I'm also thinking about getting Solarius. I like the granite but not the backsplash in this picture. Needed something less busy. Put pictures if you have it installed now.

PS. I think I will install a solid color tile on the walls since the solarius has alot of color of its own.

I agree about the choice for your backsplash. I had a decorator come and take a look at what i was thinking about for the granite and she suggested a light colored subway tile, but she mentioned something about crackled. We were not in a tile store when she said that, so I'm not sure exactly what the crackled tile looks like. But i did see just a plain beautiful cream subway in another picture and liked it.

I do no want to pick my wall tile until the granite is installed and I can really see what it looks like. I was thinking of picking a tile very close to the color of my cream colored cabinets so as not to look like too many colors. Picking my sink took me a while too! Never had a stainless steel before, only cast iron. Did decide to go with a good quality stainless steel though and I really hope I like it. How about you?

Hi, I'm wondering how u went with the solarius granite? Is it too busy?
We have just ordered it as my husband loves it. I'm a bit hesitate. We have a new white kitchen going in with a bursa beige floor..... I'm wondering what u think or what others think please?
Help please.

My solarius was installed in June. I love it! Personally, I would never choose granite without going to the Stoneyard to pick my slabs. We drove 2 hrs and spent FOREVER looking at it. (Well I did, my husband was bored to death.)
There are definitley differences in shading in many of the solarius slabs. I picked both of mine out and I would suggest doing that. There is alot of veining and shading in the solarius which I think makes it rich looking. Mine has alot of cream, tan, gold and flecks of browns & a little black. I have cream colored cabinets. I have never seen it with white cabinets yet. I would take a cabinet door with me to the Stoneyard and put it beside the slab, which is what I did. I have white with a little beige through it, in my ceramic floor. I didnt replace the floor and it looks fine with cabinets.
I put the antique bronze hardware with it which gives contrast. Good Luck!

PSS. My backsplash is a tan/gold 4x4 italian tile. Every foot or so, I put a diamond shaped mosaic brown tile in the backsplash. I love it.

Thank you very much for your reply, much appreciated. I love the Solarius the slab. We have already chosen the slabs and they look magnificent as slabs. I like plain things but my husband thinks it is going to be wonderful. We are having the granite on the splash back as well which worries me a bit as I think it could look too busy????? Anyway it's all happening here lol
I will post a picture of it to show the results. It is either going to look fabulous or way over the top.

Yes, please post a pix. I should do the same. I love my granite but because of all the variations in it its actually hard to see when there's anything on it, like food etc. I am always wiping it just in case. I always use the Windex Antibacterial to wipe it off. Please let me know if you're told to use anything else.
My Fabricator emailed me 2 different layouts of the granite before installation. I picked the one I wanted depending on where I liked the seams. I have 2 veins running through my slabs and each layout looked different as to where the veins were placed. I was glad I got to choose how I wanted it placed.
I assume all the Fabricators do that.
Good Luck

Hi, the fabricators r coming tomorrow to measure up. As far as I know we will only need one join?
We are hoping to get it installed by Xmas. So I will be in contact, here's hoping all goes well lol
I feel a little excitement at the moment..... Just hope it continues ;)

Hi mumkulik, well I had the granite installed and I'm very happy with it. It is very busy but with the kitchen cardboards being white in colour it is quite a good contrast I think? Anyway I will post a photo very soon. By the way we were advised to seal it as well so I will get the name of the product for you if u are interested.

Hello Bumbles12!

Glad you like it! Do I remember you saying your backsplash is also granite?
Yes, mine is sealed. The installers sealed it while they were here. They said it shouldnt need re-sealed for a long time. They also gave me some spray polish to use occaisionally.

I use the Windex Antibacterial spray on it when I wipe it everyday. If they suggest using something different it when wiping daily, please tell me. Yes, please post a picture of it! I would love to post a picture of mine when I figure out how to do it! Do you have stainless steel appliances or another color? "
Now Im in the process of choosing wooden floors. Soooo very confusing as to what to do. Was set on solid 3/4 wood until Ive read so many things saying how solid can "cup" from humidity changes. The same thing with Bamboo. We have humidity changes with the seasons so I think Im going wit a good Engineered wood. And of course there is the dilema of "handscraped" or not. I know I want low luster but hope it looks as nice as other wood floors Ive seen. BIG decision.

Hello mombulik,
Yes my splash back is in Granite, I'm aware I will need to be careful regarding oil etc., it was my husband choice not mine although I think it looks good. Our granite has been sealed but we intend to seal it again shortly for added protection..
Our ovens are stainless steel. The refrigerator which is white has white cardboards surrounding it. I'm not a great lover of stainless steel. I think you can have too much of it. That's my opinion lol
Our floors are "bursa beige marble". I think it goes well with the granite, which surprises me, I was really worried about that but it's fine. Our kitchen isn't quite finished yet, the walls need to be painted and a few more cabinet doors and handles need to be put on. When it is completed I will post you a photo.
You were saying you we're thinking of a timber floor, I think that sounds lovely. We were thinking of a timber floor but we live near the ocean and with wind, sand and water it just wasn't the right option for us, but I really love the look of a timber floor. We had a jarrah timber floor in another house and it was beautiful, no trouble with it except with it being dark in colour it showed up a lot of dust etc., I was forever vacuuming it. I suggest a lighter colour. We had no trouble with humidity though.

Picking wood flooring is almost as hard as picking my granite. I actually looove to decorate and pick out items for decorating, but the granite was a hard decision due to all he choices. The wooden floors are the same. Yes, I definitely dont want to go dark. Im afraid of showing every little mark, smudge, dust etc. Living near the Ocean, Im surprised you didnt have any humidity issues with your wood floors in your other home. BTW, where are you from?? Im from Johnstown, Pa, (near Pittsburgh.) Lots of snow here now and very, very, cold!! I really HATE the cold weather and dreary days we have here. When both my children are completely settled and my mother is in heaven, I REALLY want to move south where the weather is warmer. Have wanted to do that for a looong time.

PS The stainless steel oven I got is the "fingerprintless" type of SS. I really like the fact that you cannot see the smudges. My dishwasher & microwave are regular SS because I could not find a brand I liked in the "fingerprintless" for those appliances My dishwasher does show alot of marks & I clean it everyday. I dont like that at all. When it comes to replacing my frig soon, I will definitely be going with the "fringerprintless".

Have a Happy New Year!!!

Hi Bumbles12!

Wow! I cant believe youre from Austrailia!!! I thought you were somewhere other than Eastern USA because of the terms you used. I have never spokent to anyone from Austrailia! One of these days I would loooove to go there. I hear it is beautiful. I believe I told you, I live in South Eastern, Pennsylvania. A large town close to me is Pittsburgh, if you have ever heard of it. My daughter lives there actually. She is 2 hours away from us. Currently our weather is awful, (in my opinion.Freezing cold, 20 degrees or so, and snow. I hate the cold and the snow. The older I get I hate it more and more. I have said for a long time that when both of our children are settled I would LOOOOVE to move somewhere south where it is warm. For the last 30 yrs we have vacationed on the Gulf coast of Florida. We really like it there. I would love to move there but my husband really doesnt like the heat. I take care of my Mom who is 90 yrs. old and just recently moved to a Personal Care facility. When she is in heaven and my kids are settled I hope I am no longer living in the cold. Our summers are fine but winter is awful.

Im still on the wooden flooring search. Was actually at the flooring store today bringing home more samples. I really do love decorating and picking out items. We built our home 23 yrs. ago when my children were very small and I loved it. This is the only home we have ever built. Actually the decision chosing the granite, and now the wooden flooring seem to be the toughest of any I remember. My husband never has any opinion. He doesnt care what it looks like, he is just happy Im doing it all. Which is hard because he really has no opinion which doesnt help me out to much.

You had mentioned getting a designers feedback. That would be nice! I havent been on this site for long enough to do that I guess. I mainly go on and look at all the pictures for ideas. I really do love the site though. The pictures are great!!

You were saying its difficult to get white appliances where you live. Where we live, white is the usual color. More people are buying the SS now though. I really am not happy with my dishwasher due to the smudging constantly because its the SS and not the "fingerprintless."
My floor in the kitchen is a white/cream ceramic tile so the floor reflects onto the dishwasher which makes every mark very easy to see. I really dont like that. I wipe it it constantly.

Good to hear from you mate :).
Happy New Year!

Ps
My husband wants to have too much say in what I want lol Som times it gets a little rowdy lol

Hi Momkulik
Pss I knew you were an American, I'm not sure why lol. I'm about to look up to see where Pittsburgh is. I'm sorry, geographically I know very little about American. So this will be educational for me lol

G'day mate!! lol!

Thanks for replying. 111 degrees there?? OMG!!! I cant imagine. Actually, I would like that since its been in the 20's here all week an snowing!! Yes, thats 20 degrees F. One word...COLD!!!

If you google Pennsylvania, I live in Southwestern, PA. A small town called Johnstown. The largest big city it is near is Pittsburgh, (where our 27 yr. old daughter lives.) We live in a suburb of Johnstown called Richland. Johnstown is in a valley and the suburbs are a higher elevation. We live in a development called Blue Moon Estates. It was built 24 yrs ago. We were th 6th person to buy our lot and build. Its a 4 bedroom home on a large lot. Our land is pie shaped with a very large back yard and small front yard. Shopping and restaurants are only 5 min. away.
Its a very nice, safe area to raise children. Our doors are never locked in the daytime but always locked at night. Very little crime here. Johnstown, itself is a very depressed area. Years ago it was a very thriving Steel making city. After our 3rd major flood, (which I was actually in and lost my car in) the steel mills closed and it became a depressed area. It seems to be picking up in the last so many years though. We have very good schools in our area and it really is a nice place to raise a family. One not so great benefit though are amount of gloomy, cloudy day we have here.
The change in the seasons is nice but I am TOTALLY sick of the cold weather and gloomy days!!!!
Can you tell??? lol!
I looove Anna Maria Island in Fla, and would love to settle there but that probably will never happen since my husband hates the real hot weather. I NEED SUNSHINE!!!!!

Anyway, I will try he Better Homes and Gardens and te House and Home site. I loooove looking at decorating pictures and what other people do to their homes.

Its so nice to meet you and converse with you!! Even though weve never reall met. lol!!

Technology is a great thing that I can be talking to someone Ive met from Australia!! Im amazed!!

And NO, my husband has no opinion on ANYTHING!! Drives me crazy. I have to have a friend come over and give me their opinion if Im stuck on what to do. He says all the wooden floors look alike and he doesnt care which one I get. We remodled kitchen in June since it was looking 24 yrs. old and I made him drive to the stoneyard with me 2 hrs away to look at granite. He was bored to death. He just carried everything around for me and took pictures. Did care what kind of granite I got either. My cabinets are cherry and I had them frosted when the house was built. They started looking very faded. They were in perfect condition so I refued to get new cabinets. I found someone who would professionally paint them. They look beautiful!!'
They are a cream color which I love. I really do love my granite with the cabinets.
Since the houe is 24 yrs. old we need to do some sprucing up in bathrooms etc. I do all the planning and picking everything out. Hes just happy he doent have to do it. He also thinks it doesnt need done of course. lol!
Please tell me the name of your town, I would love to google it and see where you live.

PS. do you have children??

Better go, lots to do today.

Take care Mate!!!

G'day mate,

I'm not too sure if you realise how fortunate you are? A man who lets you do what you want! Wow if only I had that!!! Your husband sounds like the perfect husband!!! I would much rather ask a friend or go online to get someone else's opinion lol. It is sometimes like an up hill battle here lol. Especially when it came to the flooring and benchtop! He won, and it all worked out ! I'm amazed lol.

I have three children, two boys and a girl and they are all grown up now and have left the nest. Two are married and live interstate and one is still in Victoria.

We live in a town called Warrnnambool, south west of Melbourne. We have had this property for years and used it as a holiday home, but we like it so much we spend most of our time here now doing it up. We live on two acres. I have planted hundreds of native trees and they are really taking off. I'm also into gardening.

Your place sounds wonderful. I love the idea of walking to shops and restaurants! Brilliant idea about painting your cabinets! They sound lovely. Can't wait to see some photos one day.

We have just put in a new kitchen and did it ourselves. I designed it and my husband built it. Surprisingly it's turned out quite well. A couple of years ago I did an interior design course, im still lost !! but what I did learnt was go with your heart and what you really like and of course I got a lot of my ideas from Houzz and asked lots of questions. It's been exciting, fun and a bit of apprehension lol

My husband just looked over my shoulder to see what I'm doing, and he totally disagrees with everything I've written, typical!!! Lol

See ya mate,

Oops, I spelt it wrong!!! WARRNAMBOOL

G'Day Mate!

I googled Warrnambool and cant imagine how far away that is!!
How has the weather been?
Still hot? Still cold here. Actually were having a little bit of a break cause its been in the 30's and this weekend supposed to be in the 40's. Heat wave for us!! Has not been snowing lately though, just cold.
I spent the last 2 days at Jury Duty, (In a courtroom with 100 other people for Jury Duty selection.)
It was soooo boring. I did not get picked or even questioned by the Judge and Attorneys. However, we just get randomly summoned for Jury Duty and have to do it. Some people never get summoned. I have been twice. I have not yet actually gotten picked to be on the Jury, Thank God!! This is a murder trial I was summoned for. I know it is our duty to do it so I shouldnt complain. Do you have anything similar to that?

Finally picked a wooden floor! Someone came today and measured. Also got the estimate. Im only getting it installed in 2 rooms and thought the estimate would be lower than it was but EVERYTHING is expensive I guess!!

Is your kitchen comleted yet? I have never gotten my new refridgerator yet. My husband said he doesnt want to get a new one until this one dies. I hope it dies soon. Its white and my other appliances are the stainless steel, as we discussed.

TTYL, mate!

Lol!! Its Talk to you later. I forget that you may not know our acronyms. Some people use CYL also, meaning See you later. I checked out the House and Home site and it is very nice. I cant remember now though if its something you have to have a paid subscription to or not???
Do you like it??
Very cold and rainy here today. I would be happy with 98degrees right now!!

TTYL, mate

PS Please do send picture when able. If I can get a picture taken and ask my son how to download it, i will send one.

PSS. Floor Im getting, didnt order yet though, is Shaw Engineered Hardwoord, Walnut, Windsor color. It has high variation in color but yet the shad is a medium walnut shad. Has variations of medium colors in it. Would love to be able to see a whole room in it first but really cant. Scary!

I'm thinking of doing the same with the backsplash. Do you have a pic of what you did? I got a copper, black, brown glass tile that comes in squares at HD to alternate (cut into strips as a stripe 1/4 of the way down or alternating squares or diamonds)with either subway tiles that match my off white cabinets or an Italian tumbled look for some texture. My granite looks similar, maybe a little darker and cream tile floors. My appliances are black(not changing) and my faucets and sink are stainless. No hardware on the cabinets. Only changing lighting on either side of my island (big white fluorescents). And needing a nice warm neutral paint for above the cabinets and the breakfast room which his the same color as the cabinets on the bottom half wood molding. Any help? I need to figure out how to download a pic.

I recently had the Solarius granite installed. I also have it on the splash back. I didn't want too many colours in my kitchen. My cabinets are gloss white with stainless steel appliances with a bursa beige marble floor. I think you need to be careful not to add too many colours. Just my opinion.

I also recently, (June) had the solarius granite installed. It has so many different shades of golds, creams, browns and a speck of black here and there that I would keep my blacksplash very simple.
I did a 4x4 tan/goldish tumbled tile with sporadic mosaic glass tiles in diamond shape every so often. I agonized over it and I do like what I decided on. It lets the granite be the main focal point and not the backsplash. Thats just my opinion but you may like something different.

You can keep the back splash simple, but remember that most of time depending on the layout of the kitchen, any counter from a distance does not show much, since it is horizontal. What shows most is the backsplash. You can see counter mostly when you are near by. If you have a back splash that shows off beautifully from other parts of the house, like entrance, family room or living or dining room; it is a good idea to incorporate something beautiful there.
A hand painted custom mural is the way to go. It can be done right behind the cook top or some decos all over the back splash! You may see some of the selection at www.artpalette.net

Yes, you are correct. You do not see your granite countertops when looking at the kitchen from ma distance. However, when you are standingin the kitchen close to the countertops you definitely see both the countertop and backsplash well. I know that when picking my backsplash that I wanted it to be the main focus in the kitchen, probably because it cost so much money!! At any rate I am happy with my decision to do a little more sublte backsplash with accents of mosaic tile every few feet. Make sure to bring lots of samples home of whateve you are picking.

I REALLY wish I had other opinions of bamboo flooring!! That is my latest big issue!! We do not have central air which makes me a little concerned as to if we would have any humidity issues in the summer. I have heard that bamboo and solid hardwood can "cup" with humidity changes.
So I was leaning towards Engineered wood. I brought tons of samples of all home, Solid wood, engineered and bamboo. All the engineered and solid wood,no matter how expensive, definitely showed small dents when loose change was dropped on them. Also dropped a sauce pan and defnitely a bigger dent!! So now Im back to considering the Bamboo but looking at the Strand woven bamboo. It does seem harder than any engineered or solid hardwood I have looked at and didnt dent when smaller items were dropped on it. I have seen websites saying how great it is then others complaining about it. IM SO CONFUSED!! Anyone have the Mohawk Strand Woven Bamboo?? Color I like is Hilea. Thanks for ANY input!!

Hi Momkulik,
One of the things to consider with laminated timber floors is if you drop anything on them they dent and they aren't really repairable not like real timber. Something to consider.

I had parquetry in my kitchen in another home and I often dropped things and although it did dent it , it add character if you leave it, but if you don't like it, it is repairable.
See ya mate
Ps in Queensland Australia which is sub tropical, they have many timber floor in their old "Queenslanders".

G'day Momkulik
Im posting a photo of our kitchen now although it isn't finished (the walls have to be painted)
We are very happy with the granite. I agree with you that it is challenging to see if it needs to be wiped down or not but hey that can be a good thing too lol
Have you made a decision about your flooring yet?

Wow! Kitchen looks beautiful!! Your granite is a little darker than mine. Mine seems to have a little more gold/cream in it. Just a little lighter in color. There were 3 different groups of Solarius granite at the stoneyard when we looked and all three looked differently to me. Yours being a little darker looks nice because of all the white in your kitchen. It looks nice on the backsplash too because of all the white I think. You have a very modern looking kitchen. Mine is more traditional looking I guess. One of these days I will take a picture and have my son put it on the computer for me since I still havent learned how to do that. lol!! No, I still dont have my wood flooring picked. Each time I pick something I find something wrong with it because of all the comments I read on-line. I would love the bamboo but am convinced from everything Ive read that there is a real possibility of it cupping because of the humidity. This is driving me crazy!!!!

TTYL, Matey!

Oh, thank you.... We are quite pleased with it and once it has a little bit of colour of the walls it will not look so stark. The house is rather a modern home so that's why we decided to go with it. It's an open plan house so when people come thru the front door there is a sitting room then you walk thru a door way into the dinning area and kitchen. So the first thing you would notice is the bench on the kitchen. I think it is quite a feature?? I'm soo please I like the granite lol
I love traditional kitchen but we needed a change lol

Finally our cleaner and granite polish arrived! I haven't use them yet, so I can't tell you what they r like ?
They are made in German but we got them in Australia thru a distributor. The web site is: www.lithofin.com

Hi Mate! Thanks for the pix of the cleaner. I googled it and it looks like there are some places in the USA that sell it but I would have to order it on line. Is this something you will use just occasionally to polish and shine your granite, or is it something that can be used daily to wipe off the counters?? I wasnt quite sure. There are not alot of cleaners sold at grocery stores or at our Walmarts that say "for granite." I just use the Windex antibacterial daily when I wipe my countertops. I have not tried to polish them since theyve been put in, which was last June.
COLD here!!! It was -5 degrees last night. Yes, thats 5 degrees below zero!!! I HATE it!!!
How is your weather??

TTYL, Mate!

It really doesn't seem to say when to use it. Sorry I gave you a photo of the polish twice lol. Here is a pix of the cleaner's directions. TTYL Matey

I haven't use the products yet. On the cleaners label it does say for "every-day use".
I suppose to be polishing mine soon, when I get around to it. Lol

Ps. It cost us about $90 au. (We got two cleaners and one polish)

We have had wonderful weather in the mid 20s C. But today is going to be 33C which is 91.4 F.
We haven't had rain for ages so it is very dry here, we are all a bit concerned about bush fires. There are already fires around the state threatening homes. Oh, well..... That's life in Australia.
Any luck with the flooring ?

Havent talked to you for a long time! Finally got my flooring installed in the past 2 days. I went with the Strand Woven Bamboo. It looks beautiful! I had it put in 2 rooms which are open to ea. other, my living room & dining room. I dont have it in my family room. Its very pretty but in the family room I think I like carpeting better. More comfy. Our weather here is still awful. Still in the 30's. No sun,just gloomy and cold! Hate it! Hopefully Spring is coming soon, I cant wait!

Yes, l have missed our conversions! Just last night i thought about you! Your Flooring sounds wonderful! How do you clean it? Do you need to be careful with how much water you use on it? What colour is it? You will have to put some photos up.

I'm really loving the granite. Always looks fresh,clean and l just love the look!

We have had our hottest March (autumn) on record. 20 consecutive days over 30C (87f) it was very hot and dry but only yesterday we had lots of rain which we desperately needed and it is starting to cool down. I love autumn it's my favourite time of the year.

I'm trying get some ideas to renovate another kitchen which I upload yesterday. Very different to this one. It has brick walls and timber cabinets and I need to modernise it by lightening it up, as you would know bricks make it look very dark/dull. With the right choice in materials I think it could come up well. So this my next project lol My husband isn't that happly about it but he has admitted something does need to happen lol
Anyway mate, take care,
Keep in contact, it's lovely to hear from you.

87 degrees!! WOW!! I would kill for that right now. lol!
To clean the Bamboo I understand you just need to wipe it with a damp cloth. Some places on the Interenet say to use a solution of vinegar & water. I think the main issue is justs keeping dust off of it. I bought a Swifter type mop and went over it today, (they just finished installation yesterday) to pick of dust etc from installation, and then I wiped it up with a slightly damp cloth on my hands and knees. I could have just dampened the Swifter mop I guess. Water is never to be left standing on the Bamboo and you are not to use household cleaners on it. Actually it will probably take a little more work than the carpeting. I can see where you definitely will be able to see dust after a couple of days, compared to carpeting when you can just vacuum when you need to. It really does look pretty though.
Your doing another kitchen???? That sounds like fun!! I would love that! Is this in another house that you own or where? Yes, I imagine the brick makes it very dark. Some people like that, I just really like kitchens that are light and bright. You can always paint the brick. I painted the brick in our Family Room on one wall. Even if you kept the brick dark and had very light countertops, cabinets & flooring it may look nice. Sounds interesting. You should post pictures, before and after.
I have a Powder Room I want to start on soon. Its all wallpapered so I will need to remove all of it which is a huge! Ive done it before in my Dining Room and it was no fun at all!

TTYL, Matey!

Yes it is our Melbourne house and when we finish we will sell. Having two houses is ridiculous !! Too much work!
Your flooring sounds lovely and sounds very much like any timber floor where you need to be very careful with water. I know heaps about timber floors as I have it right thru our other house. It very easy to keep clean that's my main reason for liking it, but it is also much more hygienic then carpet I think. Carpet looks lovely and cosy but to me I don't think it is as hygienic and besides l hate vacuuming carpet! It hard work! Lol
After doing the solarius kitchen I love light and bright too! It's lovely to wake up to.
It looks like we may catch up on other projects, I hope so.
Bye for now matey

Would this granite look good as the back splash as well? Or would it be too busy?

Yes, I love it, beautiful and lots of design and crystals!

I have Solarius granite - what color should i paint the cabintes?