Sandy...thanks for your thoughts. You're the second poster to state that you don't think the beadboard, esp painted a white, would go with the cabinets. Regarding the white tile backsplash I had, that is gone, now, and new dryall installed, ready for a new backsplash. I didn't want to do tile again, since I don't care for tile with granite (too busy). That's why I thought of the beadboard. My plan was to paint the cabinets, so the beadboard would go with it. I was thinking, now, if I don't pain the cabinets, the beadboard would still go, since they would be painted the same color as the rest of the walls in the combo den-kitchen (some sort of soft white). I hate cream in a kitchen, so will not do that. Kitchens should have crisp, clean colors, IMO. But my former, all-white kitchen was a bit glaring and didn't blend with the den too well (mahogany & cherry furniture & colors, dark camel, black tv, red accents, soft white walls). As for keeping the cabinets dark, I do have wood floors that will be refinished, and so will compete with the wood cabinets. Cabinets painted a soft white would solve that problem. I thought beadboard would be plain enough not to be too busy with the granite, since it's only vertical lines, and would tie in with the shutters. I'm hesitant to remove the shutters because that is a window theme throughout the house and are in the den part of the combo den-kitchen. I'm now looking at maybe tin with a pattern, so that the backsplash is silver, but that's probably too busy. I could just leave the plain drywall, add some wood molding (painted), and leave it at that. I'm mulling it over. It's good to know that others don't think the white appliances and sink look awful. That really was the most shocking thing to me. I was horrified by how they looked with the granite. In pics in Houzz, White Spring granite is repeatedly shown in white kitchens (white walls and cabinets & doors). I do think maybe I'm in shock since it doesn't look how I imagined and is so different from what I had. The stove is that new ice white and not the softer white of old, so that's part of the problem, I think. I considered stainless too modern a look for my old house, which is why I didn't get that before, but now I see that stainless would go with the new countertop and avoid any "color" issue. Thanks.

sammi, we get functionality with our granite that we wouldn't get with a laminate. I don't understand raehelen's comment about needing to be more careful with granite than with laminate - at least as long as one is careful to choose a granite well suited to use in a kitchen (e.g. not one of the few that etch easily). We bake a lot and it is joy to have such a baking friendly work surface. We have a counter surface that can take the use of a dough scraper and has the smoothness for working with the dough. I don't think I would be comfortable doing that on laminate. When I had laminate many years ago, I had to be careful to not scratch it and to not put a very hot pan down that might scorch it. Our granite is a dream to clean up - we have 4 cooks in the kitchen and some are not always careful to wipe up. Even when a spill is discovered later, a quick damp wipe takes care of it. We like Indian cooking so we sometimes are using spices such as tumeric that can stain some surfaces but that hasn't been a problem with our granite. We do have one of the low porosity stones, but higher porosity stones can be dealt with by sealing. Budgets are important and laminate is a good kitchen surface - I would much prefer it over my kitchen's previous 70's bumpy tile with wide grout - I'm not knocking laminate which is a good solution that is easier on the budget than granite. But, where it fits the budget, granite can have some functionality advantages.

It's hard for me to say what it could be without actually "being there" to touch it and inspect the areas you are talking about... What's causing your concern could just be a little caulk residue left on the surface of the stone, or other stuff like lacquer (sp?) overspray from your cabinets, etc. It could ALSO be epoxy or polyester glue residue left on the surface of the stone from the fabrication, installation and/or seaming process. The easiest and best way to tell what it could be is to take a straight razor (don't do this if you are not very good with sharp objects - LOL) and try to scrape off the residue (like you would when you're cleaning glass)... in most cases, the razor will take off the "mystery gunk" and life will be good. Dont worry - if you have Granite, you wont hurt the stone at all doing this - I PROMISE!!! On the other hand - IF you try the "razor trick", and the roughness persists, you'll prolly want to call in the Fabricator to see what's up. Is the roughness at a seam line, or somewhere else on the countertop assembly? can you post pics? that may help you get a more accurate idea of what your situation actually is.......... hth kevin

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