Looking across the peninsula from the living room space

A closer view with the pendants, undercounter, and display cabinet lighting on.

Same view looks different with the lights off. The wall does NOT read green in real life, but does in this photo.

And finally, a shot from the kitchen looking out across the peninsula into the living room area. This one shows the wine cooler. The cabinets to left of cooler are really (far left) a cookbook shelf open on the end, and a trash drawer.

Sorry about the two sideways images. I fiddled and couldn't fix that on the post.

Gorgeous! Your counters are amazing! Congrats!

Wow, I had seen this at the granite yard and could not imagine it in a kitchen. It looks really pretty!

Looks great!!!!

Beautifu!! I really love your cabinets with the open shelving at the end of the peninsula and your lovely glass uppers. Enjoy your beautiful new kitchen!

Your counter top rocks! (sorry, just had to say it...)

Love the backsplash too, and the cabinets too. Nicely done - enjoy your new home.

Your kitchen looks so peaceful! LOVE the granite.

Enjoy it!

Gone South,

That's fantastic, I love it!
I have seen, and drooled on, that stone at our slab yard. They have a remnant that would make an awesome coffee table. If only I needed a coffee table. But someday I will come up with a use for it. Good for you to pull it off beautifully in your kitchen!

The geologic explanation they told is not quite right. The rock is called a conglomerate, it's a sedimentary rock. There is no volcanic basalt involved, but it could likely be formed in a river bed.

But my favorite part of your kitchen is the backsplash. I just love, love, that style of porcelain. It's the first thing I fell in love with at the tile store. Sadly, I can't make it work in our kitchen but every time I go in I give it a lusty stare.

Thanks for sharing!

Karin

Really beautiful, and that granite is a show stopper. I love that GW has a resident geologist who can explain the origins of the different granites, it is fascinating!

Enjoy!

Karin, it's definitely a sedimentary conglomerate from a riverbed. I just googled a bit and can't find confirmation of whether the black background stone that's filling in around the pebbles is from the sediment in the bottom of the river or from a volcanic flow. Something I'll have to look into a bit more!

I do think the backsplash tile really tied the kitchen together and kept a busy stone quiet. We definitely knew when we saw it that it was right, and I haven't come across anything in all the months since that has even come close to the Bambu Grigio tile. I knew I wanted to run it verticale, but it was thanks to the wisdom of this forum that ran it all the way up the ceiling and through the molding like we did.

Ah, if you are a resident geologist than you have helped me with the explanation. Thanks!

Your kitchen is absolutely stunning. I followed your earlier posts and was waiting to see your choices all in place. You did a great job coordinating all your elements. If you want to show off any of your other rooms I am sure lots of us GWers would love to see them too.
Congratulation ond much happiness to you in your new home.

Hmm, I will accept the title of resident GW geologist with pride! :)

The black background (matrix) is sediment, likely clay. The rock is so striking in how the pebbles are perfectly suspended in the background material. The reason it is unlikely to be lava is that lava would just bury the gravel, it wouldn't suspend the gravel within it. Nor would lava be able to flow into all those intricate spaces between each pebble. A lava flow is an episodic event so if anything you'd have one or more visible layers of lava on top of layers of pebbles. (We have such a rock locally occurring here and I can tell you it is a fairly ugly rock!) But that is unimportant. What really matters is that the rock is truly striking and special and you are so fortunate to have it in your kitchen!

Good luck with moving in. I can only imagine how exciting that must be!

The granite and BS is a great combination-very very pretty. Enjoy your beautiful new kitchen.

Karin, that explanation makes a lot of sense. I appreciate having a better understanding of how this very cool rock was made. When we had it leathered, the process took a little more "off" the surface of the softer stone vs. the harder. Turns out the black background matrix is a bit softer than the stones suspended in it. So when you run your finger across the countertop, there is a slight relief of the harder pebbles standing out from the softer sedimentary matrix. It's very subtle, but a very cool effect!

Stunning! Those counters are the bomb and I love the large format tiles. Great job and congrats!

What a fun kitchen! Congratulations! I would be have to spend time ogling that counter, not to mention the rest of the kitchen!

Of course your stone and tile choices WOW the eye; however I am taken aback by the other subtle elements of your beautiful kitchen.
Normally not drawn to dark stained cabinetry I love this style, the beadboard insets and the peninsula brackets. Also the two level peninsula is making me rethink my own plan of a counter height island.
All of your choices work well together. Can't wait to see the bar stools and the decor pieces you choose.
Happy Move In Day!

Cool! Congrats!

Wow, thanks PP. I had to read your review to my husband who chose some of those cabinetry details, and he just beamed.

Speaking of ogling, we were meeting with builder and one of his guys yesterday, and there were four of us gathered around the peninsula, and I was laughing because I caught every one of us quietly ogling and stroking and checking out details in the granite during our meeting. We are going to have a lot of fun with it!

Yes, the counter is truly cool! Overall, such a nice kitchen... congrats and enjoy it!

Just lovely. Dramatic and so elegant. I love the leathered granite and the BS with the dark cabs. Congratulations!

I really like this countertop! I have never seen anything like it and it has me rethinking. Can you share a source? Thanks!

We saw it in two of the big warehouses we went through in Elberton, Georgia. It was called black and gold marinace. I've also seen it called mosaic, bedrock, and riverock. If you do a google image search for black gold marinace, you'll find plenty of images which you should be able to share with your local granite fabricator and have them track some slabs down.

We absolutely LOVE the kitchen, it's functional and a real pleasure to work in and just a nice space to hang out in. I know it wouldn't have ended up anywhere as nice without the help of the wonderful Garden Webbers who helped us process so many decisions.

That is one cool granite! Your kitchen is gorgeous and so unique!
We live on a river (well will once we finish and move lo), have river rock on the lower portion exterior and a river rock fireplace. Maybe I should rethink my island granite....... it's stunning. Keep the pictures coming :)

We put in marinace verde a couple of years ago and absolutely love it - also everyone who sees it! We didn't have it leathered. Nothing shows on it - you have to feel to find the crumbs. My favorite part of the kitchen!

I think it's spectacular!

Very stunning and I love how it all goes so well!! You did great , hats off :)

Your kitchen is beautiful. I would like to put in black marinace benches in my kitchen but my stonemason suggested they are subject to breakage and chipping and doesn't recommend them for a kitchen. How has your marinace held up to daily use?
Many thanks

Pebbles63: It has held up very well. It's still getting raves, and we have had no issues with breakage or chipping. I would 100% go with these same counters again, we are thrilled with them!

OMG these counters are amazing! I am glad this got bumped back up! I will probably go with a quieter granite, but my heart is drawn to the big bold ones!

Your granite is AMAZING! Stones like yours really do show their true colors when they are leathered. Beautiful!