Did you look at fantasy brown ? It is a great stone when mixing a warm white and grays

Yes -- I think that is a beautiful stone, but we didn't want to get too busy (the slabs we saw were busier than what is in your pic). Thanks for the suggestion!

I don't really like either of your options... there is something "off" about them, but I'm not sure what. I do like the marble piece you posted, but realize the actual slab may be slightly different. Keep looking!

I think that the gray cabinet color may not be right with the stones and that is throwing things off. It looks better with the marble. Kind of wish I went with just white, but too late now! If anyone has any marble or warm marble-like or grey quartz options they think would be good, I'm all ears! BTW the tone of the light grays in the fantasy brown were indeed perfect, if we could have gotten a slab with that & less dark/dramatic waves.

what about something like this..i personally think a white counter looks good even with a creamier white cabinet and it will brighten up the kitchen [you said already dark]. This is example only but if you like it's Aria Quartzite.

Have you looked at any white rhino marble (also called Bianca rhino/mystery white). We have the polished version on our island and it has held up really well so far (6months of use with 3 kids).

The Venoso is going to read VERY blue over a 6ft stretch. A counter top 'reads' a certain colour when you have a lot of it AND when it is viewed from 10ft away. I can already see ++grey/cool tones in the 'white' just from a small sample. That is going to get MUCH COLDER once it is installed. And it is going to be VERY busy. If Fantasy Brown is too busy then the Venoso is going to be SUPER busy. I guarantee it.

If you are already looking at the PentalQuartz, how about Misterio? The inspiration photo on the website is must about a match to your colours?

https://pentalquartz.com/products/misterio/

Whites are very hard to view on a monitor so you would have to see it in person. Just by what I'm seeing your 'eye' catching, I'm guessing you are pulled to a blue. That's why you have chosen a gray (with blue) island and are drawn to the blue tones in the Venoso and the Blue Savoie (ahem...it's in the name).

Ignore anything that has 'blue' in it. Stay away from 'crisp' whites. You will do just fine. Think Alabaster (the real stuff that is a lovely glowy yellow/butter toned stone) rather than brilliant white.

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I saw a Mysterio slab and saw it installed in the front room at Pental. It's very nice, but it looks super white (not cream) to me. I worry it would make my cabinets look too yellow. I have seen the bianco rhino as well, and I think that is very white? But I do think that the veins are warm. The aria quartzite is pretty and looks like the veins are warm?

I am worried about the Venoso looking too busy. I was attracted to the shade of gray, not because it's my favorite, but because I thought it would balance the yellow in the cabinet. In any case, here is a pic of the door with the venoso slab (unfortunately, in these pics the door is still screwed to the black frame):

And here is the marble we were looking at -- it was in a VERY dark area of the building against a wall with no lighting, so between that and our flash, who knows how we changed the color (and I don't have a pic with the door against it!):

And, btw, earlier we looked at Taj Mahal and I think it goes great with both our cabinet colors, but my husband does not want it because it will really bring out the warm in the kitchen a lot. I think if you had a slab with more gray than tan it would be good:

We have looked at sooooo many slabs at different places that I think we just can't even think straight anymore!

I do think that perhaps we need to try to look at less active pieces. My problem is that I am conflicted -- I fall in love with beautiful stones with a lot of movement, but I want a calm space....

The taj is perfect. has your husband actually seen it in kitchens?? search for the name under Kitchens here on houzz and show him the pics.

Looking at the slab in the warehouse lighting isn't the best.

All of your others are way too cool w/all the blue in the countertop. it will make your cabinet color look dingy.

the other plus w/Taj is that it's a true quartzite. stronger than granite and won't stain or etch.

here's a few. it will not be TOO warm.

look at other slabs. I've seen them come w/more gray than golden tones

this was the one at my stone place.

another option is porcelain. this looks like real marble

Have you looked at Crema Delicata marble. - It is a soft/quiet stone with subtle gray and brownish veining and looks great with warm white cabinets. Calacutta Michaelangelo is another marble that could bring the two together.

I do love the taj. Wish I could convince.... That Crema Delicata is beautiful as well. My husband is more attracted to the grays. What did people think about the Carrera I posted? Granted I didn’t have the door against it.

@sarah_hains - I'm with your husband - never been a fan of Taj - looks dated to me. - Carrara is fine, but so many run so gray they start looking dark and blueish. Try looking at the Crema Delicata or even the Calacatta Michaelangelo - They are warm white/ gray and a little brown/beige. I think it will bring the floors, and cabinets together. Calacatta Michaelangelo below.

The Calcutta Michaelangelo is beautiful. I don’t think I’ve come across that, have to see if I can find it, I would love to see a slab.

It’s Calacatta. Some types of Calacatta marble have warmer tones. Carrara is much cooler and bluer.
Perhaps check out Danby marble. It’s a warmer white, very subtle veining and actually more durable than Carrara. It’s mined in Vermont.
Otherwise, go look at some quartz options in the ivory range.

Quartz. Just pick one.

Lol! This is pretty much where my husband is right now!

@sarah_hains - Counter tops are incredibly difficult - first selecting the kind of material you want, and then finding the right slab to bring it all together. Keep looking - you'll find it.

So we have been revisiting samples that we had picked out earlier. This one is Pental Argento quartz. This is actually the first stone I picked out, but then seeing it in photos and seeing the whole slab I shied away because there are darker gray lines that make an almost-pattern that were much more obvious than I would like. Of note, on the perimeter the counter to the sides of the sink and stove are only 2-3' segments and another 4' perimeter on the side, so that might not be enough to see a huge pattern. The island is 39" x 56", not too large, but you may see the pattern there. We were also thinking of doing an edge grain walnut island counter (we had back-burnered this idea thinking we would have too much going on with lighter wood floors, white cabinets, gray island, though a couple designer friends said they would not worry about that, and the sapwood portion would match the floors; still completely on the fence here).

This is the cabinet door, the argento quartz, and the gray color of the island (so either just this or some walnut thrown in the mix):

And this is the door/island color with Terreno, another Pental quartz we had been looking at. I love this one but in the large scale you see a lot of blobs, if you know what I mean! Wasn't sure about that:

Has anyone had used/seen these on the larger scale? I see a few pics online but not many and sometimes they are so washed out it's hard to tell.

It's hard to tell on the pics, but the Argento is bright/warmish. The Terreno more subtle.

I am not in love with the floor color either (would prefer a tad darker), but I can't wrap my head around refinishing all of our floors in the midst of the renovation, even though they could use them. They run through the whole house.

Thanks!

I would worry about the floors later. First you need to work up the kitchen.

Both items are still ready quite blue. Even though the Argento 'appears' to be warmer, I doubt if that is going to pull through (from 10 ft viewing distance). Especially if it is sitting near grays.

Your second option, Terrento is VERY blue. If you want to warm up the kitchen with the slab, I think you are still playing with the wrong tones as the 'back ground' tones in the slab.

Hmm, that's funny, it must be my pics. The Argento is practically pink/tan it's so warm, but that really doesn't come through in the pics. The Terreno is definitely cooler than the Argento.

I am looking at some LG colors online:

Aura

Karis
Minuet

Soprano

Stella

If anyone has opinions on these let me know. I think Karis looks like a very white base. Oddly, the Minuet looks very white in every pic I see, but when I was at a tile store the designer there suggested it because it is warm and put a sample next to my cabinet and indeed it looked like a very warm combination. It's just so hard to tell between person and online. Going to look at more samples.

I have seen Minuet in person and in a neighbors kitchen. It is warm, but most of the wuartz options still read cool to me.

All of this will also depend on your lighting. I love love love taj mahal!! It wasn't in our budget with 88 sq ft in our kitchen so I had to pass. So sad! If it works I would keep looking for a nice slab. They are all so different. Or if you can't get your hubby to commit to TM I would stay in the quartzites.

carrara is way to 'cold' and blue.

look at calcutta Gold. gorgeous.

your Pental choices do not do your cabs justice, keep looking

if you want to do dark, Virginia Mist granite, mimicks soapstone, has beautiful white veins and will surely give you contrast but keep a warm tone. will look great with white and gray cabs.

TM is a winner in my book, but you have to love it.

when at indoor stone yards., have employee hold a warm LED or incandescent bulb to the stone. this way you don't get the blue tint from fluorescent lighting.

I think that what is throwing me off so much is the floors. They’ve got so much orange to them that I think that it’s making the counter choice seem harder to me. It sounds like you’re having them refinished at some point, but honestly, I’d do that before choosing a counter. It would definitely inform my decision. At this point, the taj is far and away my favorite with all of the other components. (That’s a beautiful shade of white on your cabinets. It’s exactly what I wanted, but didn’t achieve.)

Thanks, everyone.

I do agree that the floors look so orange in the photo. I think at some point we may darken them a little (cool them off a little, in other words). We'd love to do them now but I don't see how we can pull that off. In addition to being weeks into the reno, my husband is having surgery next week that will require some recovery time. But I have held the door next to they type of wood we would do and it would look great. It's silly not to do them now and get everything matched up, but I just can't imagine how we could do it (hubby won't be able to lift more than 10 pounds for weeks).

I still love the TM. Wish husband did. Thank you for the good stone recommendations. I may need to try to look tomorrow after daughter's birthday sleepover is over. Yes, 4 girls taking over the two small downstairs rooms that we have, yikes! Everything going on at once here! I keep reminding myself that eventually it will all be worked out one way or another : )

Have you looked at Silestone Eternal Serena. Grey background with subtle white veining.

It might work with with your choices. Less "blue" looking than some of your samples and less patterning as well.

I saw slabs in person at the Silestone showroom and fell in love with it.

Silestone | Eternal Collection · More Info

If you like some of the darker grey choices have you considered Soapstone but leave it unoiled?

Here is one called Alberene. One side has been treated, the other not. A striking difference but both are beautiful IMO.

alberene soapstone - Google Search · More Info

Trying to "cool down" the warmer white cabinets with a cool/cold grey is just going to look disconnected and will fight each other. Don't try to force things. Stick to neutral to barely warm tones.

The Taj is gorgeous. Any number of quartz options would work.

Remember - you won't see the flooring and the counter right next to each other. Don't necessarily audition them all in the same plane, either. Put the flooring down, then cabinet door vertical, then counter material horizontal on top just like it would be if installed.

Mvcanada, I have actually seen that same pic of the silestone and like that one -- and the cabinets there look rather creamy to me. Thank you for reminding me of that, I will check that out.

Michelle, that is also good advice about how to view them -- we do that, too.

I think we realize that we have to stay away from really cool, but we still don't want to go really warm. We want to find balance.

I did pick up some LG samples:

Aura:

Karis:

Everest:

Rococco:

I have to say that I have noticed that my phone puts this odd pinky/purple cast on the stones compared to how they look in person (more beige in person?). You are probably familiar with some of these and would know how they look. These have very different feels. I am always torn about the look I want -- these are all very different looks (and different from others I have looked at) and could work in different ways. I think the Karis might be too white based.

Can you post a photo of the space at all? Looking at Google image results for Everest, it's a fairly busy pattern (which may or may not be what you are looking for) compared to your first samples.

Don't forget to audition in the actual space, too. Showroom lighting can really throw things off.

Michelle, good points -- these were taken elsewhere in my house (my kitchen is just studs now). I tried to block out the floor because some found the color distracting. Yes, the Everest is busier, though I like its sort of beachy quality (it has pieces of glass in it as well). This is my option for something with a little more color, while the Karis will make a very elegant kitchen. I like the idea of both approaches, so have to decide. I think at this point we are focusing on these because they will work on both the white and gray cabinets. Though we just saw a sample of Everest at another store and it was much more muted and cohesive in color. The store said it was new (so maybe LG changed it). An LG rep is sending us new samples in the mail to ensure that we know that we have a recent representation to judge by.

I like stone with a lot of movement but just me. We just finished our reno of the kitchen with sea pearl quartzite. Blue island & off white painted cabinets. Some before and after might help you go bold with the stone. I wanted the island stone to be the centerpiece.

before

@HU-656653905 I love your kitchen, especially the navy island and backsplash.

I will add to the pile of quartz options. We did SW 7005 pure white (another warm white) with a gray stained island and Cambria Ironsbridge. Subtle pattern, off white and taupe. I love it.

Adding to the pile of quartz options..we did Cambria Ironsbridge with our SW7005 pure white cabinets and gray stained island. It has an offwhite base with gray and taupe subtle veining.

Wow, HU and Tracey, two stunning kitchens!!! I love busy stones in themselves, I just worry about it being too busy for our little kitchen. We are talking a turn of the century home, 13 x 14, 4 doors (we removed a fifth door to the bath to the back hall). 39” x 56” island with nothing in it.

It really just seems that more or less active, stone or quartz, there are so many good options, as you have proven. I think one of our quartz options will work, tbd very soon!

Sarah, I have the Silestone Eternal on my perimeter, and Calacatta marble on my island. The quartz is gray, neither cool or warm.

I still haven't decided on a backsplash. the sample tiles are a 3x12 calacatta honed marble.

(this is the matte but the eternal also comes in a polished finish)

i have black zellige tiles on the floor in the background, and some black/white cement tiles off to the left.

what about the Silestone in the charcoal? this would look great w/the cream cabs and fit the period of the house.

Wow, Beth, that looks so great! I really like the combo of the white cabinets and the gray perimeter. I wasn’t able to find that color the last time I was out looking, but have to be sure it doesn’t clash with my gray island cabinet (it’s darker). Even if doing a different island topper, I don’t want them to fight (works great with your black island). Your marble is really a beautiful piece.

So we have cream (off white) color cabinets with french grayish island and perimeter cabinets, a Venato Marble island (white) and soapstone perimeter counters and I think it works. I love this palette and it is almost identical to my kitchen:

Nice 😃 Would love to see a pic if you want to post. Thanks for sharing.

I'm a big fan of natural stone, but sometimes quartz really fits the bill. I'm building a new home and I've decided to go with Hanstone Metropolitan for the countertop in the master bath. It is a warmer gray and is quieter. I'm using two porcelain marble-like tiles in the bath so I needed something that would not clash. I'm think a quartz like this may work for you.

hanstone metropolitan - - Image Search Results · More Info

Any updates? I am looking at Karis or trying to find a quartzite (without luck as of yet) and have similar off white cabinets. Curious which direction you went?

Here is Venoso in our little kitchen, a work in progress. I just finished painting the oak cabinets. The backsplash edge is just caulked on while I pick tiles and paint colors. Then the appliances will be changed out.

Good grief, 3rd try... waiting 10 min each time for pic to load.

Well, I just wrote a lengthy post with pics to follow up and thank everyone for their feedback, ideas, and pics, and it didn't post! I am guessing it had to do with the photos, so I will try this again with just a photo here and if it works I will post more separately.

We ended up going with LG Everest for the counters (island and perimeter) and Sonoma tile in Aquarius for the backsplash.

So, now I will post a few more separately. Everest has a nice little sparkle, so I am posting a closeup of it as well (though the stone looks much more subtle/light in real life).

Another view of the kitchen.

This was a total gut job -- thought you might enjoy a before (looking extra bleak, cleared out on demo day!).

We moved the door to the bathroom (next to the fridge) into the back hall and so redid that hall as well.

I hope these help someone else wondering about Everest, and I hope you liked the photos! Thanks again!!!

Loved this thread. Your kitchen looks stellar. Moving the bathroom door was a brilliant move