<p>If you had to choose a granite countertop over honey maple cabinets, would you choose:</p>
<p>a. white
b. black
c. black with silver flecks
d. midtone earthy/natural colors (I’ve had those, not sure to do it again)
e. other</p>
<p>I get to choose 3 times: for myself and two upstairs apartments we will rent. Mine can be different. </p>
<p>The young contractors (mid30’s) recommend a, b, or c because the latest style helps attract young professional tenants. I’ve searched but can’t find feedback on the actual living practicality of white or black countertops once food enters the room. </p>
<p>I can’t automatically take the contractors’ color advice because their cooking involves only reheating restaurant leftovers by microwave. I had to convince them install dishwashers :)</p>
<p>If a, b, or c were practical, I might also put them in our own unit. I just don’t want to chase dots of jam (white) or watch dust (black) --if that’s what it’s like to live with them, in actual fact.</p>
<p>A practical consideration, I have light, tan colored granite in my bathroom (cherry cabinets) and no matter how well sealed it is it stains from water and drives me absolutely batty. I am sure I would have this problem and worse in the kitchen. I have black granite in my kitchen (white cabinets) and I much prefer it for this reason-- though it gets alarmingly filthy before I realize it needs a good cleaning since you can’t see anything! There are worse problems to have. Like water staining!</p>
<p>We are 20 somethings and young professionals and really have no preference in terms of color as long as it is not going to get those stupid water stains. Fiance was just happy to have granite, I actually wanted butcher block and didn’t care. I still don’t. That light colored granite that stains just drives me nuts, but I am not sure if all light colored granites do that. I think as long as you are getting granite it will look appealing to my age group no matter the color.</p>
<p>ETA: My black granite counter in the kitchen shows nothing. Literally nothing. No dust, no toast crumbs, nothing-- the dirt sneaks up on us because I really don’t notice that I’ve consistently missed a spot wiping up until it is really alarmingly filthy. And we are slobs in the kitchen, really, you’d be appalled. My light counter top shows a dusty film if we let it go too long without wiping it down-- I hate that counter.</p>
<p>I wanted light colored countertops with my white cabinets and H wanted dark. I realized I didn’t feel strongly about it so we went with a dark gray and it looks like a million bucks. It’s Cambria rather than granite. It shows crumbs I guess but it’s easy to wipe down and resumes looking great in a matter of seconds.</p>
<p>Gray speckled. You will have to use a magnifying glass to be able to see stuff on it. I’m not a slob, but I would not want to constantly wipe my kitchen counters becaus I hate how black tops show bread and other light colored crumbs… If I see it, I’m OCD about it! If I don’t see it, then it can wait until a bit later :)</p>
<p>We have off white coriander countertops we love. White and light colors are easier to see where you got or missed when wiping. They are virtually no work to keep looking great and don’t need seedling. My sister and SisIL have black speckled granite. It’s very hard to find anything small on it and hard to know if you missed a spot. </p>
<p>H likes LIGHT/bright colors, which make the area seem larger and more inviting. If your kitchen is already on the smaller side, I’d strongly recommend light or off white. Pure white is too stark to me; off white parchment is easier on the eyes and hides less stellar housekeeping decently.</p>
<p>i chose a mid-tone color with maple cabinets. I use to have Absolute black, so did not want to repeat that. Make sure you bring a door of your cab and floor so you can see what matches. I had a hard time with my maple, as many of the lighter granites looked pink next to the natural yellow of the maple. If you can bring a piece home, you can try the stain taste, with lemon juice, wine, ketchup.</p>
<p>What is the shape of your kitchens; , U, L, galley? I ask because if you need seams, won’t waste as much granite if pattern on quieter size.</p>
<p>I have black granite in my kitchen and do not like it at all! It is Uba Tuba Gold and is really gorgeous when polished but it is hard to see spills and crumbs and looks dirty/dusty if not cleaned daily. In my previous kitchen we had a mid tone earthy granite, Santa Cecilia and I liked it much better. We are starting a kitchen remodel tomorrow and are having the great countertop debate also, lol! My husband wants quartz, I prefer granite. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Granite for a rental? Why spend the bucks? And can’t it be damaged (stained, chipped) if renters don’t take the same care you would? I also thought granite was getting kind of dated–very 1990’s and 2000’s, but I admit I don’t really keep up with that sort of thing (hate granite, especially high gloss finishes, love my off-white Corian that’s quiet when you put stuff down on it, even if you tend to slam, doesn’t stain or chip, and has a softer, less industrial look than the stones and faux stones).</p>
<p>MommaJ, I was thinking the same thing about the investment in rental units. But maybe these are more upscale. Granite may be dated for those who are looking for the next big thing, but it is still popular among a lot of people. Just watch any episode of House Hunters or Love It or List It. :)</p>
<p>I am a big fan of Corian. In my current house I have butcher block with a slab of marble for baking and putting hot things. Both are very low maintenance but I don’t think they would look good with stained wood cabinets.</p>
<p>never plain black unless you do not care about seeing every splotch and drip (plus dust) making it look like you never wipe your counters. I would go with something dark with flecks of color to mask spills/drips. Mine is dark perle blue granite and I almost never see anything missed, unless it’s in the afternoon and the sun is at a specific angle. I guess it will come down to how meticulous a cleaner you are.</p>
<p>Granite has really come down in price, so its not a bad choice for rental. We have custom patterns for our countertops but a stock color (Black galaxy) for the island (its a black with copper specks). Its pretty but it is harder to keep clean and shows stains and spillage. One bathroom has baltic brown and its easier to keep clean.</p>
<p>We have honey maple kitchen cabinets and got dark brown/black patterned granite with a small bit of gold and it looks great and is easy to keep looking clean. We previously had a very light corian countertops and the lack of contrast did not look good.</p>
<p>We have honey oak cabinets. Our granite is a light color…we love it. We were told that the lighter colors are “softer” and will show things like water marks. Once in a while we have a condensation mark on ours, but it is gone within hours. </p>
<p>Ours is quite speckled…so honestly…you have to rub your hands on it to see any dirt. I think I’m the ONLY one in my family who does that :)</p>
<p>Our bathrooms will have quartz when we redo them.</p>
<p>My granite is Colonial Cream. We love it. Light colored with random darker spots of gray/gold. My cabinets are cream colored with dark metal knobs. I think the granites that aren’t completely uniform in color are more forgiving and more interesting.</p>
<p>We did our 7’ island in Dakota Mahogany granite and love it. (Cabinets are medium/dark cherry and rest of counters are a light corian). I would absolutely stay away from white, as it will show every spec of dirt or spill. I’m not a fan of black counter tops, as it will make the kitchen seem smaller unless up it’s an open space or has excellent light. If you are wedded to black, get one with big flecks, as they will hide dirt and reflect the light.</p>
<p>^^^^The White Vermont is beautiful. But sealing every few months?! I had granite for 15 years in my former home and never once had to seal them. Is this something you spray or rub on?</p>
<p>Yeah, you spray it on, leave it for five or ten minutes, and wipe it off. No more difficult than the routine cleaning we all do every day or so.</p>
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