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which color granite looks good with two tone cabinets?

13 years ago

We are remodeling our kitchen. Cabinets are getting installed now and we are shopping for Granite. We have two tone cabinetry Maple ( Harvest ) color for main cabinets and Heirloom black for island. It's making challenging to choose granite color.

Here are my thoughts, Please post your thoughts, pictures to help me choose right color.

I really like dark granites(grey, black family), I feel that catches attention compared to lighter colors which feels like floating on cabinets.

Dark color granite will look good on main maple cabinets but won't work with black cabinets on island, it will make it look like one monolithic block.

Another thought is should we choose dark color granite for main cabinets and lighter color for black cabinets but two color cabinets and two granite colors might make it look like too much going on.

If we go with all light color granites it might not look as nice and dramatic as darker ones.

I am confused, please help.

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Comments (3)

sabjimata
13 years ago
Look at the finished kitchen blog. It is very common to have white perimeter cabs with AB honed granite or soapstone and then a dark stained or painted island with white marble or light granite.

A light neutral granite like Costa Esmerelda might look nice on all or maybe you could do a black granite on the perimeter and get a little wild on the island--like Gaugin on the island.
sparklekitty
13 years ago
We did two different cabinets and two different counters. For me the key was that (1) my island and some of my cabinets are white which is not too busy (you have black, the same thing) (2) I used only one counter material that was dramatic & the second was more even in tone/less coloration and (3) our two counter colors were in the same color family - both were basically medium gray - one all and the other gray with white.

Pietra del Cardosa perimeter counters & super white quartzite island

I was very nervous about this decision. Many people said 2 cabinet one counter or two counters one cabinet. But I am excited about our final decision to do both. I like a less uniform look. I worried that what I picked up looked to matchy but it doesn't in person.

If you did a darker, more even tone stone like a black on the perimeter and something on the island that had more movement and just pay attention to how the counters work together you should be fine.

As I keep having to remind myself, look at your inspiration photos or the FKB again to see what inspires you.

I would also keep an open mind on lighter granites. Bring a your cabinet door, or other finish sample to see how they look with the slabs counters. You may be surprised and find something that works with both. But you don't have to be afraid to do two different counters if it the option you love.

Regarding specific granites, I didn't find many grays. I loved pietra but it is not as durable as other granites and I love soapstone but is even less durable - both can be gray, the first lighter the second more likely black when "oiled" or very dark green, but gray if unoiled, but I don't know if people use them that way. The one mentioned in the previous post seems gray in photos but I have not seen it in person.
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Hey, Not sure if your still looking for input but i had a few ideas. For your base cabinets, if your wanting to keep your existing flooring, i would lean more towards a warm gray than a cool gray. The hearthstone on my screen looks more cool. For counters it depends on your budget. Granite is always a great choice in my opinion if you can afford it however if you are changing your counters you likely won't be able to change them and keep your existing backsplash, its pretty rare that you can save ceramic tile while removing counters. For granites i think you could look at Fantasy brown, looking for a slab with more grays in it (this particular stone i've seen range anywhere from very brown, to green, to blue gray.) You could also go for something more bold and look at soapstone but it depends what you chose for your base color, or your base color depends on what you choose for a counter.
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berryfarm
13 years ago
Like sparklekitty said, take your doors and go to look at slabs.

What kind of flooring do you have? What color will the walls be? What finishes are the appliances?

Keep an open mind about the lighter granites; you don't want to make your kitchen too dark, unless it is a very open kitchen with a lot of natural light.

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