<p>One negative that you should know about the black/dark colored granite is that they show dust (which does not seem so visible on the lighter and multicolored surfaces).</p>
<p>Ooh, I love kitchens.
There is no substitute for getting a small fragment of granite and a cabinet sample and laying them out on the floor. Put them in a sunny spot and in a darker area, look at them over different times of the day.
Consider using a lighter cherry stain - or a “natural” stain, you will still have the beautiful grain of the cherry, but not the big contrast. Remember, also, that you can vary the degree of contrast with paint and backsplash - making it more stark or toning it down.</p>
<p>Personally, I would change the floor if wanted DARK cherry cabinets, but that is a matter of personal taste (my cabinets, floor and backsplash are almost monochromatic), that is why there are so many different choices. :)</p>
<p>Thank you, neumes & seiclan for your reassuring words! My college freshman D happened to call me yesterday so I also solicited her advice. She kind of put it in a very interesting perspective for me. She says that I really can’t make a “wrong” choice because there is NO right or wrong. According to her, sometimes people with the “know-how” tends to stick with the “principles” or “theories” they have learned through their studies. Take music as an example. People with music training ( like my D, who is still keeping up with her piano lessons in college even though she’s majoring in science) can be very quick to judge certain music as not very good or worthy because they violate certain rules of music composition. However, to the untrained ears of regular people, if people like what they hear, then it’s “good” music to them, regardless of what the “experts” may think. I guess the same applies to movies, too. I’ve enjoyed many movies that actually got bad ratings from the critics and vice versa. The funny thing is that among my friends, it’s the ones who seem to know a lot about colors that have expressed “concerns” whereas the ones who don’t proclaim to know a lot about colors all tell me they think it’ll look nice. I find that observation very interesting!! Maybe ignorance is a bliss! ( Me, included in that group, of course!!)</p>
<p>RODS–if you want to see photos of a kitchen with cherry cabinets, green stone (honed slate, not granite), I’d be happy to email you pictures of mine. Don’t have white floors, but I do have maple hardwood, which is light colored. My kitchen designer entered it in a SubZero contest and it won a prize–so someone likes the look.</p>
<p>Changing the subject, slightly, but just thought I’d ask . . . I want to completely redo 2 bathrooms. Both have showers, but I would like to move away from the traditional shower door issue. I’d love something very open, or at least-- a short wall to keep shower water contained in the shower, but without the whole glass door thing-- but is this possible? Any ideas about how to modernize a bathroom, still have a shower, but make it all more open?? Thanks. Sorry for the hijack . . .</p>
<p>janie: Have you heard of a shower curtain?</p>
<p>(sorry couldn’t resist) :)</p>
<p>janieblue, Yes, you can get a fixed, “frameless” section of glass that attaches to the wall on one side to contain the water without there needing to be a door. They sell these specifically for what you are discussing. Or you could do glass block. Try a full service home plumbing type store that also sells vanities, shower doors etc. or a kitchen/bath contractor for some ideas.</p>
<p>janie - the quickest solution is a glass block wall. Not a bad diy project either. Just make sure you leave the opening at the shower handle end, not the other where the water splashes.</p>
<p>I have black granite countertops in my kitchen. They show every fingermark, crumb, grease splatter, dribble of water – you name it. Whatever color you choose, definitely get something with a grain or swirl in it. Any solid color is going to mean more maintenance. Every time I walk into my kitchen, the first thing I notice are spots on my counters. I would never get a solid color granite again.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>By the way, if I had to do it again, I’d probably go with the Uba Tuba.</p>
<p>Oh, thanks so much roshke and ldmom. I remember seeing something like that (the glass blocks – maybe 1/4 way up from the floor) in some magazine once, and despite all my searching in magazines since, just haven’t seen it again. But, thanks; I’ll look for that. I love the idea.</p>
<p>simba: Yikes-- shower curtains just really offend me, always have-- I just get all claustrophobic with those, just thinking about them-- something about all that fabric or plastic or whatever, closing me in-- plus that never-ending mildew. Yikes. But, yeah, I’ve heard of them-- just try to put the thought out of my head, though. ;)</p>
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<p>Sounds like the same advice we give the kids when they agonize over which college to attend…nice to know that they are listening to us.</p>
<p>You are right, ellemenope! It’s all about “fit” and not rankings or prestige, isn’t it?!!!</p>
<p>Absolutely, RODS1990!</p>
<p>We have a marble entry way. Even though I did the whole sealing thing, the tiles are getting very dull. I can’t seem to get them to shine and look polished. Anyone have any ideas?</p>
<p>JanieBlue, I love showers without doors. My parents made me design them one after experiencing them in European hotels. I hate shower curtains, they always end up sucking in even though they have magnets on the bottom of the liner.</p>
<p>Ideally you should have about three feet to keep the splashes from entering the rest of your bathroom. Glass or glassblock work fine. I’ve also seen smaller glass pieces that mount on a bathtub. (These often are hinged because bathtubs are usually in recesses where space is tight.)</p>
<p>Kohler makes a curved doorless shower. (Cyan walk-in shower) Actually if you google walk-in shower and look at images you’ll see lots of possiblities.</p>
<p>Just found this thread so I’m a little late to the party –</p>
<p>My kitchen has green granite countertops with lots of black and tan swirls in it – sort of “verde” granite. And I also have cherry cabinets, which I love, and have bronzey-colored handles on those. To complement the black in the granite, I got black appliances. My floor is oak, which lightens things up, and the backsplash is four x four off-white ceramic tiles. The walls – of which there is very little space – are still, after all these years, white, but that’s due to having a very full life in other arenas . . . </p>
<p>I’m very happy with the kitchen, even eight years after completion. (Or, if you consider the white walls, “incompletion”)</p>
<p>OP----I just came to this thread too. We’ve re-done counter tops in 3 different houses, redone floors several times, and now, in a house we are completely rehabbing (not the one we live in), we’ve gutted the kitchen and are building up.</p>
<p>In the past, we’ve expected that we would not be in our home for a long time, so our choices have always been more of the middle-of-the-road trends, with natural-looking colors. And now, all of our decisions are revolving around doing things that would not drive potential buyers away.</p>
<p>In your case, however, if you fully expect to live in the house for 10+ more years, I say do what YOU want, in terms of your floor tile. If the color of the tiles was more like pepto-bismol pink, I’d advise you to change them. However with white you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>What I’m surprised that others have not mentioned, is that re-doing the floor is not nearly as big of an undertaking as getting new countertops or cabinets. Assuming you have professional installers do it, it’s rarely a really long-drawn out process. If it were me, if I were happy with the current floor, I’d leave it alone, save the $$$, and see how it all turns out. If, after time, you don’t like the contrasts, it won’t be too late to re-do the floor, and it won’t disrupt your life (nor take nearly as much brain power) to do so. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>mathmom: Thanks so much; that’s really helpful. I’ll do a search, then. I think what I saw in this magazine, long ago, were glass blocks about 3 feet up from the floor-- similar to what you mention. Anyway . . . thanks!</p>
<p>RODS1990, </p>
<p>I just noticed that you are describing the cabinets as a medium colored cherry. If they look something like this kitchen (hard to tell here, but the granite is dark gray, green or black), </p>
<p>[Design-Build</a>, Residential Design, Residential Renovation, Residential Additions](<a href=“http://www.cgsdb.com/p_kitchen2.htm]Design-Build”>http://www.cgsdb.com/p_kitchen2.htm)</p>
<p>I would think you are going to be fine, especially if, as you say, your floors have some beige in them. </p>
<p>I agree that redoing floors (not talking about the added cost) is not a big disruption compared to the rest of your project. The only thing to think about is that if you change your mind about the floors later, and you use something of a different thickness, it’s possible that the height could be off as far as access to appliances, the baseboard trim etc.</p>
<p>Wow. Nice.</p>