It sounds like your counter is reflecting almost like a mirror. Can you change the direction of any ceiling lights? Do you have lights under your cabinets? If not, try one and see if it helps.

Glossier paint does reflect more, but it's hard to say if that would help in your situation because it's the dark counter that is reflecting. Experimenting with the same color in different glosses on a large sample would be the only way to tell.

Here's a tip I learned in an art class. When adding white to blue, try adding a drop of violet to help it stay blue and not wash out.

Oh! You got Diamond Black granite...I'm jealous! By the time I was ready for my counters the quarry had run out of it and I now have AB Premium instead. It does have some of the silver inclusions the Diamond Black has but not as many or as noticeable.

So, your BS...is the color change w/both natural & artificial light?

I would try Steff's idea of adding the violet and mixing a batch. Is the paint inexpensive enough that you could mix a batch for the entire job & then test it? (I'm concerned that if you get the perfect color again and it works you won't be able to reproduce it!)

I think the only thing you can do is try different mixes & finishes and see what you can come up with. To get the best effect, test on large areas, though, not small.

BTW...welcome back! I remember you from 2007 when I first joined GW & started on my remodel.

Violet, who knew? (I am truly color impaired.) The BS looks better in natural light, but I have 11 recessed halogen bulbs in the ceiling that are bouncing off the counters and wrecking the BS. Sigh. I also have halogen lights under the cabinets, which lighten the BS somewhat, but I don't turn them on a lot. I'm thinking maybe flat paint was a mistake -- it absorbs, rather than reflects light, right?

Buehl, I remember you, too! Contemporary, yes?

I need a BS fairy to come into my kitchen and wave her magic wand and end this once and for all!!

maybe swap the colors to blue walls and white backsplash? Would that work?

I ended up with Transitional. But, I was looking at a more contemporary look initially...I'm surprised you remember!

Yes, matte does absorb light and it does hide imperfections in the wall... We used a pearl finish on our BS. In BM paints (the paint we used) came in: Flat, Matte, Eggshell, Satin, Pearl, Semi-gloss, and High-gloss...each progressively more "glossy". It seems pretty scrubbable but there is some variation b/w natural & artificial light...it's a little darker under artificial lights.

I cross-posted this on the Paint forum, and a responder corrected my description that the black granite bounces a shadow against the wall. The black granite is absorbing all of the light rather than bouncing it. So black granite = beautiful, gleaming surface or massive light-eating beast? Anyway, I think this helps explain why I've had some trouble settling on a BS. All the samples of tile, glass, and paint that I've loved in the store have failed to enchant me in the kitchen. Sigh. Black granite is so popular, what's the secret of making a BS work with it?