We have granite floors in our sunroom "Mahogany" accented with Absolute black. It looks great but I wouldn't do all black . Five minutes after cleaning they look dusty and show all kinds of printmarks.

I see you've already cut the wood, but was there a reason you didn't want to carry it into the entry? If you live in an area with harsh winters I can understand!

I have to think about the black! ;) I'm just not found of really black floors since they show every footprint and every speck of dust.

Will it be polished? Polished granite/marble is very slippery if wet.

I have Absolute Black in my bathroom. I love it but I would not put it in a high-traffic area, an area where you have cats, dogs or humans, plus as Sue mentioned above, slippery even when not wet. Our #2 son has it in their large foyer and after one fall, I take the back door into their house now. I would go with something like slate.

Beautiful house sdionnemoore! You should paint the entire island black. The beautiful hardwood should just extend into your little foyer floor area, it will have a much better flow in my opinion.

We have black granite for the fireplace floor/hearth (too early in the morning to come up with the right "word.") I agree with the others, it looks nice but shows every piece of dust etc.

Even though your plan is very open I wouldn't totally try to tie the entry floor with the cabinet in the kitchen. I agree with the others that a tile or slate would work better in the entry and look beautiful. I don't blame you for not bringing the wood to the door, I also wanted tile where you step into my house for practical reasons. And yes, do the entire island black, with maybe beadboard on the family room side.

Thanks all! I'm so excited to hear OTHERS agree with my gut feeling of doing the entire island in black--I so don't trust my decorating instincts and this is a huge decision.

i have three different tiles. Travertine, Something 16x16 that has a cool bluish tone and veining (it's ceramic) and another one that has a lot of green--that one will definitely not be the one I'm going with.

One of the reasons I really wanted to do tile here versus wood is that an area rug never seems to fit under the swing of the door and my daughter is in a wheelchair. Even though we have a long ramp leading to the front door, when her wheels are wet, they make a mess of wood (we had wood in the last house and had that problem).

Incidentally, I love the slate idea, but the slate at HD was so broken up and terrible looking, not to mention that colors were SO varied, that I hesitated. Didn't I hear that they make a ceramic tile that looks like slate? Does anyone have this and could you recommend a brand and/or show a pic?

Thanks again, everyone!

To find a good slate you'll need to look at a supplier that deals only in stone & tile. The problem with slate is that it has an uneven surface and I don't think you'll want it in the entry. I've had it on my exterior entry and loved it, but I wouldn't want it on the floor. Maybe there is a slate available now that is smoother, but from the 3 you've listed I would go with travertine. I installed it in 3 bathrooms and loved it, but be aware that it will scratch easier than granite.

Granite tiles may still work for you since I've seen some at our local supplier that have a slight texture to them so they are safer to walk on.
Again, head to a supplier for a better selection.

"Real" slate will crumble. I looked at the same thing you looked at in Home Depot. We went to a tile/stone dealer who got what is called porcelain ceramic slate and it came in several colors. I got the one that (if you have a vivid imagination) has blue in it with rust color veining (there again a lot of imagination required) and because of the uneven surface of it, prevents slipping in the bathroom.

P.S. I re-read my note and it sounded as though I have Absolute Granite on my bathroom floors. No, I meant on my countertops. The tiled areas are tarvertine. Just wanted to correct my own unintentional misinformation.

People often mistake my entry tile for slate but it's actually porcelain tile. It's got a lot of brick reds, greys and gold in it sort of all mixed up. Just showing you as an example of a look you can get with porcelain. The brand is Nepal. I think you can get a slate look without going with real slate.

Mimi, your floor is lovely. Thanks for sharing the information. I'll look into it. . .

I just happen to have this picture handy from another thread :)

What about black tiles in your foyer? Mine are large (18", I think), but a smaller version would be perfect for your foyer.

(sorry about the rug, but you get the idea)

{{!gwi}}