@myshabbycottage

Thanks so much for sharing the pics. Looks fantastic in your kitchen! Love your windows too!

we have leathered FB in our kitchen and both master and guest bathrooms. We love the feel of it and it has a natural look that I feel compliments the waves inherent of FB. Plus it goes very well with our design style in our Florida home. I'm very glad we made this decision especially in the kitchen. No stressing over etching.

Count me as one with no issues with leathered granite. I have a large kitchen table with an Absolute Black top and have had no problems with cleaning; there are no cracks or grooves. I've yet to see a scratch, even with young grandsons "building" things on it.

I've used granite in kitchens for close to 30 years and have yet to see a stain. There are so many possibilities in granite and I happen to like movement and color. Some day my likes will be back "on trend," lol.

This is the counter tops I am considering. Anyone have any better pics with white cabinets ????

Today, We looked at granite, marble and quartz. We fell in love with the Fantasy Brown. Found a small piece that had been leathered To bring home. The texture is minimal. I don’t see how anything can get hung in crevices. It may depend on who does the finish. Touch before you buy.

How “rough” the leathered finish feels can depend on the stone. We looked at Jet Mist both honed and leathered and couldn’t feel much if any difference between the two. Other types of stone (especially ones with lots of variation) had significantly more texture when they were leathered vs honed.

I've had leathered FB in my kitchen and both bathrooms for over a year and have not found a single spot that anything could gather in. It's just not that textured so I don't know how anyone could feel that anything including cleaning products, food, etc would get 'stuck in a crevice'. We felt no difference between leathered or honed either.

Has anyone had FB in a kitchen with creme cupboards (kitchen crafts seashell colour)??
I’d like to use antique copper or a Venetian bronze (brown with copper highlights) cupboard hardwood. Hoping to find a warm brown in the FBaa I have dark brown hardwood floors with grain colour almost black

@April Williams, That slab looks great! Did you end up getting it?

We ended up going with leathered FB in the kitchen and honed(?) in the baths and laundry room. (I think that was basically an effort to "share" the rest of the leathered with other people, and I guess just to change things up and I think my gf felt the honed was more formal, which is what she was going for in the master bath. Can't believe I haven't taken a good pic of it yet. Will do today and post asap.

As far as the texture, it took some work to find some with a decent texture. I can't imagine this texture really being able to "hold" anything like bits of food, but I guess we'll see (or not!)

Updated with pics.

It looks beautiful! What a great kitchen!

Will the perimeter counters be the same as the island? I'm asking because, although you didn't ask for opinions on your backsplash, it looks like the tile is going to compete with the counters. With the movement in the counters you might want to choose a very subtle, not busy, backsplash. (Maybe do a new post when your perimeters are in.)

Perimeters are the same as the island. Thanks for the comments though!

Gorgeous, what color are your cabinets and walls?

Sorry for the delay, trying to wrap this project up! Cabinets are Pure White and the walls and ceilings are First Star.

Beautiful kitchen! I’m hoping to find a slab or two of fantasy brown that is mostly gray like yours. I love the movement in it, but I really want to avoid brown as much as possible

Been in the house for a little over a month, and no issues with the leathered finish as of yet. We'll see how it goes. Very pleased so far. Someone asked for a more completed pic, so here it is. Pretty much done, still waiting on the backordered fridge trim kit.

I have been reading these comments for weeks and finally decided on a leathered Fantasy Brown. The slab I picked actually has a very flat feel with only a little bit of texture on certain areas. Does anyone have experience with Granite Shield with their leathered product? Is it really worth the money?😳

@Suzanne Florio

If Granite Shield is the sealant that your fabricator charges extra $$ be aware that it may change the surface look of leathered Fantasy Brown. I read on this forum that these high dollar sealants can make leathered look like plastic.

We had the stone company use the standard sealer that came with the install price. We went with leathered Fantasy Brown and love it!

Sandy V that's good to know. I had considered having mine sealed with that expensive sealant but couldn't find enough info on it that confirmed it was worth the $$. Now I'm so glad that I didn't spend the money. We also went with leathered and love ours!

@Steve OnaRiver

Your kichen looks amazing!
We also went with Pure White cabinets and Fantasy Brown leathered counters.

We ended up having it professionally sealed because I was so nervous. the finish still looks beautiful! it literally sparkles at sunset. Still waiting for the backsplash so I can really enjoy it.

We are getting ready to change
Our granite countertops to the leathered version of fantasy brown. Would love to see pics with your backsplash. Want to get some ideas. Was warned to pick something a little boring since there is so much movement in the fantasy brown. Hoping to see some pretty ideas - don’t want to do boring. Lol. Thanks in advance.

@Steve OnaRiver I know these are from forever ago, but my husband and I picked out leathered fantasy brown and I am trying to decide on flooring. Do you know what type of flooring you put in your kitchen? I think yours looks awesome! Thank you.

I am also choosing our kitchen white cabinets charcoal island fantacy brown granite and arabesque backsplash champagne gold hardware

HU-966231155 gorgeous! Please post pics when finished

@Deborah Guidry, we definitely picked a backsplash tile that is not boring with our leathered Fantasy Brown.

clt3 - Could you show a close-up of your backsplash and tell us what it is? What paint color did you use in the room, and is the kitchen open to your family room? Love the rounded cabinets!

any updates from @Steve OnaRiver for the maintenance on fantasy brown! We are leaning towards it too.

@nhb22, I’m sorry I just saw your question. my backsplash is a 3D cube tile by Quemere designs. The paint color is SW Sea Salt. My kitchen is not really open to my family room, there is a staircase in the way.

Staircase with built in bar between kitchen and family room.

clt3

LOL You are a few days too late. My tile was just put in this week. 😀 I love your tile, but seeing a close-up, it would not have worked with my granite. My Fantasy Brown has one small area of that teal color in it. It's really odd. The small patch looks like a Peacock and sits on the small cabinet area next to my range. We call it our good luck emblem.

Thanks for getting back to me. Your home is gorgeous!

@nhb22 the slabs we are getting are FULL of teal but that's why we love it!

We are also considering Fantasy brown for a kitchen island and countertops in a new build. After looking at tons of slabs in the warehouse, we really like the non-reflective surface of the leather finish. Our kitchen will have a lot of natural light as well as over island lighting, and I think the reflection of those lights will take away from the beautiful natural pattern of the stone. I like the three dimensionality of the leather finish too. Does anyone out there agree (or disagree?)

Phil Furniss-We got the polished and have overhead lighting, undercabinet lighting, and a lot of natural light, and do not get a reflection from them on the countertop. Personally, I felt a small piece of the leather finish, and did not like the way it felt under my hands. But we also couldn’t get any slabs of leather finish in our area, and would have had to order something site unseen. So that probably influenced our choice the most. But I love our polished fantasy brown and the way it sparkles in the light and I have no regrets about my choice. I don’t think you could go wrong with either finish though and should go with what your gut tells you

Phil - my husband and I prefer the really natural look of our leathered FB. Ours has some sparkle that can be seen with overhead and natural light so for us, that's the most of a reflection that we would want. You see the beauty of movement in the stone without being stimulated by the shine of polished. It truly gives the room a natural look with a genuine 'feel' of stone which is why we fell in love with it over granite, quartz, etc or polished anything. The beauty of it leathered compliments our style and our lifestyle. If you fell in love with the slab at your builder then it speaks to you the same ours did.

Here's the final look we went with! Posted about 6 months ago when wr fell in love with this countertop.

We installed leather finish Fantasy Brown in our last house and we absolutely loved it. Paired really well with heirloom/rustic cabinetry and a green/grey island. It did scratch easily, for example there were small white scratches under the fruit bowl and coffee machine from them being slid over while cleaning. Had to tell our cleaning lady and others who worked in our kitchen to be careful! Also scratched from someone cutting something directly on counter. So I would be aware of that! I still would do it all over again though. It was one of most complimented features of our renovation.

These show the finish a little better.

We’re pre-demo for our kitchen remodel and chose Fantasy Brown (leathered) for our island and Black Pearl (leathered) for the perimeter countertops with all white caninets. Has anyone done this and if so what backsplash and floor tile did you choose?

Sounds yummy!

I am using black leathered havent decided on shade . looking at FB leathered. Also have white cabinets and a rustic stained island.

What did you all use for floors? i have FB countertops in a bathroom and can’t decide on flooring

I have FB in two bathrooms and my laundry room. I used Daltile Octagon and Dot in white with a light gray grout in the baths and Montauk blue slate in the laundry. Happy with both.

jkt107
Thank you! The Montauk blue slate is very pretty!

I am deciding on Fantasy Brown for my kitchen countertop. Anyone have any problems with FB after all these years with etching and staining? I haven't seen a leathered version, but I really like the shiny slab with all the colors that I saw.

Still love my leathered FB countertops. No staining or etching. Just be sure to keep it sealed and wipe up any spills (although I'll admit my husband isn't as meticulous but still no stains). I agree it is a hard decision to make but now I really prefer the leathered look in my kitchen and bathrooms. You still will have all the colors and beauty in leathered so I suggest finding a slab and envisioning it in your home to decide. Good luck

Installed FB in new build 18 months ago in kitchen, island & perimeters. Also master bath. Honed finish, did not pay for sealer to be done. I reseal myself, not very often. Our aesthetic is rather traditional with modern farmhouse twist. Pure white raised panel cabs with light light glazing, Plain white gloss subway tile, lots of window, lighter wood flooring. With 11 grandkids in & out, this counter has seen a lot already! Spilled Easter egg dyes, wine spills, also had turmeric sit for a couple of days. All cleans up with no problem. I will say, with lots of backsplash ideas here, it all depends on your preference. I prefer a minimal look & the fantasy brown with wood floors was all the interest I wanted. The plain backsplash lets the counters take center stage like they want to! They are the stars of my show. Love love love. Be sure you have a good fabricator & installer! Your finished look will depend on it!!!!

We are picking fantasy brown with white cabinets and new white oaks floors. I would love to pull in the champagne bronze hardware. Has anyone done this color scheme and what backsplash did you use to tone down the busyness of the FB. Thanks in advance!

To Alissa Bloch, you just described my new build!! i ordered champagne bronze for mine too, so excited for the FB LEATHERED for countertop, but wondering the same about backsplash. im keeping my eyes peeled for any advice! here’s to us!

maybe start a new thread rather than tagging onto a 3-year-old discussion? plus, then you'll get notifications of your responses, etc.

Gotcha, thanks a lot.