Granite Countertops

Parent Cafe
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<p>On every house hunting show, even the people whose budget will only cover a low-end house say “Oh, I absolutely must have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.” Why? It’s trendy, but trends always change. Avocado appliances? Shag carpeting? Dark paneling? All were fashionable “must-haves” in their time.</p>

<p>If you like granite and can afford it, great! There’s some gorgeous granite out there. Just my opinion, but I can’t see why it’s a requirement for every kitchen. YMMV.</p>

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<p>Thank you for being the first to admit this. We’ve had ours about two years now, and have never resealed it. I remember being told you need to do it once a year, and it is on my list of things to do in the next month, but obviously there are mixed thoughts about how often this needs to be done. Any stories out there to share?</p>

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<p>As someone who’s had granite for 10 years and never resealed it, I decided to Google the matter:</p>

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<p>We have very dark granite, and I wipe up most spills immediately. If there are any stains, you can’t see them. Water beads on the surface. Resealing sounds like a real pain to do, so I’m staying lazy. :)</p>

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<p>jym- a suede finish makes the granite look a lot like soapstone–it’s a smooth, matte finish, but not polished to a sheen. </p>

<p>Someone mentioned a leather finish and I believe I saw that too. What I saw looked beautiful, like leather with a nice patina, but I felt like its (tiny) nooks and crannies would be difficult to clean.</p>

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<p>Stuff looks nice. How does it hold up?</p>

<p>I like the look of granite but I must admit that the laminate we installed 19+ years ago looks pretty good.</p>

<p>Would the predictors care to predict which will be more popular - white or black appliances? That seems to be the choice if you don’t go with stainless.</p>

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<p>"On every house hunting show, even the people whose budget will only cover a low-end house say “Oh, I absolutely must have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.” Why? It’s trendy, but trends always change. Avocado appliances? Shag carpeting? Dark paneling? All were fashionable “must-haves” in their time.</p>

<p>If you like granite and can afford it, great! There’s some gorgeous granite out there. Just my opinion, but I can’t see why it’s a requirement for every kitchen. YMMV."</p>

<p>My feelings exactly, stevensmama. All the houses in our area have granite also and I know it’s the trendy must have, but that’s also partly what makes me want to do something unique. I would really like to have something different now that granite is the thing everyone has. </p>

<p>Problem is I just haven’t figured out what. DH and I are talking about selling and downsizing to get ready for retirement but I want to have some options before I get ready to do that.</p>

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<p>So happy to hear that there are others who are ambivalent about the whole granite thing. When granite countertops first became popular, I really didn’t get their appeal. They looked kind of clunky to me. I admit that I’ve learned to appreciate them over the years. </p>

<p>We are in the very early stages of planning a kitchen remodel. We plan on staying in our house for several more years at least, so we’ll get to enjoy it. However, I find that I am making my design decisions based on resale value, so I feel like I have to go with granite. Anyone ever use Zodiaq? My mother, who has remodeled many kitchens, likes this better than granite.</p>

<p>Oh, and I’m also not wild at about stainless steel appliances, but I guess that’s what I’ll put in. I wish I knew what the next hot kitchen trends will be!</p>

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<p>I personally like white for appliances–it doesn’t smudge & show fingerprints nearly as much as glossy black. I also don’t like a dark kitchen & hubby HATES dark (prefers light & airy). Since our house is already pretty tiny, we don’t like dark things to make the house seem even smaller. I believe white will always be a classic, as it has for decades.</p>

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<p>I haven’t been posting here too long, but kitchen counters seem to come up again and again. I’m not a huge fan of granite. I like the richness of the dark granites, but keeping them clean would be an issue for me. Smudge marks and finger prints–my OCD tendencies would be on overdrive.</p>

<p>I have gray/green honed slate counters, which are from NY state–we drove to the quarry and picked out the slabs ourselves. (It’s the same slate/color that’s in the lobby at MOMA in NY). The counters have held up really well and H and I cook and entertain quite often. I’m in the process of re-modeling a kitchen at our summer place and the previous owner had a copper (yes, copper) counter on the island. It might be the most impractical kitchen surface on the planet. Haven’t made a final decision on what to use instead–possibly quartz or fabricated concrete.</p>

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<p>Mansfield, I know someone who put in Zodiaq a couple years ago and she’s been very happy with it. </p>

<p>My leather granite is no more difficult to keep clean than any other solid surface; there really are no nooks and crannies. (I roll out a lot of pastry dough on it.) </p>

<p>Bromfield, how do you like the slate? Is it fairly low maintenance? I have a slate backsplash, which is beautiful, and I like that you can “buy local”.</p>

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<p>Bromfield, I bet your slate is gorgeous. A designer acquaintance recently suggested I look at slate and quartz. I don’t know if I could convince hubby to drive all the way to the quarry in NY but I would love to see that.</p>

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<p>I’m told the biggest problem with Paperstone is that if you have a lot of sun coming in and don’t move things around, you may get uneven fading or darkening. It’s also so hard it’s hard to work with. But it looks like leather and feels warm, unlike granite. I don’t mind things getting less than perfect with age, so I probably will go for it, unless I fall in love with something else before I get around to doing my kitchen!</p>

<p>If you go really high end you don’t have to go black or white - aren’t these stoves gorgeous:[url=<a href=“http://www.lacornue.com/gb/chateau_93.html]Cuisinieres”>http://www.lacornue.com/gb/chateau_93.html]Cuisinieres</a>, Fourneaux - Ch</p>

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<p>My husband and I (husband mostly…) spent many weekends selecting, taking pictures of, naming,nand just “visiting” our “slabs”.They practically felt like pets by the time we got them home!</p>

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<p>I have black appliances, and I like them. My contractor thought my refrigerator looked like “something from NASA.” Very space-age.</p>

<p>Shows fingerprints, but that just gives me a good reason to yell, “Use the handle!”</p>

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<p>I LOVE this thread. As you all know…my first “upgrade” when I’m done with college tuition is NEW KITCHEN counters. We have decided to get quartz but looking at the color choices here is fun anyway!!</p>

<p>HIMom…I’m with you…I’m not getting Stainless Steel. First…I don’t like the look…and second…I don’t want a kitchen that SCREAMS “2010”.</p>

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<p>Two more years! Two more years! And then just like Shrinkrap and her H, we will be selecting our rocky “pets” for the bathroom, because my Corian in the kitchen still looks like new, but the awful marble tiles in the bathroom are getting even more awful with time.</p>

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<p>Packmom, Your cabinet choices sound beautiful. My friend is currently doing the exact color scheme as you. She did a combination (I hear it’s beautiful, although haven’t seen it yet) of soapstone on the perimeter along with a sealed wood countertop on the island. If soapstone is too pricey, I’d one of the black or green granites - perhaps honed or in satin - they are not expensive as granites go, and more resilient and resistant to damage than soapstone. Marble (or a granite that looks like marble, for example, bianco antico ) on the island could be stunning - you may find it’s affordable if you save on the perimeter cabinets. It’s a timeless and classic look as well as an extremely popular one these days (especially for people who like to bake). </p>

<p>If you are looking for a lighter colored granite to go on both , have a look at neutrals like Giallo Ornamentale, New Venetian Gold, Giallo Napolean etc. Although they are generally considered mid level, you can sometimes get good prices on them. If you decide to blow the budget, the sky is the limit - check out Delicatus, Juperana Persa/ Golden Beach, Bianco Antico, many others. All of these vary dramatically from run to run - you have to see the individual slabs as others have suggested. </p>

<p>In addition to the invaluable Gardenweb kitchen forum, check out [Granite</a> Countertops and Vanity Tops at All Granite And Marble Corp](<a href=“http://www.marble.com%5DGranite”>http://www.marble.com) - you can find beautiful photos of each type of granite in an actual kitchen, ask for advice on your color scheme and select for granites that have green (or any other color) in them. </p>

<p>Right now eased edge seem to be very big look for both contemporary and traditional kitchens. Ogee is always a classic in traditional or transitional spaces. You even see them mixed sometimes , ie eased edge on the perimeter with a built up island in some other edge. Bullnose, especially double bullnose, does not seem as popular as it was a few years ago - a lot of people complain that water drips onto the floor too easily. As for appliances, very popular now is to do the paneled fronts to make the appliances look like furniture. And many people feel stainless, which has had a place in commercial kitchens forever, will never totally go “out.” </p>

<p>While current trends are including more in the way of manmade quartz like Caesarstone, not everyone likes the look of the manmade for traditional. Granite, especially the exotics, slabs with movement, and increasingly honed and satin granite is still big. That said, it’s true that some of the Level 1 granites can be a turn off to a prospective buyer, simply because they have become all too common. Nevertheless, most of the most recent NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) awards, judged by people in the field with a forward looking cutting edge sensibility, still went to granite and/or marble kitchens, though an increasing number of kitchens (especially contemporary, but traditional as well) show quartz, silestone or caesarstone, , too. I wouldn’t worry too much - your cabinet choices are timeless - a future buyer can always decide to redo countertops if the space planning of the kitchen and the cabinets appeal. </p>

<p>IMO (and I admit I was concerned about this originally too), the whole radiation in granite scare was overblown - certain varieties are more iikely to have an issue ,but even among those, most do not. A lot of people think the people in the manmade countertop business fanned the flames on that one. </p>

<p>Here’s a GW thread you might find particularly interesting! :</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg101734004823.html?6[/url]”>http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg101734004823.html?6&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And here is a gardenweb resource all about stone :</p>

<p><a href=“Stone Information and Advice (& Checklists)”>Stone Information and Advice (& Checklists);

<p>BTW, I just put in cream colored cabinets myself and love them!</p>

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<p>Three years ago we re-did kitchen and put in Zodiac quartz. Appears everyone else above me likes theirs, but I wish I had done marble or granite. I chose quartz because I’m one of those really, really detail oriented people and others told me the quartz would be more “uniform”. I was also very worried about the seam being too noticeable. The quartz does have a different look than granite and does not have the shine.</p>

<p>It’s mainly silver/gray, with flecks of black and white. I can say it hides crumbs very well. The cabinets are white oak, stained, and then glazed with darker stain (so it looks like antique oak furniture). Floor is gray slate-tile looking laminate. (that hides “stuff” great too!). But…all together it’s too dark. Sink is undermount white cast iron Kohler. It helps lighten stuff up, but wow, I had stainless steel before and never worried about a thing. Keeping this sink clean is a perpetual chore.</p>

<p>Really bugs me to have spent TONS of money and not be really happy with the results. I do think lighter countertops would really brighten things a lot, but not making much progress with the H…</p>

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<p>roshke, thanks for your great post. We went to Lowe’s this afternoon just to hold up the cabinet samples against some granite samples. The Giallo Ornamental and New Venetian Gold were really pretty with both the antique white and the olive green. </p>

<p>Garden Web is great isn’t it? Thanks for the link with the green cabinets.<br>
Some of my friends/family have given me strange looks when I tell them about the green.
Nice to get some validation!</p>

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<p>I spent several years as the VP of Sales and Marketing for a high end custom builder of luxury townhomes and condominiums. As a result I also was responsible for selecting color schemes, flooring, granite etc for our models and unsold spec homes.</p>

<p>If you plan to be in your house for a long time pick whatever you like. If you plan to sell in the near future pick something simple and neutral that won’t turn off buyers. If you go into builder specs, unless they are using very high dollar upgraded granite, you will find that they tend to stay away from larger patten granites like Baltic Brown (not intending to offend anyone here, I like it a lot but is can be more polarizing in sales decisions and is used a lot in commercial building applications as well) and go with things that tend to be more “neutral” in pattern.</p>

<p>One thing that IS important is to make sure you use 3 cm granite in the kitchen…you can use 2cm in bathrooms but you need the added thickness for kitchen applications.</p>

<p>We (personally) built a new home last year and used a granite called Juperana Lapidus for our kitchen. The house is French country and the kitchen walls are a shade of light yellow. Cabinets are knotty alder that we stained a fairly light color (they come off like a slightly darker shade of pine) and we painted and glazed the island a darker golden yellow. We used 6x6 tumbled marble in the “oro” color put on a 45 degree angle The granite has a lot of movement which we liked and has pockets of deep blue veining…hence the lapidus. This granite can vary greatly so I insisted that we select the slabs. The kitchen is fairly monochromatic and all the color pop is in the accents.</p>

<p>We had recently remodeled the master bath in the old house (not anticipating selling when we did) and did a small kitchen update in order to sell it. The kitchen had white painted cabinets so we changed the back splash from ceramic tile to a beige tumbled marble (4x4) and used Santa Cecilia granite for the counter tops…it looked great. </p>

<p>In the master bath we had painted and glazed the cabinets and used New Venetian Gold granite on the counter tops. Both Santa Cecilia and New Venetian Gold are level one granite, have very tight consistent coloration and are neutral enough to please most buyers, even the most picky. With either of these you usually don’t have to pick your own slabs.</p>