Thankyou for all your responses. Thanks suzannesl and beekeeperswife for the Housz links. FingNugSnug, your kitchen stone looks gorgeous. By the way, what fridge is yours? Actually there are two variations of volga blue and I am looking at "Volga Blue extra" which is darker version and less flecks. Here are some links to these gorgeous stones. Volga Blue extra: http://pietrafina.com/online-inventory/granite/volga-blue-extra/ Absulte cream: http://www.custommarblegranite.com/AbsoluteCreamInstalled.html

I am a huge fan of virginia mist. Bbbbbuuuuuuuttttttttt I have to agree with Desertsteph. You don't want to be stuck in a sea of grey, black and more grey. And you are very lucky to have black as your cabinet color. Most granite will work. Granite is rock and most rocks have some gray or black in them. Go for an exotic color or someting lighter with a touch or tiny speck of gray/black and it will work wonderfully. Here are some ideas to think about. And for those who voted Virginia Jet Mist. I love you all as I love Jet mist with a passion. Lets give Nilgris some things to consider before rushing to Jet mist. Because truthfully all would go with her elements. ~boxer This is from Weidiii's Kitchen. A garden webber with beautiful taste! casadiseno (not sure the granite here but it is lovely) Atlantis Granite From AKBCD Granite not sure the specific type Chicago home Magazine Remodeling Center Home 20 Granite Apollo storm, yes it might be pricey but see if there is a small piece. Colonial cream. Yellow river, they also have one called white river more white Cooking Lite magazine This gray works on the counter but the floors are wood. Decor pad. I know this is a HUGE kitchen but lets look at the lovely white. I hope I dod not offend anyone but this is a sea of gray and black. Not a fan. K4 on Office Genuine Style Dark Cabinets This Old House Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Web: Black cabinets in small kitchen?

We have been nothing but pleased with our Rubio coated floors. I am building a bedroom suite and seriously thinking about finishing it with Rubio when I came across this thread; and was a bit surprised by all the negative comments. I am neither a contractor nor a flooring professional, but finished the floors myself and found it was relatively simple and straightforward. Our floors have been in for over 5 years and look as good as the day they were finished. The floors are Owens Plankfloor engineered white oak (select and better rift and quarter sawn), which I highly recommend. We really liked the color of the natural white oak and did many blends of samples to try and keep the color as close to natural as we could. We finally went with ½ natural and ½ 5% white. We are doing a whole house remodel and not knowing exactly what we were going to do in the kitchen but tired of walking on concrete, we laid the rest of the house and left the kitchen floor unfinished. The kitchen was finished and subsequent flooring laid approximately a year ago (4 years after the original floor). Additionally we took out a fireplace and hearth in a living room and weaved in new flooring approximately 3 years after the original floor. In both cases the new flooring was coated with Rubio and blended perfectly. Had these floors been finished traditionally, it would have been very difficult to match finishes. The attached picture shows the transition from old to new (basically from the refrigerator back into the kitchen. We mop with Rubio Soap once a month or so and realize we may have to recoat at some point, but really like the matte finish. We don’t have children in the house but do have a small dog and 2 2-year old grandkids. <>YF

When we installed out 3 cm granite three years ago, this is the only support that was needed The wood wall is the side of the pantry and the wallboard is the back of the niche. The sink is out of the photo to the left.