First let me say I am not a granite fan. However, of the 5 choices you mention, I'd definitely go with the last one - Blanco Supirlore - Is this quartzite? The others I feel are too dark, too heavy looking and too brown, and too busy with your island and floors,

Yes. I believe it's quartzite...as is a couple of the others I posted.

I'm finding that I'm not liking the options of granite - although they're a beauty of nature, I'm struggling w/them as countertops.

WHY are you not a fan, DGirl? Maybe I can sway hubby. We were told that granite is heat resistant and virtually maintenance/stain free (outside of sealing it once a year). Do you have any other suggestions??? I'M OPEN!

If you have to go with one of those 5 choices, then definitely number 5. My mom has similar cabinets to yours- warm brown and cream, and she went with Cambria Brittanica Gold quartz and it looks great. Is quartz an option?

@Charla - It is a great material with all the qualities you mention. It just always seems to heavy, dark and busy for my personal taste. I really like the Blanco Quartzite. It is lighter in feeling and not as busy (at least the photos I've seen). It should be durable as well.

Either Number 2 , 5, or 1 . Skip 3 or 4 . Number 2 would be top pick for me : blends and is special w your wood . 5 is okay just no more and 1 , if you pick the cuts and where they go could be the sleeper best of all ....... the shading is a little hard to tell On the screen.

#5

Oooh, that copper dunes!!! How does that look against your cabs?

Everything else looks played out compared to that. Wow.

I like 1, 5, 4 in that order. My initial thought looking at your kitchen was soapstone. Have you considered soapstone?

Is # 5 too gray with your warm cabinets? I like #4 because it has movement and enough creamy bits to coordinate with your warm whites.

Since your cabinets went in before your floor, make sure they were shimmed up the thickness of the floor before installing your tops, otherwise you are risking being unable to get your dishwasher into its space. Check please.

I love #2 copper. Since you have white cabs in the back, your eye is drawn back there, and a light or busy countertop on the island is like a speed bump for the eye. You can do a pretty runner between the island and back counters. You will have stools across the island - another place to bring in some color. I think all your choices are pretty, and your kitchen will be wonderful!!

I think I vote for #4.

I agree with Design Girl, not a fan of speckly/bossy looking granite. And since you have two color cabinets, then use one counter top. I'd choose the white quartzite, but make sure it is indeed quartzite and not marble. Unless you're ok with the properties of marble to etch and chip, then it's not for you. The Fantasy Brown is usually marble also, so make sure that you aren't buying marble thinking it's granite. Many design dilemmas on this site bemoaning the mis-labeling of marble as granite or quartzite, or worse "hard marble" which doesn't exist.

Also the name "Blanco Supirlore" doesn't come up in a Google search--is that the correct name/spelling? Do you mean "Blanco Superiore"?

#2 is really cool looking. Do you have samples you can look at in your space?

Of those... 5. Did you bring the samples home?

THANKS ALL!

The stone yards don't have samples for me to bring home and the fabricators don't have these stones in their shop. But I brought MY samples and compared. So Blanco is not too warm...

Diana, THANKS for letting me know that Bianco is really BLANCO! I must have read their sheet wrong. I will DEF check to see which of these stones are really marble. I don't want marble.

THANKS Shady. That makes sense to me. If I had a bossy stone on the island, my eye would stop there. Does that mean that I should have a busy stone on the perimeter??

And Prickly, regarding soapstone...Hubby really wants the characteristics of granite (heat resistant, hard, etc)., nothing that will scratch easily

My suggestion is to find the one you love. Our previous house I gave in on some remodel choices and always wished I would have checked one more place out to find the piece I would love. I know what you mean about hiring a designer. We thought we would change the counter to brighten the kitchen in our newly purchased home and have come into so many errors we are fixing from the previous homeowners renovations. Next home that is what I plan to do. You have some beautiful selections of stone. Do you want a polished or leathered look? Looks like #2 is leathered- it is gorgeous, so is #5. I like to make homemade pasta so for me that ruled out the leathered stone which is what I originally wanted. There are many beautiful quartzite options available. Your kitchen cabinets are lovely. Good luck!

I would love to see your cabinet doors with these slabs. I like 2, 4, 5. But again, would love to see a pic with your doors up against it. I will say, be careful with light counters, they are prone to staining. Sealing will help protect against that. Is 4 Fantasy Brown? If so, treat it like a marble.

Amelini, hubby likes leather. #2 is leathered. I figured he can have that for the island, and maybe we can do polished (#5?) for the perimeter... It's always hard though, to find something you love and the see the price tag. If only money wasn't involved, lol! #2 apparently is quite pricey... =(

No to 2 different countertop materials. You already have 2 different cabinet choices. ONE countertop only.

Would it be too much brown if we did ALL #2??

I do think the leathered brown stones are beautiful- we passed one up and I wish we went for that one. We have a lack of natural light in our kitchen as we almost went with a titanium granite that had huge beautiful crystals in it. Since everything is darker in our kitchen we went with a white cristallo quartzite. We also changed the lightbulbs to bright daylight bulbs. I do love that copper dunes option you have. Are you able to take a cabinet door to the slab yard and photograph them next to your choices? We did that and it helped me decide between 2 different slabs we were torn over. It helped to make other colors stand out in the stone that made selecting much easier.

See if they have honed Jet Mist (aka Virginia Mist)... I think that’d be really pretty. Of your others, I love the fantasy brown.

"Wild" granites or quartzites don't always look as wild when they're viewed horizontally rather than vertically. My granite is pretty wild, but really doesn't draw your eye nearly as much as I feared it might when it's viewed horizontally. Don't be afraid to go bold if you find something you really love.

I do really like #2. And I agree with Sharon... if you like it, go for it. A wild granite will not look so wild when laid down like a countertop.

If given the choice, I will always opt for the simplest, least busy option. That would be #5. There is always enough “stuff” going on in a kitchen, so I think a clean, calm background is desirable. But I’m a minimalist and tend to lean a little toward the Zen-ish. Good luck with your new kitchen.

First thing you have to know is your aesthetic.

Look at 100 kitchens online with wood floors, wood island and white cabinets that are similar to your choices. or test looks here https://virtualcountertops.com/try-our-kitchen-template/1

What look do you like? Each of us has our own tolerance for pattern. Some people like tiny patterns, some like bold patterns, some like solids, some like lots of contrast, some like little contrast, some like veining where others prefer splotches and some like a fine sand like texture,

There is no right or wrong - it is personal preference.

Think about what you will use as a back splash with your counter top. I've seen people get boxed in picking a busy counter and then having difficulty with finding a coordinating back splash.

There is also no perfect counter top material. Again - it comes down to what you can tolerate. I love the look of soapstone, but know that the maintenance and discolorations would drive me to drink (which would ultimately cause more staining - more drinking - I would become a raging alcholic).

Read about all the choices - understand that harder can also mean more brittle - there are trade offs with every material. They either crack or stain or etch or scratch or chip or burn. Where is your level of care and tolerance? My one sister has granite - has to seal it annually and has some chips after 15 years. My second sister has guartz and does not have to seal it and does not have any chips, but she does have to use trivets with hot pots. (Granite should also be used with trivets - it can crack, but it doesn't melt). The sister with granite also chose marble for her kids bathroom - that is a decision she regrets. Toothpaste and use have caused staining and scratches. I have not re-done my kitchen yet, currently have formica from 1970 with the metal edge. I will most likely choose a solid surface counter top. It is what I selected for my bathrooms. I have had formica for 50 years. I automatically use a trivet and a cutting board. Not too worried that those habits are going to suddenly change. I don't like imperfection in patterning. I am a data analyst and irregularities are what I search for and how I determine something is wrong - this transfers to my design aesthetic. Natural stone has variances that will bother me. I also bought and hate my stainless steel refrigerator. The fact that it gets visible finger prints and dog nose prints means I have to clean it daily or be bothered every time I look at it. I always had white before and never had this issue - going back to unpopular white.

You are the person who needs to love the final look of your kitchen. Pick the counter and back splash that will make your heart sing every time you walk into your kitchen. Make sure that the material you choose will work for your personality - know if you are trainable and will use trivets, cutting boards, clean up spills quickly, will seal the surface religiously.

I think all #2 countertops would be gorgeous. Do it!!

#2!

2!

You have so many beautiful choices!! We just had cabinets put in with sw alabaster also and it was so hard because so many granites looked good. Ended up with Bianca Antico and we love them but probably too busy for you. We kept everything else mostly the same white. Looking forward to seeing you finished kitchen!

I vote for #2, best fit for your kitchen.

One more thought - Have you looked at the samples with your cabinets - take a door or drawer front with you when shopping for stone.

Do all counters the same. Not different textures, not different stones.

I would not buy any stone from a place that did not give me a sample. Just a chunk tapped off the edge. How will you know if it scratches or stains if you don't try to scratch or stain a sample? (There are exceptions for stupid expensive stones like onyx slabs, but you are looking for a regular kitchen counter slab.)

Demand a sample or take your business elsewhere. Seriously!

#2 is my favorite, but I could live with anything but #5, lol. You have some beautiful options there.

Fori, none of the places we went to would give us samples of the more exotic stones, only for the more standard ones.

Getting a sample of a 2-3" thick stone isn't the same as getting a fabric or wallpaper sample. I can understand if a stone yard won't whack a beautiful slab with a hammer to give you a sample, and take the chance that the entire slab will crack.

Bring your door samples to the stone yard and look at them there. And take photos. you don't need more than that to make a choice.

If these are exotic (and priced that way) you darn well better love them. Keep looking!

I would go with #2 but I think you can look around more. I don’t understand why 5 is getting chosen as the white will class with your cabinets.

i think people are reacting to the fact that it isn’t busy.

do as Diana says.Bring a sample of your door plus a sample of the wood from your island if you can. Go with an open mind.

Renovating as a couple is hard. Your DH does derive I put.

The fact that you have two tones in your kitchen dies my mean there is a lot going on. You can handle a granite with movement. Notice I said movement. It doesn’t have to be loud and super busy. That can be a good compromise between the two of you.

I think you have done very well with your choices and no need to excuse the fact that you didn’t hire a designer. Many of us here have never hired a designer to help with a kitchen renovation.

When you visit the yard go with an open mind but explain that you were looking for granite in the brown and cream families. You might find something unexpected that you both love.

I still like #2, but if you go with one of the wilder ones, choose the slab yourself so you are not surprised when it shows up ready to install. Big slabs can look pretty different from samples. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!!

Charla, soapstone is what they use in laboratories. It is water-resistant, and can be sanded to get rid of any scratches. It does come in a variety of colors other than black. Worth checking out, in any case.

I’d be careful of #5. Some of the quartzites with that look behave like marble and etch and show water absorption.