I'm delurking so someone can talk me down.

15 years ago

Hello - I am not much of a poster here, but after lurking and occasionally piping up for about 5 years, I actually have questions! We are mid-remodel on our small condo kitchen (nothing too noteworthy - medium wood cabs, abs black honed counters*, greyish-green granite tile backsplash, stainless appliances).

The granite templater was here this morning and did what no one else has been able to do - convince me that abs black honed granite is a VERY BAD IDEA. As much as I prefer the honed look, this isn't our forever home, we aren't the neatest people in the world, and we have a toddler and a newborn, so I think we will just go with abs black polished. So my questions:

1. We have a silgranite sink in anthracite sitting in the kitchen right now, which I thought would look particularly nice with a honed granite. Any opinions on how this will look with a polished surface? If someone has a picture filed away somewhere, I would be quite grateful.

2. The backsplash is a polished granite tile in verde laguna from the Artistic Tile custom blends (1x1 tiles). Will a polished countertop be too much with that? I linked to a picture of the tile in the the mini-brick style.

I realize that these are questions of aesthetics and preference, not objective facts... but really, I think I just need someone to tell me that switching this up will not completely ruin my vision. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Verde Laguna granite tiles

Comments (7)

elvisandcallie
15 years ago
I think your choices will look wonderful together. I don't think your back splash will look like one large shiny surface, there should be plenty of variation between it and the granite.
cosmo_nj
Original Author
15 years ago
That's just what I needed to hear.
Related Discussions
Clients talking to me slow me down.
Q
Comments (4)
Unless it cuts into you getting on to another client and throws your whole week out of alignment since you are charging by the hour it just means she is going to be paying a little more for the extra time. That is one reason to charge by the hour - a situation where you might come up short if you were instead being paid a pre-determined amount based on a bid or estimate. With some clients it does seem the social interaction is part of what they are paying for. I've been on a site working as an assistant to another gardener, applying herbicide and seen a second gardener from another company (her own) chat with the client just about the whole time I was there. If the customer doesn't think it matters that they are paying you to shoot the breeze, then maybe it doesn't.
...See More
Talk me down or bail me out of jail
Q
Comments (101)
hahahahaha - You are so right - I didn't even think about it that way! You guys crack me up! And I thought *I* was the one being sneaky! lol He has me doing all the weeding and mowing the back, too! Now we're *discussing* a vegetable garden. He wants to do it one way, I another. I told him that I was going to do it my way and he could just stay out of it! He's just won again, hasn't he? hmmmm....... beginning to catch on now...
...See More
Hey guys... I'm sorry.. but, can I talk to ya for a min.?
Q
Comments (24)
Nicki, nothing stays the same. Nothing at all. Everything is constantly undergoing change. First of all, you have got to clear your mind. Stop drinking or using anything for a crutch. Sit quietly and think about the person you want to be. Think about the steps you need to make to be that person. Start small. You have little girls and their minds are like a sponge. Find something you can teach them. Their appreciation and joy in new things will help you. Set aside time every day for them and some for yourself, but don't spend a lot of time worrying about whether other people like you or not, or hanging with people who will bring you down. Don't "party"...whatever that means. If you have to make new friends...then be on the look out for some that are the kind of people you want to be around. Take part in your daughters' activities at school, when work permits. If anyone brings you down...or is a bad influence on you...cut them loose. I had to do that, myself, in order to be at peace. There are always people who have nothing to do but sit around and drink and stir up trouble. I know you are a very pretty girl. I've seen your pictures. There is nothing attractive about a woman who drinks too much. You don't want your children to grow up and remember you as an alcoholic. It's a waste of precious time and money. Nicki, you can change, but you have to start taking care of yourself, and that means putting you and the girls first. It takes a little strength to do that, but it gets easier all the time.
...See More
Crazy kitchen ideas... encourage me? talk me down?
Q
Comments (49)
I think you do get it, innately, not because of something I said. I don't think stoicism or rigidity precludes color. The counter or a block of the cabinets could be purple...the minimalists worked in color, after all . But I think what you don't want is extraneous ornament. To go back to the Pop Art idea, ...I think if it was really Pop Art, the Dishwasher would look like a box of Brillo Pads or something. To me, words like "Just Chill" --I think this is extraneous ornament, and it also reminds me too much of "Friends Gather Here" on a plaque or something. Bob Venturi would probably love the idea of wrapping a film around everything, but Venturi isn't a modernist. This thread has really made me think about the Concetto countertops and why I don't quite like them...because I want to like them on some level. But I think it is because they aren't quite real. If you did a purple Pyrolave countertop, the color would be the shape and the object, and the shape and the object would be the color. All of a piece. But the Concetto material is kind of aspic of sorts with bits and pieces of real semiprecious stone kinda blobbed together in resin . It's like expensive head cheese. If it were all one piece, like a big slab of marble that is a solid object in and of itself, that would be different.
...See More
remodelfla
15 years ago
I like your backsplash very much and think it should look fine with your granite choice. I don't know how much better off you'll be with AB polished. Most of what I've read on here frequently mentions fingerprints and smudges. With 2 babies... ya' just are gonna have to give up the small stuff (like a pristine counter surface) and enjoy the chaos. As long as you don't mind some fingerprints/smudges/whatever; then you'll be fine.
rmlanza
15 years ago
Get yourself some good quality microfiber cloths and you'll be fine with the polished AB. I have the anthracite siligranite with ubatuba and love it, I think it will look great with your AB. And that backsplash is AMAZING!!! LOVE it!

Be sure to post pics when it's all done. And congratulations on "delurking" yourself;o)
cosmo_nj
Original Author
15 years ago
rmlanza - thank you! I love that tile, too. We made room for it in the budget by scrimping on floor tile. The nice thing about a 9x9 space is that you save on materials.

remodelfla - See, fingerprints and smudges are fine. It's the potential for permanent staining that scares me. We have embraced the chaos. There was one morning last week where we had my husband, 22 month old daughter, her nanny, our contractor and his 3 workers, plus me and the 5 week old infant walking around our 950 sq foot condo (made smaller by the fact that the kitchen is blocked off)... and NO WATER! Some municipal worker hit a pipe somewhere.
elizgonz
15 years ago
"There was one morning last week where we had my husband, 22 month old daughter, her nanny, our contractor and his 3 workers, plus me and the 5 week old infant walking around our 950 sq foot condo (made smaller by the fact that the kitchen is blocked off)... and NO WATER! "

I can relate- throw in an extra kid and that was my story 6 months ago.

Your kitchen plans sound lovely. Good luck!
cosmo_nj
Original Author
15 years ago
elizgonz - oy. I am barely hanging in there with 2!

Thanks all for the virtual hand-holding. I'll definitely post pictures when we are done. The cabinets are almost done as of tonight and they look great. Our contractor has promised that we should have a working kitchen tomorrow afternoon (plywood temp counters, but we'll take what we can get!).

I'm delurking so someone can talk me down.

Comments (7)

elvisandcallie

cosmo_nj
Original Author

Related Discussions

remodelfla

rmlanza

cosmo_nj
Original Author

elizgonz

cosmo_nj
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

I'm delurking so someone can talk me down.

Comments (7)

elvisandcallie

cosmo_njOriginal Author

Related Discussions

remodelfla

rmlanza

cosmo_njOriginal Author

elizgonz

cosmo_njOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

cosmo_nj
Original Author

cosmo_nj
Original Author

cosmo_nj
Original Author