here is a link that might be useful: Rubio Monocoat

I just did a budget kitchen update with Formica Basalt Slate laminate, and we love it. The Formica it replaced was in good shape, just worn, and was 26 years old. You can see some photos here at the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mabeldingeldine's Basalt Slate formica

kmmh - Thanks for your reply! I'm 99% sure that we will go with a dark countertop.

cleo_2007 - Genius!! Thank you!! We have been planning to use Monocoat for our floors and I never thought to use it on the countertops too! How perfect! I wonder if it is food grade safe (not that I plan to use the counters as a cutting board, but it would be nice if it was food grade safe). And I didn't realize that they had a black stain option. This is so very exciting! I took peek online and the pretreatment black followed by the charcoal oil looks like an excellent contender. The shelves in this pic use it - what do you think?

Now - HOPEFULLY our local Ikea has the butcher block countertops in stock. I wonder if the birch or beech would be better? (In Brickmanhouse's posts, he said he used Birch in one forum and Beech in another. Hmmm...) I can't wait to call our Ikea and Monocoat dealer tomorrow. Thank You!! Best wishes with your bathroom remodel - I look forward to seeing pics. And last but certainly not least, congrats on your pregnancy!!

mabeldingeldine - Thank you for the suggestion! Your kitchen is beautiful and the counters are lovely! One of my concerns with formica was how "green" it is, and if there is a way to avoid seams. We'll be sure to look into it.

Thank you all, again!

Most laminates are GreenGuard Certified. Depending on the dims it should be pretty easy to avoid the seam at the "L" if you do a custom laminate top (which should still be less than $30 a linear foot).