Kitchen countertop decision
Hi all,
Looking for advice on countertops. We recently moved into this home and I’d like to renovate the kitchen into a white kitchen. My current island is huge and I’m making a new, smaller one to match my specifications and needs. Looking to go ahead with a grayish stain for the island cabinets, bronzish gold hardware and MSI calacutta Arno which has beautiful goldish veins.
For the perimeter cabinets, painting them sherwin Williams Greek villa white with a marble tile Backspash (herringbone design), and the same bronzish/gold hardware. However, I don’t know what countertops to put in the perimeter. I feel they need to be different from the island. Initially, was thinking technistone super white - Which is a simple white with very light grayish veins.
However, I’m now thinking maybe it needs to a warmer white? I don’t want it to be too elaborate with veins and movement as I want the island to be the grand centerpiece. Any suggestions?
Photos attached of the current kitchen, calacutta Arno with hardware and then technistone super white With Greek villa Sherwin Williams cabinet color.
will this all go together or am I just overthinking it? Thanks for your input:)
Comments (6)
PROBeth H. :
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agomixing those two diff quartz options isn't the best idea. I think they're too similar, but also different, if that makes sense.
The arno is rather plain. you have to imagine your 24" cut piece.
you're going to lose a lot of the veining and end up w/mostly white.shown here:
and also here:
I think if you want the island to be the star, you could stand to go w/a quartz w/a bit more life to it.I love the walnut though. what if you did your island in the walnut, or, instead of a 2nd quartz, topped the island in a walnut butcher block? (and did the Arno on the perimeter?)
not the best example, but this is Greek villa w/a warm wood island countertop.
there is another commenter on this site who did a beautiful kitchen with marble and a walnut island top.
1 - New Build in Process... · More Info
6 - Misc · More Info
Click on the link, her user name, and look at other pics under Kitchen. I love her kitchen
I did two diff countertops and two diff colors, but one is solid. the island is real Calacatta marble, as is the backsplash tile.
Perimeter is Silestone Eternal serena in a matte finish. since you like the gray, why not look at it, or some of the other Eternal choices? They have about 10 or so in that line.
lets see this gray stain your talking about. And what kind of wood will be stained? Oak? white oak?poojakiyer thanked Beth H. :Related Discussions
Marble for some countertops--marble owners would you do it again?
Comments (51)I know this is an old thread. But I know I read old threads when I am trying to make a decision. We put soapstone and marble and wood floors in our kitchen in 2007. So we are going on 8.5 years and I LOVE IT ALL. My kids have grown up with it. We don't baby any surface. To be clear, my style is not slick and modern. I have antiques and an older home so I like traditional materials and I don't mind a "lived with patina"-but having said that I don't think my stone has much of a patina at all. The big island is soapstone. It has a few scratches-mostly from house-sitters and the kids dragging heavy pots across it or cutting directly on it like a cutting board.. But if I oil it (which I do maybe 2-3 times a year) they fade. I did search for a long time and I picked a soapstone that was know to be harder than others with minimal white veining-so this could make a difference. I think we could have the top polished/honed again and it would look brand new. But I think it looks fine. Maybe in another 8 or 9 years. I love it everyday! The carrara marble is around the sink in the most used food prep area of the kitchen. It is honed. I just had a repair company come out (only because we had to do some other work in the kitchen and hubby asked about it) and they honed it again and cleaned it up. It looks brand new (I didn't think it looked bad before). There are a few little pits and chips that cant be fixed-but I don't think they are that noticeable. I just sealed it after the guy left. It was never really sealed before. I have gotten a few stains and I have always gotten them out. I have had etching but I learned how to get that out myself (I use sandpaper-yes and it has worked beautifully for me). I love it every day! We are about to ignore all practical advice again and put marble in our master bathroom. I hope we have as much luck with it as we did in the kitchen. In the next few weeks I hope to post photos of our 8.5 year old finishes....See MoreCounter-top Advice for old outdated farm kitchen
Comments (4)You need to do some homework. Every material has it's pros and cons, and it all comes down to what you are willing to live with. "Best" is completely subjective. Frankly, if my DH had not felt so strongly about our using a "higher end" counter top (we ended up with engineered quartz) I would have done a laminate. They are durable, warm, soft, and very inexpensive. Completely low-maintenance if you are not careless about using them. Our quartz will be fine, and looks fantastic, but we spent nearly three times what we could have spent on a high-end laminate. IKEA has some DIY laminate for incredibly little cost if you are willing to put in the effort and will buy you plenty of time to do some research on your countertop options. Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA wood and laminate countertops...See MoreDream White Kitchen countertop decision HELP!
Comments (10)Last year when, out of kindness to my husband (he was afraid of my reaction if he "hurt" my dream white marble countertop), I was searching for a white marble look-alike I investigated the white quartzites. I'm in Colorado and HOLY COW were they expensive! Granted, I ended up with an exorbitantly expensive marble but the quartzites were even more than that. But that's in CO -- prices may be (and hopefully are) v. different wherever you are. I still want to add my two cents that we've been living with marble countertops / backsplash for four+ months and so far, so good! They're surprisingly easy and hide a multitude of sins. (I have a messy husband who is the primary cook and a four year-old and two year-old who like to "help" bake [which we do almost daily], so our countertop has had the opportunity to be fully tested! And oh yeah, we make a lot of homemade lemonade, so it really does get [and pass] the acid test.) Based on your beautiful inspiration picture, in which I think the countertop has a v. grey tone, I still think the Mystic could be terrific in your kitchen. That Pionite laminate looks great (looked at it myself to use in case we couldn't find the right marble for our kitchen in time), but it is, at the end of the day, laminate. If you live in a neighborhood where the expectation is for granite, then it doesn't matter how gorgeous your laminate is it just won't cut it. People are superficial (myself included -- it takes a lot of eye liner and mascara to get my eyes looking this pretty!), and they get that goofy misty-eyed face when they hear "stainless appliances / granite countertop." It doesn't matter to them if those pieces are in a crap ugly kitchen -- they'd rather have those bragging rights than a beautifully designed kitchen with equally beautiful laminate. Go figure....See MoreMismatched Kitchen Counter-tops
Comments (35)Heatheron40, very nice. I asked a question about doing a tile countertop in our guest cabin recently as I feel like the look would complement the cabin aesthetic. Also I’m dying to learn to tile and thought it would be a fun place to start as it’s not an everyday space and I could take my time. Most of the responses were against. Basically stating the grout would make me crazy. The guy at the said what you’re saying I think, he said that modern grouts are more resistant to staining and such, and also to go with a tinted grout of some sort. I love your use of pattern to give it interest and intention!...See More
poojakiyer
3 years ago- PRO
Beth H. :
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowhat does the new island look like? what is it made from?
I think if you got the island made from actual walnut, or a rift sawn oak w/a natural stain, it would look beautiful w/your other choices.
gray stains can be tricky, so I can't say unless I see an entire piece (like a sample door or something) What wood species were you going to do the gray stain?
here's a walnut island w/your similar white quartz option
(diff styles in building it)
here you have some open shelving at the end
this one is a bit more transitional. this walnut coloring is gorgeous. and would work w/Greek villa
a bit more traditional
this is more modern. you could even waterfall the sides
A white oak w/more of a natural stain color is a bit warmer and would bring out the gold tones in the quartz and your accents.
I love both of these too.
This is stunning. these cabs are a soft white. the island is a cerused white oak. equally stunning.
And this Calacatta tile in a chevron pattern on the backsplash is amazing.
If you can't swing any of these wood islands, consider painting the island this warmer gray color (shown in these cabs). I don't think you're going to be able to stain anything in this shade of gray. most gray stains tend to lean on the bluer end of the spectrum.If you can find someone that can do a taupe/gray cerused white oak, like this, go for it!
This is also a custom cerused white oak island, but has more of the gray coloring
The natural wood is making a strong comeback. I'd consider these choices (if you're making the island from scratch) instead of a gray stain. But again, it depends on the wood species and the type of gray stain.
Have you seen this? They did the cabs in Greek Villa and the island in Iron Ore
https://papermoonpainting.com/austin-cabinet-painting-projects/
This is beautiful. so, like mine, they did diff countertops and cabinet colors on both!
Love the honed marble island top.
poojakiyer thanked Beth H. :
poojakiyerOriginal Author