I'm having another contractor come out today to measure and estimate for possible tile change. While I think the countertop change would primarily be the cost of the materials and some labor but not too intensive he says he could do either. If I did keep the granite and change the tile do you think just a matte black plain tile would work? That's what I want to put upstairs. Nothing fancy. Alternatively any ideas on laminate countertop designs/colors that would match that floor but not be too busy? I'm attaching a pic of the IKEA Numerar teal/black-brown countertops. This is very cheap laminate but I'm wondering if I put that in, and either carry the laminate through the kitchen OR put black matte tile in there if it would work with the granite. The color is not quite the same but could complement I think since the granite is really more teal than green. I could change the cabinets to white (they are off white now..alabaster color) and perhaps even pain the lower cabs a teal color that matched and the uppers leave white? I think it would have a retro look. I really like color (which is probably why I'm struggling with this as I currently rent a place that has very nice black granite, beautiful (but plain) wood cabinets, and a very neutral light floor that is not busy at all.

Every choice has pluses and minuses, in the end you have to choose which plus and which minus matters the most to you and/or which have an easy fix (like using a cutting board under the crockpot; at work we have an extra piece under the big coffeemaker). budget mattered a lot to me (and I hated formica) so, I ended up with a lesser expensive granite and am very happy, no sealing or extra work for the stone I chose. I had formica previously which looked like h#*! from the day I moved in and didn't get better (except that I could use bleach to remove stains) so those of you whose formica looks like new after 30 years must be taking appropriate care -- using cutting boards (mine had little cuts all over) and so forth -- where my previous owners did not. But, I read that formica now is much better quality than what was installed 30 or 40 years ago. I looked at Burled Beach and liked it. It looked a warm sand-ish color on my samples in my house, but I saw a demo kitchen of it at a big box store and it was a warm greenish tone (I still liked it) under their fluorescent lights. You always have to ability to STOP and make changes unless the cabinets are all already made. If he is just now starting it might not be too late -- call him now! PS do you have an IKEA near to you? Most counter materials are less expensive there.

I recently refreshed my oak kitchen with new countertops, backsplash and farm sink. https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~93784356 There are more pics in my "my pics" idea book, and I also have a "wood kitchens" idea book which also has some refreshed older kitchens. This Houzz post contains a wood kitchen that did a white or cream arabesque with a contrasting grout - it looks better than I would have thought. In general, I find a simple backsplash works best with wood, but this works: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/im-painting-my-golden-oak-island-should-i-go-robin-egg-blue-dsvw-vd~4690219 Warm wood tones and cool grays do not play well together - neither does anything for the other. The grays were formulated with the white are very dark wood cabinets in mind. Cream, creamy beige, blue or green look best with warm wood. The blues and greens can have gray undertones. Small amounts of gray are OK. Here is a pretty kitchen with black countertop and simple cream backsplash: If you have not already replaced the microwave, consider a stainless hood as you have a large kitchen with lots of counter space or other places for a microwave.

It looks like you have knotty alder for cabinets. These are natural coloured (light gold in tone) wood cabinets. That means you want to work with things that work with natural wood tones. The other thing you need to worry about is how BUSY the wood is. That means you want to work with counters/floors that are CALM (ie. not a lot of movement; not a lot of UMPH in the visual). Only ONE THING in the kitchen should have that "kick in the gut" impact (visually). The high-impact item you already HAVE = cabinets. Good. Now that has been established we can MOVE ON to the next thing: colours. Light gold wood likes to work with 3-4 "colours". The #1 = White (white counter tops...just like you have there...you would be replacing "like for like"). With a white counter you would look at white or very light flooring (just as you have already = another like for like replacement = not much of change for all that money spent). The #2 = Black. A black counter top (like Uba Tuba = black with hints of green in it) can be used to really set off the light tones in the wood. The easy-peasy floor choice would be (you guessed it) black. Ouch. This can be stunning - but VERY hard to live with. I do NOT think this is an option for you. The #3/#4 options would be BLUE or green (personal choice for colours makes blue more viable than green and vice verse). I personally LOVE blue with light gold wood. I love a blue slate (counter tops AND flooring) with a country-style wood kitchen. This is a great way to get a modern country feel (sigh...yes your kitchen is country in style...there is no way to change that without changing the cabinets). The BEAUTY in using blue slate is it works NICELY with gray. Gray and blue are often compatible (assuming the gray you choose has blue undertones). If you work with green, you will need to rethink the carpet and the paint. See how much fun this is? This is why Sophie suggests a designer. Personally I would go with blue slate. It has LOW visual impact. It is simple and timeless and it will EASILY support a modern country kitchen....it also works very very well with gray (again, watch your undertones in the paint/carpet...do NOT work with beigy tones...it will get ugly in a hurry).