I have white walls and cabinets and leathered Virginia Mist granite countertops. The Virginia Mist is very similar in appearance to soapstone. For me it is a great combination. Of course, excellent lighting helps. Good luck!

I have black counters and like them. I think the secret to not having a "black hole" effect is to have good lighting!

We have recessed lights, undercabinet lights, and pendants over the sink and peninsula. We also have a large bay window for natural light during the day. Even though we have stained cherry cabinets with our black counters, our Kitchen is never dark!

With black appliances I would go to a mid tone counter. Certainly w black running through if you feel the need. All 3 : fridge range and dishwasher is enough black.

When we bought our current home, I thought the kitchen was fine. Black counters (Volga Blue granite), and matching back splash. I have tons of windows, and plenty of lights. That being said, we're now planning to tear it all out. I hate the black counters! Planning on white marble...

White cabinets and black countertops are classic, but it might help you to get some black poster or foam board and lay it on the counters for a few days to see how it would look with your lighting and black appliances. I had black granite, white cabinets and stainless and paneled appliances for over twenty years but when I remodeled I went with a lighter top. Loved them while I had them as they were so easy to care for but I was ready for a change.

My parents had Absolute Black polished granite counters in their previous home and they were beautiful, but VERY hard to keep clean/fingerprint free. They had good lighting (undercabinet and overhead, plus plenty of windows), but while that kept the black hole effect from being a problem, it also showed every speck of dust and fingerprint. They can be gorgeous but too finicky for me.

The above poster has a good point. Research the black granite that you intend to use. Ours was polished uba tuba and we didn't have the fingerprint problem. Also be aware that some black granites are not what they appear to be.

https://www.marbleandgranite.com/blog/2012/may-2012/granite-countertops-the-truth-about-black-granite

Thank you all for sharing! I have studied so many of the finished GW kitchen photos and those on Houzz. I've put black garbage bags across the perimeter counters to study the effect. I will be using wood on the island. Right now the black appliances simply dominate, (currently no backsplash) and I thought using black counters would 'pull' and disperse the color through the room.

With an open concept, the living/dining area is colored 'softly', with muted sage, accented with cream and dusty apricot/cinnamon? and some black touches. Using a soft celadon subway tile could carry those other colors into the kitchen.

Still uncertain about the material for the counters, or the level of shine, I am currently focusing on the aesthetics. There exists excellent UCL and overhead lighting.

I agree with Buehl, it depends how much light you have.

For our new house, which we moved into last year, we have Ikea dark wood cabinets, white marble on the island, and matte "Black Basalt" Formica on the perimeter (I love how forgiving it is for dishes and glassware). We also have recessed lights, undercabinet lights, and pendants over the island and sink, and a large window over the sink, and the kitchen is open to the dining area which has nine windows and a double garden door to the back porch.

Appliances are stainless, except for the range which is a cobalt blue hulk : ) .

In response to the "dust" on black counters. Our counters are wiped down each day, so no dust issues. We tested it a few years ago and it took about 3 days b/f the dust collected and seemed noticeable. If you wipe down your counters regularly, dust won't be an issue for most people.

Crumbs? Also not noticeable unless they're big. Fingerprints are also not an issue unless I have enough oil on my fingers (butter, olive oil) that leaves a big oily residue, but even with oily skin, that rarely happens.

FYI...I like being able to see if there's something on the counters to wipe down...I hate it when I put my hand down and find something sticky that I didn't see b/c it was "hidden".

I agree about the appliances -- you'll be replacing them sooner rather than later, so don't plan permanent/semi-permanent infrastructure items around them! The infrastructure items I'm talking about: floors, cabinets, counters.

I used to have very dark brown countertops & I hated every day with them. I couldn't wait to rip them out & get lighter ones. They showed EVERYTHING!! I just can't stand that. I need all surfaces in my home to always look clean even when they are not.

I have leathered steel gray. They are more like dark charcoal gray rather then black. Love them. They don't show fingerprints or dust. Crumbs are barely noticeable. If your talking polished solid black they probably show everything.

I have the matte finish on our Basalt Slate Formica, which also isn't solid black, and our marble is honed. I don't like highly polished shiny surfaces. We/I clean surfaces regularly, and the finish prevents fingerprints and cleaning prevents dust. I do like that it's easy to see crumbs around the toaster : ) .

I have Black Galaxy - it has copper "bling" which complements the copper stuff I have in my kitchen.

I don't find it to be dark at all. I have lots of lighting - canned lighting - under cabinet lighting plus some dramatic uprights for my copper ceiling :-).

I don't find it to be more dusty than other surfaces in my home. I have a black induction cooktop so that would show dust as well.

What are your floors and lighting? Black counters and appliances with white cabinets and wood floors with great lighting can be classic and timeless. However put in mismatched builder grade beige tile and sub par lighting and that’s another story....

lighting is very good and floor is walnut look LVP

I wanted brushed Via Lactea but it didn’t look good with my dark island. My daughter used the Via Lactea it in her remodel. I adore her countertops and actually like hers more than mine which I also like a lot. Hers were half the price of mine. If I had it to do over again, my island would be white like the perimeter and I would have my black countertops. I have brushed absolute black in my powder room. The brushed black granite is gorgeous.

lighting is very good and floor is walnut look LVP

kitykat, it sounds as if it should work. But can you post some photos? It's really hard to give any advice without seeing what you have now.

Another vote for honed/leathered/antique black counter tops. Mine is Black mist, and I love it.