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courtney_brooke63

Absolute black granite?? Is it really black or not?

Courtney Brooke
5 years ago
I am building a farmhouse on 10 acres in the country. The main colors are black and white with pops of color here and there. My island will be Silver cloud granite and I want black granite on the surrounding countertops. Is absolute black really black or is it speckled with grey? Attached is the house before the black metal roof and the slab for the island.

Comments (59)

  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Those windows will all have black cedar shutters. The ones on the right are actually in the garage and on the left, they are in a guest room.
    I appreciate all the helpful comments about my countertops. This is my first time on Houzz. I didn’t realize it was like FB. That’s disappointing.
  • tatts
    5 years ago

    Welcome to the Internet; you must be the new kid.

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  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    5 years ago

    Courtney, if you already know everything about design, furnishings, & finishes why would you post a question on a design forum?

    Pick whatever you want but know that as many times people ask for design advise here, they ask how to fix or resolve an issue they created because they didn't ask or know something in advance.

  • Andrea Webb
    5 years ago
    I don't know anything about black granite, but I just wanted to say that I love your house! It will look so good when the roof is finished.

    People definitely get their kicks out of posting rude comments... nothing better to do I guess!
  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Beverly, I definitely do not. I am just beginning to plan the kitchen. All I know for sure is that I love this granite for the island. I am looking for help with the countertops and then figuring out the backsplash and cabinet colors. I’m basically designing the kitchen around the one thing that I wanted to be the centerpiece if you will.
  • Mona
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I'm working on a flip house in the farmhouse style. I also chose silver cloud granite for the kitchen countertops, combined with white shaker cabinets, oak shelving and brass hardware. Floors are natural oak and walls painted in Benjamin Moore Simply White. Lights over the island will be in matte black with brass trim (feiss pendants), while the lights elsewhere will be in brass (cedar and moss). I'm doing the silver cloud in a leathered finish rather than in polish because it's at once rustic and elegant. Seemed more fitting with the farmhouse feel.

    I'm still deciding whether to do all the countertops in the silver cloud with leathered finish, or just on the island. If i decide to do perimeter counters in another material, I'll do them in a black soap stone or a honed black quartz. I'm leaning toward doing all in silver cloud because I want to keep the kitchen as white as possible. The silver cloud when leathered is brighter white than in polished and the black reads more like a dark charcoal. It's really perfect for the look you're trying to achieve. All the best, Mona

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    5 years ago

    I think honed absolute black granite would work great in a farmhouse kitchen, as would honed Jet Mist (which is black with white swirls) or soapstone. I don't see any honed stone as being "contemporary" as such, on the contrary, I think shiny polished granite looks more contemporary than honed.

  • zimmer
    5 years ago
    The honed granite would look wonderful. Before you decide go look at the slabs only way to truly tell the look. See if they have samples of honed or leathered
  • tatts
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    You want black stone? How's this?

    We stayed at The Carlyle in NYC a few years ago, and this floor absolutely astounded me. Not a scratch on it after all these years and virtually seamless. I was too embarrassed to take pics; didn't want to seem like a Rube. The yellow upholstery looked as bright in the reflection in the floor as on the furniture.

    Great bed linens, too; the 'C' was woven in the top hem of the sheet, not embroidered on.


  • Cheryl Hannebauer
    5 years ago

    We looked at Jet Mist, Virg Mist, Black pearl & went with a Silver pearl Granite, as we decided we didnt like the black of black in the others...

  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    I guess I’m off to the granite warehouse in Dallas this weekend. The polished is beautiful, but I do see how modern it looks. Thank you, everyone!!
  • Mona
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Also, I've found the perfect door hardware (not cabinet) for a black and white farmhouse style. If you have the budget for higher end, take a look at Schoolhouse Electric's door hardware, particularly the York in black. It's made by Emtek. If you want a more reasonable price point, Kwikset began knocking off this door knob last year. It's available through build.com and also Door Locks Direct, which is in Texas. The Kwikset knob is called the Pismo.

  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Thank you, @mona We haven’t purchased door hardware yet! I was looking at crystal doorknobs in the beginning, and I purchased an antique one for the pantry door. I decided it was too much for the entire house. I will check these out.
  • Mona
    5 years ago

    Rejuvenation.com also makes great door hardware. Kwikset also makes another door knob that's a bit more traditional and looks great in black...it's the Hancock.

  • thinkdesignlive
    5 years ago
    The sueded finish definitely feels more 'rustic' and weathered. The honed is more 'crisp' and refined (and shows oily fingerprints). You have to see both in person to judge.
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  • thinkdesignlive
    5 years ago
    And another term for sueded is leathered....just FYI
  • thinkdesignlive
    5 years ago
    Another one with sueded/leathered absolute perimeter

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  • thinkdesignlive
    5 years ago
    And honed....
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    I love honed but have found the sueded/leathered/antiqued - whatever your stone place calls it - is more forgiving w fingerprints/water spots, etc. Price varies for all these finishes so that's something to take into consideration. Good luck!
  • Pam
    5 years ago
    I bought my place and it had/has absolute black granite counters. I warn you, please don’t get that for your counters. Literally every tiny spec, minuscule bread crumb, tiny water drop (wet or dry), piece of dust, slight touch of a finger that’s not 100% clean will be obvious from a distance. Even the natural act of just swiping clean your counter with a wet cloth will leave visible streaks until you buff the counter with a dry or shammy type cloth after. The counters looks lovely if you decide to never ever actually use them, otherwise they are the biggest PITA I’ve ever had needing constant, and I truly mean constant attention. I’d get mine redone in a second of I could afford it right now.
  • Pam
    5 years ago
    I should have added my counters are polished. From the pictures from others above I can see that a honed or leathered finish would be far more forgiving in not showing every spec of dust.
  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    5 years ago

    Yes, Pam, I have honed Virginia Mist counter tops and they are very easy to take care of. They don't show any streaks. The polished dark gray quartz I have in my vacation/rental home show the same streaks that your shiny granite does :(

  • Joe T.
    5 years ago

    I have honed Virginia Mist counter tops and they are very easy to take care of.

    I can second this.

  • thinkdesignlive
    5 years ago
    Yes! Absolute black is the least forgiving of the black stones as it truly is absolute black. All of the others (like the Jet) have natural variances in the stone that make it visually more forgiving. Honed Absolute is going to visually ‘wear’ the same as the polished - if even worse because it’s so pure and even (talking about streaks and water spots, oil, etc).
  • thinkdesignlive
    5 years ago
    If OP didn’t want a contrasting island I’d pick soapstone or the honed jet mist in a heartbeat!
  • M Miller
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I was going to warn the OP about everything Pam mentioned above. These are problems with Absolute Black. And a honed AB finish may show dust less, but will show fingerprints more.

    There are other problems with Absolute Black granite. One is that AB is expensive. Consequently there are many counterfeit stones sold as AB. They typically are more charcoal than black, and are dyed to mimic the deep black of real AB. The dye eventually wears off where the counter is most used resulting in a streaky counter.

    Another issue with AB is from user error. AB is the most dense granite there is. Therefore it should not be sealed, because sealant will not absorb, and just sit on top of the stone causing haze and streaks. Unfortunately there are many ignorant fabricators who insist on sealing all granites (AB isn’t the only granite that should not be sealed, there are others). Then the homeowner is stuck with a streaky hazy AB counter. Though it may be hard to know whether it’s streaky because sealant was applied, or because it’s a counterfeit AB.

    IMO, having Silver Cloud granite plus another granite in your kitchen isn’t farmhouse whatsoever. You need to ask yourself if you are really looking for a farmhouse kitchen. Or is it that you really want Silver Cloud granite? Your kitchen doesn’t have to have a farmhouse decor, but then all your other choices need to be cohesive. Think this through before plunking down all that money.

    If you do want a farmhouse kitchen, get soapstone, but be aware that it patinas. Some soapstones are harder than others so shop carefully. You could mix it with butcher block counters if you like.

    If you want dark counters in your kitchen, you should look at a granite called Virginia Mist or Jet Mist (those names are interchangeable). They are black granites with the appearance of being sprinkled with powdered sugar. They vary in how much “sugar” they have, so some will be lighter than others, though none will be dark black. I don’t think it will go with Silver Cloud granite though; this suggestion was more if you decide you want a soapstone look everywhere, but without the issues that soapstone can have with softness.

    Not many kitchens can pull off two different granites in one kitchen. It would be easier to pair your Silver Cloud granite with a black quartz, but again, quartz is not a farmhouse look.

  • PRO
    Granite City Services
    5 years ago

    Courtney; the colors you are suggesting will look great and in the end you are the one that has to be satisfied so take the opinions and advice from others and then do what you want. My wife, who works at a fabricator and sees many many different looks, recently replaced our island with a slab of leathered black absolute and it looks great. She gets compliments whenever we have visitors. We also clad the island structure under the overhang with the stone. Very nice visual effect from the family room. My primary customer base is high end residential and we often do 2 colors in a kitchen; usually a more dramatic island with relatively mundane perimeter tops so the overall effect is stunning but not overwhelming. I believe the current rage of "white everything" in kitchens will very quickly become dated as it makes the kitchen look like a dentists exam room.

  • rockypointdog
    5 years ago

    Well, obviously everyone has different experiences. I have honed absolute black on my perimeter countertops. The honed finish makes it have a subtle dark grey flecked appearance. Very subtle. It's so easy to care for. It hasn't been sealed in the 6 years that I have had it. It doesn't show fingerprints at all. There are no oil spots, stains, etc. And I'm a heavy duty cook. I wipe it down with soap and water, and then buff it dry, as I have very hard water where I live. I don't ever see dust on it, but I wipe my counters down a couple of times a day.

  • Cheryl Hannebauer
    5 years ago

    New build for us here, we used 2 different granite for the per wall run & island & 2 colors for cabinet/ island... it suits our build... go have a look at my page, idea books, new build-gabe for some photos

  • Pam
    5 years ago

    Rockypointdog the reason you aren’t having the horrible upkeep problems that I have is precisely because you have a honed finish. As I stated my black granite is polished. It’s hard & durable & doesnt damage like softer granites but visually it take constant cleaning & buffing because the shiny surface shows EVERYTHING.

  • thinkdesignlive
    5 years ago
    There are varying degrees of honed and the closer it gets to a sueded / leathered / antiqued finish the less it will show fingerprints, etc. the lightest honed finish is almost like a dull polished look and it definitely shows as much as the polished. Again, talking about Absolute Black and not any other ‘black’ granite. Like M Miller said - there’s a lot of stones out there called AB so best to look at the actual slab and do a touch test.
  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Good to know there are varying grades of honed. I am learning more about this than I expected.
  • PRO
    Filipe Custom Woodwork
    5 years ago

    I agree with

    oldryder.

    Absolute Black is sold in various types. There is the Premium which is black black, beautiful stone.

    The one you are referring to is the one that has black with grey in it, that is the more common sold, sometimes they have more grey and are used more for a commercial installation.

    I like the idea of honing the stone and also the soapstone as well.


  • M Miller
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    “Absolute Black is sold in various types. There is the Premium which is black black, beautiful stone.”

    I am sorry, that is incorrect information, and that kind of misinformation is one of the reasons that AB is counterfeited so often. Absolute Black granite is a granite quarried in Brazil, and has the lowest amount of variation between slabs that it is possible to have. Every slab will look almost identical. This stone is darkest black. AB is for people looking for the blackest of the black. That’s why it has its name Absolute Black. What Felipe Custom Woodwork is referring to as stones having more gray are simply different granites - there are many charcoal-ish or dark gray stones quarried all over the world. AB is expensive. These other granites should cost much less, and should not be named Absolute Black, or categorized a ”different type” of Absolute Black.

  • PRO
    Filipe Custom Woodwork
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    OK then tell that to the suppliers as that is how its being sold. We didn't come up with this. This has been happening for years and that is how we purchase it and differentiate the "good stuff" from the rest. We are re-modellers not geologists but thanks for the information.


    Perfect example is this vendor that has several chains throughout the US.

    Look at how it is listed.


    https://inventory.ohmintl.com/Location/Monroe


  • M Miller
    5 years ago

    I hear what you are saying. Bottom line is that if the stone isn’t Absolute Black, the customer shouldn’t be paying the same price as they would for Absolute Black. Granites everywhere are named with all sorts of names, and there isn’t a lot of consistency across the board. If the customer is happy with a more charcoal color than deep black, it doesn’t matter what the name is - as long as it is priced appropriately, rather that with the high price of real AB.

  • PRO
    Filipe Custom Woodwork
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I hear ya. All of our vendors do let us know the difference and the prices do reflect the difference as well. We also let them know the difference as well.

  • felizlady
    5 years ago
    Note that when you have an undermounted kitchen sink it is very easy to wipe crumbs or spills right into the sink. A drop-in sink, or a sink which rises above your counter is in the way when you are cleaning up.
  • homechef59
    5 years ago

    I put polished AB in one of my homes. While it did show every speck of dust, it made me a better housekeeper. I always wipe off the counter when I am finished. AB just made me not be a slacker. It wears like iron. Don't seal it. It's too dense for the sealer to penetrate. You just end up with a mess to clean up.

    Be aware of counterfeit AB. They will dye the slab and try to pass it off as AB. Take a little acetone to a corner of the slab and rub with a rag. If it's dyed, some of the dye will come off the rag.

    Soapstone can be difficult to get depending upon where you live. I think a leathered or honed AB would be lovely and more available.

  • jad2design
    5 years ago

    My worry about Absolute Black is that it isn’t the only element in your kitchen that may be dark. If you are on 10 acres is there a lot of outside illumination at night? Depending on the number of windows, even with lots of artificial lighting your kitchen could end up looking really stark. I went with a medium dark soapstone, and as a final check, before installation, I covered the counter surfaces with black plastic trash bags to make sure everything would look okay at all times of the day. Long ago I knew someone who had lived at the edge of a golf course (apparently pitch black at night) and that was her take away lesson.

  • PRO
    The Cook's Kitchen
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Be very careful when designing a space with high contrast elements. It’s the mid tones and the more textured materials that help to take the hard edge off of that. That’s a point in the leathered stone camp. But it still means that the mid toned colors still need an appearance. And some more natural materials. Like maybe a butcher block around the range?

    Plus, the white and black need to be part of the obersll choices in the whole home. Repetition of materials and colors ties things together. That’s very important in today's open concept. When every room in a home was behind a door that stayed mostly shut, you could be a bit less cohesive and a bit more adventuresome in some of the choices.

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    5 years ago

    Here are some of my favorite Houzz kitchens, all of them have black counter tops. Do any of them look dark to you?





    The color of the counter top is only one element of the room. Saying that black counter tops per se will make the room dark is misleading.

  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    Those are gorgeous!
  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    They surely are, Courtney, and I think your kitchen could be just as gorgeous!

    To keep it from being dark,

    1. pay attention to the lighting, both natural and artificial

    2. consider a high/vaulted/cathedral ceiling to add airiness to the space

    3. keep other surfaces light--cabinets, walls, backsplash

    4. add organic textures for interest--rustic wood flooring, beams, accents; textured backsplash (either visual or tactile)

    5. add greenery, either inside or outside

    6. choose windows over wall cabinets to bring in light

  • PRO
    The Cook's Kitchen
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    The thing that ties all of those great pictures together is expert photographer supplied lighting when it was photographed! And likely some burning and dodging in Lightroom to bring out the details as well.

    Shooting high contrast rooms tends to have the dark elements as dark masses without depth if you shot for the white to be detailed and visible. Or the light elements get washed out of details and are overexposed when you shoot to show off the dark elements. That’s how our eyes work as well.

    The takeaway from the professional photographer images is to develop your own well thought out lighting plan, with several different circuits, all on dimmers. Under cabinet lighting is key when using dark counter surfaces. It puts the light on the dark areas, so that your eyes don’t see it as a blank. They see the details.

    As we age, our eyes need more light, and it’s always better to have more available and throttle it down than to have too little and wish you had done more.

  • M Miller
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Yes, be careful about believing photos are actually depicting the kitchen as it really looks. The photographers use huge blinding lights while photographing. Also, all those kitchens pictured above but one have entire walls of windows. It didn’t look like the home in your OP has that, tho maybe it does in the back that we can’t see. In any case you still have to take nighttime into account and short gray wintry days.

    The photographers use this stuff for magazine shots



  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    This is actually the back of the house looking into the great room. The top middle window is an actual dormer opening into the room as well. There is a huge amount of natural light.
  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    The top middle dormer in the original post that is...
  • heatheron40
    5 years ago

    Just an FYI, my house faces South. The windows with the porch bring in only ambient light....and I have door size windows 36x84. The other side of the house, facing West has another porch, and I consider it dark, all the time. Just my .02.

  • Dawn Y
    5 years ago
    The windows in my home are much much larger and don’t have a porch or overhang. The light is also dependent on the time of year and how high or low the sun is. There are times my kitchen which is on the southwest side of the house with huge windows and dormers does seem dark and other times it’s very bright. I have dark counters too and it seems fine. But again I think I have a bit more light. Either way I’m sure your kitchen will be lovely.
  • Courtney Brooke
    Original Author
    5 years ago
    The hope is that I’ll have lots of light. The doors are 8’. If I remember right, the windows are 6’x8’. I wish there was some way to know just how much light there would be. I guess there is always some degree of uncertainty in all of this.