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Island countertop different from the rest of counters in kitchen

5 years ago

Hey everyone! I fell in love with a slab of super white quartzite for my kitchen. Unfortunately it’s out of our price range. Ahhh!! But I love it. anddddd to top it off- we would need two slabs For the counter space in our kitchen. The island would need It’s own slab.

My husband suggested we could get the super white for our island (10feet long by 4 feet wide) but maybe do a less expensive quartz for the rest of the kitchen. Anyone ever done this? What color would you recommend? Do you have pictures? I do not want black.

the kitchen cabinets are white shaker and i was hoping to be doing a white herringbone backsplash. The floors are wood color provincial.

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Anglophilia

5 years ago

I think there must be significant contrast between the island and perimeter countertops. Otherwise, it looks like you either "ran out" of one of the materials or couldn't afford to do it all. That may be the case, but one doesn't really want to advertise this!

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Comments (13)

opaone
5 years ago
I've seen a lot of kitchens with a different island than side cabinets that looked quite good but they were all very different colors and very often marble on the island with a fairly dark (like very dark black/blue/green) material on the surrounding cabinets. If the colors are very close at all I'd think it'd look funny. A marble island (marble is also practical and good for baking) with very dark soapstone everywhere else would look good.
Boxerpal
5 years ago
Is your island cabinetry a different color? maybe do something like one of these below..

Classic Coastal Colonial Renovation - the Ultimate Island · More Info

Indian Grove Kitchen · More Info

Gray Kitchen Renovation St. Louis, MO · More Info

UPDATED GREENWICH RESIDENCE · More Info

Atherton Family Kitchen · More Info
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Heatheron40, very nice. I asked a question about doing a tile countertop in our guest cabin recently as I feel like the look would complement the cabin aesthetic. Also I’m dying to learn to tile and thought it would be a fun place to start as it’s not an everyday space and I could take my time. Most of the responses were against. Basically stating the grout would make me crazy. The guy at the said what you’re saying I think, he said that modern grouts are more resistant to staining and such, and also to go with a tinted grout of some sort. I love your use of pattern to give it interest and intention!
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Thanks for the feedback everyone. We moved this past year and yes, it’s a terrible kitchen layout. Unfortunately I know that my husband will not ever do a total kitchen remodel. We just don’t know how long we will live here to make it worth it. We made the mistake of doing WAY to much to our last house and ended up moving after only 1.5 years. We will be rotating the cooktop so that it is still in the island but instead face the fridge. There’s no way to put it elsewhere without getting all new cabinets, I tried. I see what you are saying with the grey, and maybe I should have said lighter counter as I’m not tied to grey, just something a little brighter. Is there any lighter granite that works well with Ooba Tooba? My main question is still do I only do the island counter or do I do the entire kitchen’s counters to be uniform?
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Thanks for input. Removing backsplash not an option & of course decisions are easier when replacing all! But, sounds like your idea is to tie new counter in to backsplash color. The backsplash & granite do look more color complementary to each other when seen in person! The granite background isn’t as white as appears & is warmer. It’s Santa Cecilia granite but the lightest example we’ve ever seen of it.
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cpartist
5 years ago
A dark grey quartz would work for the perimeter.
jeri
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
My hope is to do Soapstone on the perimeter counters and a beautiful slab like your picture on the island. <sigh> So pretty! I really love kitchens where the island is the Star. :-)
carladr
5 years ago
We have White Princess quartzite on our island with the perimeter counter in a dark grey quartz.
Tara Hayes thanked carladr
Michelle misses Sophie
5 years ago
Also do a search on super white here in Kitchens. It's a marble, not a quartzite
Tara Hayes thanked Michelle misses Sophie
Lynda
5 years ago
We are almost done with our new build - we did a quartzite island and dark brown quartz perimeter.
Tara Hayes
Original Author
5 years ago
@carladr do you have any pictures you could share? We are looking at something very similar. Are you happy with your choice?

@michelle. Thanks michelle. The place we went to pick out the slab told us it was not marble but quartzite which was a natural stone similar to marble but stronger. Not sure. It’s all so confusing.
Michelle misses Sophie
5 years ago
Search for some of @KarinMT's posts - she is a geologist and has written quite a bit about quartzites vs. marbles and Super White in particular. Here is one of her published articles

" What about Super White?

Super White is one of the stones that is frequently caught in the quartzite vs. marble mystery. Most commonly, Super White is dolomitic marble. That means it won’t scratch glass and it will etch with acids. Some Super White has minor amounts of quartz mixed in with the marble. But the rock is still marble and will act like marble. When doing the glass test with Super White, be sure to test a few different areas to get a sense for the overall rock. Is it all the same? Or are there some parts that are harder or softer?"

Be absolutely sure to test several areas of the slab(s) in question and understand you have a marble.
stumpydarby
5 years ago
I would go with gray quartz for the other counters. It will love wonderful.

Dont be afraid to have a different slab or cabinet color for an island. Have fun!
chocolatebunny123
5 years ago
I agree with the other posters in that if you're going with the light island the perimeter counters look better with a contrasting color. If you want to stick with quartz, Hanstone Pewter is a nice grey with no movement. If you prefer natural stone, Steel Grey granite is pretty calm - a bit tone-on-tone chunky but no movement.
carladr
5 years ago
We are still a few weeks away from moving in and everything is covered to protect the stone so unfortunately I haven't any photos yet. But it did look great before it was covered!

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