I vote for Virginia Slate. I also kind of like the darker Marmoleum (B?). But I like the slate better. I like the look of stone on a floor.

Hi. I just posted a message right before you about marmoleum. Wondering what are the two colors you have in the picture? Looks similiar to what I'm doing - Barbados and Silver Shadow.

I really like the virginia slate and the mountain mist. I don't think they are too dark at all, and make the cabinets pop.

I vote for D... looking at it in your first picture of the whole room... it's nice and warm, won't fight with cabs or counter, and won't darken the room. The two you favor I fear WILL darken the room quite a bit when all over. JMHO.

I also like D. It's gorgegous w/ your cabinets and compliments the granite wonderfully. Besides, it's not dark so it won't make your kitchen appear darker. No sense in it fighting with the already dark granite.

Can you post pics of D and E with the granite in plain site with only those two floorings? I'd like to see a closer look of how the patterns work w/ the granite?

I certainly can! :)

Here's the tile-y one and the virginia slate with the granite:

{{!gwi}}

And here's the mountain mist with granite:

{{!gwi}}

bmarshall- these marmoleum colors are called Caribbean and Serene Grey. I hope that your "click" product starts working for you, as I was also under the impression that it was supposed to be pretty easy.

i think they are all good choices but i actually prefer the 2 marmoleums!! however, seeing the slate next to the granite.....really nice too.

Virginia Slate - my favorite, by miles!

Absolutely gorgeous (not too dark and not too light) with your countertop choice and cabinet color. Love that staggered random pattern layout in it too. Bonus: It will be sooooooooooo easy to clean.

Muscat:

I read your letters wrong; I went from left to right...I'm not crazy about D, as it has too much gold and blends with your cabs. You want contrast. My inital choice was B. Can you show that one close up with your granite?

Thanks,
Deb

Another vote for Virginia mist. Love it with the granite and cabinets! Can anyone photoshop it in?

I have something very similar but a bit darker, the Tourraine Slate laminate by Berry. It's not black but charcoal; like your selections, it has wonderful texture. It really fools the eye, too, as everyone thinks its genuine slate.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tourraine Slate

Virginia Slate.

Thanks everyone!!

Debi- a normal person *would* have gone left to right.....sorry. B was the marmoleum, and here is is, close up. I put the other grey-blue marmoleum in there too, since if I use marmoleum, I might want to create a bit of a pattern on the floor. Not sure. Here's two pics, since the light is not very good right now:
{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

So the tally is:

Virginia slate-5
Light marmoleum-2
Dark marmoleum-1 and one "second choice" vote
Mountain mist-2
Tile "D" (sorry for the confusion)-1

If anyone can photoshop that virginia slate or mountain mist or light marmoleum in, I'd LOVE YOU!!!!! I can make new pictures which would be easier to work with. :)

OK, this is SUPER rough, since the sketch-up program has very limited colors, but I put colors in as close as I could, trying to imagine dark floors vs light floors:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Virginia Slate or other medium dark floor grounds the kitchen (a good thing). A light floor with your other colors is jarring to the eye and makes whole kitchen look disjointed (to me).

Thanks, Teedup. I think I agree. I picked up a few more dark samples today.......here I was trying to eliminate choices, not add to them!

It's all kind of like picking out wallpaper, isn't it? If they only had one book of samples to choose from, it would be way too simple. LOL

Go with your gut feeling!

Gut feelings are great, especially if you can find that majic point where that choice intersects what a cool-eyed analysis offers up. Since you ask, my vote is a knee-jerk gut reaction (I'm typing from a really strange position here) for an old favorite I'd love to have in my own home--a diagonally laid checkerboard of largish squares of two Marmoleums, one very likely the charcoal to echo your counters. To me a look that's fun, energetic, dignified, and classic all at the same time.

Yep, I like B, the darker marmoleum (greenish color). I think the patterns of it and the granite look great together. I do like the darker green tile floor, but I'm afraid it may be too dark especially since you already have dark granite. If your splash is light, it could work though.

Rosie- I am definitely considering something like that- maybe not a full checkerboard, but a pattern of mostly the lighter marmoleum with a few of the darker diamonds randomly tossed in. I am afraid of not being able to pull that off though.

Well, to add to it, I picked up a couple new ones today:

A green/brown tile:
{{!gwi}}

Another dark slate:
{{!gwi}}

A med. grey slate:
{{!gwi}}

And here are the virginia slate and new slate-like ones all together.
{{!gwi}}

I vote for Mountain Mist. It is my favorite by far. The Virginia slate on my monitor has a yellow tone that clashes with your cabinets. I don't like the new ones as much either. The Mountain Mist is dark enough to contrast without being too dark, and I love the way the cool tone of it contrasts with the warm tone of your cabinets.

The smaller mottles (for lack of a better word) of the new slate-look ones you show compete with your mottled granite.

All the grays are too cool for your warm colors already in place (cabs and granite). For me, cool and warm colors together just clash. I'm sticking with Virginia Slate as my favorite.

I still like Virginia slate best - it seems the most calming to me and grounds all the colors together. Then again, if you like more patterns in the floor, which you seem to indicate, then maybe "calming" is not what you are after. It is all just personal preference, so take my opinion for what its worth (not much!) The Mountain mist is my second choice. When all esle fails, apply the Sweeby Test!

What is the color on your walls? In some pictures it seems more green and in others it is more blue. Is that color staying? Have your thought about a backsplash?

THanks guys-

needanap- I dont want more pattern, so much as I think *if* I went with the marmoleum, I'd need to break up the monotony a bit, since it is made to look like an expanse of a color/pattern, not like tiles.

Mountain mist, virginia slate and the other light slate are my favs.......tonight :)

The walls are a sagey grey-green, but I do see blue in some of the photos, too. It matches the granite really well in "real" time.

The backsplash will likely be tile......something like these- sorry- lots to eliminate still.
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

Why is it so easy to choose for someone else? I haven't yet found a backsplash for myself (it's been almost 6 months). LOL

I like, in the first picture...the creamy/beigey with green inset tiles best. The gray tile samples seem too busy, the other light ones seem too light/white.

But what do I know.

Hi Muscat,
I've been following your kitchen plans with interest. I remember when you struggled with your backsplash plans and the placement of the pot rack and all the different stopping points for the backsplash that you considered. What did you finally decide?

Love the Volga Blue with your cabinets. Perfect choice! I like the idea of keeping the floor a minimal part of your plan because the cabinets and the granite are so spectacularly beautiful. Guess I'd pick the slate that is the most neutral and calm - whatever the name of that one is. I think it was in your first picture. Also read somewhere that horizontal surfaces look better when they are in the same color range. A light color backsplash will help keep the room light. The dark floor will help your cabinets "pop."

But this is coming from someone who had a dark windowless kitchen and is looking for a dark granite for a countertop. Someone somewhere said "embrace the dark side" so I think we will.

JB1176

Hi Muscat - Again!
Sorry, as soon as I submitted the last post I thought that there were an awful lot of "squares" in the mix. I looked at your backsplash ideas and saw all the squares of tile with the addition of squares of inset decorative tiles and then the addition of squares on the floor with the slate. Too many "squares" for me I guess so perhaps the marmoleum solid would float my boat. I'm a person who likes simplicity and calm surroundings that aren't too busy, So,on second thought I'd choose solid appearing floor.

JB1176

I've never tried an image before. If this works, it's Marmoleum 'shell'.

Mountain Mist and Virginia Slate are my favorites. Does your Volga Blue have a lot of green in it? That might make a difference.

THanks, Teedup- I think those are my favorite tiles, too.

The problem is, there are just too many combos that I like! It makes me want to go design someone else's kitchen, just so I can apply my ideas "somewhere"......I need preactice, but I guess others done necessarily want to be guinea pigs :)

jb- thanks for the thoughts on too many squares- I had not considered that. hmm......more to think about....

As you may be, I'm currently anguishing/fretting over a decision worth only a few $C's in backsplash tile that may or may not look dated in just couple of years and scream, "Inset tiles? Oh, so Dec. 2007ish!"

Guess it could be a whole lot worse, unthinkable for me though...like investing in the $150K-$180K kitchen reno currently on the forum front page. But, all things are relative...maybe I should just get a life. I'll think about that after tomorrow - a golf day, maybe two rounds, maybe I'll break 90 if it's not real windy.

I'm casting a big vote for the Virginia Slate. I think it looks fantastic with the granite and the cabinets and I also think the pattern adds a lot of interest - really creates an upscale look to me. At first I liked "b" too but with the granite I think it's way too light.

Britt

I've followed your ideas for a long time and am really intrigued with how it all will play out. I hope you will post the results as soon as the kitchen is a finished reality. You have chosen elegant and quality elements so the completed kitchen can only turn out beautifully. Those cabinets are gorgeous as are the backsplash tiles and the Volga Blue granite. It will all be stunning when it is completed. Good Work!

JB1176

jb- thanks for the vote of confidence. I am swimming without waterwings, tightroping without a net, flying without a parachute.......basically, "winging it" with lots of reading here, of course! And I'll post pics along the way! That makes it more fun, anyway.

Brittu- yep, all the light ones got eliminated. I did not expect that.

teedup- I'm hoping that in the end, I'll be looking at a total bill of about 20K, so the idea of even 50K sounds scary to me! I'm really happy with that number given that we went to bare studs and built everything back in again, but that also is with me doing serious bargain hunting, lots of DIY, and getting what I think would be $40-50K custom cabinets for about 5-6K.....an unusual family benefit! :)

hedygs- the volga blue has more slate/green in it than you'd at first think...that is why the walls ended up a bit green. I guess I should have waited to paint till I decided on a floor, but were doing everything a bit backwards since the cabinets are delayed. I had to do something.....so I painted, and matched the paint to the cabs and the granite, and hoped for the best. Impatience may not pay off this time.

janwad- nice and clean looking! very appealing. How do you like your ladylux?

I do think that V. Slate is my favorite right now, but it is also the most expensive. That is fine, if it is perfect, but I'm going to wait to make sure that there are not problems with my granite before I commit to a floor....I can just see my slabs getting broken, and having to chose something new. Not pessimistic, just realistic.

Very smart to wait on a flooring buy until granite is in and a done deal.

What is the name of the program that you used to make a sketch of your kitchen? (December 3) That is really cool and I would like to use it to visualize my flooring choices.

Hi Muscat. Since the Alloc slate is one of your favorites, I thought I'd share a picture of my floor. Not laminate, it's Amtico vinyl, and the color may be a little darker, but the overall feeling is similar. I did see the Virginia Slate back when I was looking, it was a handsome floor.

purple girl- it is Google SketchUp, and it is free. Like most similar programs, it takes some getting used to, but it is pretty user friendly. Just a little limited in colors/textures.

frankoma- that looks great! I considered Amtico, but I wanted something a little "cushier" for my feet, since it would have gone down on a cement slab. How do you like it?

Thanks, I've been really happy with it. I have a wood sub-floor so it's warm and plenty cushy, and since it's vinyl it's practically maintenance free (my favorite benefit!) I really liked the look of the Alloc slate but decided against laminates due to the additional height they added; I know we're talking millimeters here, but it was a deciding factor. But I agree with you, over a concrete slab I think laminate is the perfect choice. I love the look of slate, even fake-slate!