Considering leathered silver grey granite counters. Anyone installed?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Would love to see pics of your finished kitchen if you have these installed! Looking at slabs like the one shown below, but perhaps with less veining. Thanks :)

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Comments (5)

swally22
Original Author
3 years ago
dani_m08
3 years ago
Hmmmm . . . I just told my contractor not to bother showing me any granite samples because there was zero chance of me selecting one for either of my current bathroom renovations OR my upcoming kitchen renovation. Your photo just made me realize that there apparently are granite slabs that I might want to look at for one or more of my countertops! It looks beautiful!
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Leanna L, I agree with Joseph. If need be, find a large slab warehouse and take a look at their leathered granite slabs. Leathered and Honed is a personal choice and if you find yourself very attracted to all the other leathered slabs (despite color differences) then that might be your preference. I have Leathered sienna Bordeaux, which was polished when I first saw it, so had it leathered. I do love the leathered look for a few reasons: I feel it's easier to care for; no issues with even wet dough sticking in the crannies; it's quite beautiful in my eyes and I still can't stop touching it : ) I also love that it has a lower sheen, no glare from overhead lights or sunlight. But that's my preference. One thing, leathering and honing (honed is smoother, leather shows the lovely crevices and dips and so forth) tend to cause the natural stone to dull. We used an enhancer sealant to bring the colors back (and frankly, with leathered, we actually see more stone detail). One coat is fine, two coasts can darken it beyond the original polished look. To know which you'd want (regular sealant vs. enhancer sealant) simply wipe your stone off with a very damp rag - the resulting look, before the stone dries, will show the depth of color you'll get with an enhancer. Not all enhancers give you a 'wet' look when they dry. To keep a low sheen (as seen below in ours) you leave enhancer sealer on 5 minutes, then buff, buff, and buff some more. And your done : ) For what it's worth, I think Fantasy Brown would be perfect leathered : )
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We've had Antiqued Cambrian Black for 10 years now and still very happy. We are not good about remembering to re-seal it and it really doesn't matter...maybe looks a little more dull when we go a long time without, but doesn't bother us at all. It has not stained. It has held up great. This granite is made up of little chunks and we had two little chips happen along counter's edge, pretty early on in having it (one in front of sink...maybe got dinged by a big pot?) and the other you can't see but can feel a rough spot. But no big whoop (though certainly not perfect). I think our edge was called "flat polished" and we had just a slight curve on the corners...going for a bit of a vintage look - nothing fancy. Only downsides, I would say are that it definitely sucks light out of the room to have a black top and that it is so good at hiding stuff, you might not see the tiny sugar ants that have set up a march on your counter, or the wayward crumbs. Overall, we have loved it and would pick it again. This choice was EXACTLY what we were looking for in terms of a black countertop that isn't shiny and has some vintage charm (almost like lab counters).
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Kitchen remodel before and after - silver grey/gray leathered granite.
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Comments (55)
Hmm Lisa...I am guessing SSwiddows has very good sealer. My slabs are honed, not leathered. I chose these because I really like soapstone but did not want the maintenance. I may as well have bought that with the maintenance I have with the silver grey. I put a crockpot on it with a towel underneath. It took over a week for the dark spot to go away. Again, I will be spraying on a sealer and hope that will make a difference. Will have to look in the search for "good sealer" and hope to find some suggestions.
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Comments (8)
Thanks Beth. The problem with the pics is that the marking doesn't show up (not that the pics don't load). Unless you see a large amount of it from standing back you wouldn't notice it. We got a lot of variable advice on sealing when we were considering this leathered finish on this particular granite. The general consensus was that it's one of the most non-porous varieties, and that sealing it would head us back towards a shiny finish, which is not what we wanted. At the start we pooled water on it for over 30mins with no apparent absorption, and in general it wipes up really well. It may be that this marking is down to soap rather than water, but it's hard to tell. If there's such a product that seals without changing the appearance I think we'd go with it. Do you have any specific recommendations?
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swally22
Original Author
3 years ago
Funny, this is EXACTLY what happened to me. I've been living in a kitchen with early 2000s black sparkly granite and it was the LAST stone I was interested in. But the more research I did into natural stones like quartzite, the more I was nervous about upkeep with three littles. I stumbled across leathered granite and it was perfect. Many varieties are nearly identical to soapstone, but with none of the babysitting that soapstone requires. I'd suggest searching around to look at a few honed or leathered options. Jet Mist aka Virginia Mist is darker than the photo I showed, but just as beautiful. There's a lengthy thread here with LOTS of Virginia Mist fans if you search for it. Happy hunting!!
dani_m08
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
So funny - I currently have the same black countertops! I installed them to replace the 1996 TEAL laminate countertops!!!

I really thought that quartzite was going to be the answer for me - the whole reason I saw your post was because I was looking at some quartzite threads where people were having issues with their countertops turning green in spots! I thought quartzite was going to be answer.

I really want this marble slab I found:

It looks whiter in person - the lights in the warehouse reflect oddly off the stone. It’s beautiful. But it’s not practical. But quartzite has some issues also.

I also really like soapstone - but not sure about using that either after doing some research.

My daughter is looking for countertops - they just purchased their first home. Sent her this photo - she’s like “I WANT THAT!!”

Thanks for posting this!
Mom
3 years ago
I don’t have silver grey, but I do have leathered Virginia Mist granite countertops. It’s more of a charcoal color, and mine has less veining than the slab pictured. It’s great, and very low maintenance. Very happy with it.

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Considering leathered silver grey granite counters. Anyone installed?

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swally22
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dani_m08

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Considering leathered silver grey granite counters. Anyone installed?

Comments (5)

swally22Original Author

dani_m08

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swally22Original Author

dani_m08

Mom

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swally22
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swally22
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