i would suggest the SW granite on the perimeter and the AB for the island top. I love the look and feel of leathered tops. AB leathered looks alot like slate.

Leathered may be a little much for the whole kitchen. Agree, it would look good on the island though.

Honed AB looks nice on entire kitchen. I used it in a white cabinet kitchen with beveled 3x6 subway tiles on backsplash in white.

w/ subway tiles on the backsplash w/ the marble look that means that you are going to have a grey tone in them So..i would use SS as your accessories and then use white for the perimeter and island. That way you can change up your kitchen color to match the grey that will be there. If you still want to change the island to a diff finish then i would make that one have a deep shade of grey in it. IF you are def wanting to keep the blk then i would make that the island and the white the perimeter. Good luck!

have you ever thought about using butcher block for your Island top? that would look great!

Thanks for all the great suggestions! We plan to paint our main level in different grey tones as we want a cooler color palette. We love carrera marble, but we don't want the issues associated with it. That is why we picked the Super White as it has the look of marble, but more grey/visual interest than the marble. We thought that the SW should go on the island for more visual interest with the black leather on the perimeter and marble mosaic backsplash. It sounds like from the suggestions that we got that backwards.
bwenk: Not a huge fan of butcher block.......we want a more contemporary feel.

I see you have a brown tone painted on the walls. I would suggest maybe rethinking wall paint color as well.

Also, under mount the kitchen sink when you replace the countertops. And change the appliance to stainless steel as soon as your budget allows.

Fairpoint: We plan to paint our kitchen grey. We will do an undermount stainless steel apron sink, but can't replace the other white appliances right now. We do plan to do in the future, but are hopeful that the it will look ok with our current white appliances for now.

Thank you for the feedback! That photo is actually one of my inspiration pictures. I love the carrera marble against the black and the super white granite that we want for the island looks like carrera so I thought it would make it all work. My husband thinks that if we go polish on the island, we should go polish on the perimeter as well, but the Super White doesn't have that high gloss even in the polish (maybe because of it's color) so I thought it might work. It is very hard to visualize it all coming together.

Perfect photo and comments by Pangaea! and one I completely agree with. I second doing the whole kitchen in the black leathered granite.

Nelli, in answer to another of your questions: we've installed leathered granite on several projects and the clients have absolutely loved it. It's far more forgiving than a polished or even honed finish because it hides finger prints etc.

I'm impressed at how it can change a relatively common or boring stone into something stunning. Black granite on the other hand can look wonderful in any finish, but the leathered black is so rich, with so much depth.

While the photo below is a very different style to yours, it shows black leathered granite. Its true beauty is noticed up close of course, because of the texture, but you'll notice how there is still a slight sheen to the leathered finish.

Steve

Thank you Steve! The leathered granite appears to be the most forgiving of all finishes!

Steve I have read that it's almost advisable NOT to seal leathered granite, but to add a color enhancer (ager) to darken the granite. Have you heard of this? Leathered granite is very new in my area (midwest) and fabricators all have very different opinions on how to deal with this granite. I do want a little sheen.

our shops not only seal it, but also will warranty for up to 10 years!

Hi Nelli, we have used either the standard sealer (Miracle's 511 is great) or a sealer/enhancer in one. You don't have to choose just an enhancer and its important to seal your granite for many reasons. Here's a link to the sealer/enhancer we use.

http://www.miraclesealantsdirect.com/servlet/the-6/miracle-sealants%2C-511%2C-Seal/Detail

My suggestion is to review samples of the leathered granite with both types of sealer as they will both change the look of the stone (the enhancer more so). Once you've selected your slabs, you can ask your fabricator to do this for you. I recommend my clients do this at my fabricators workshop before the installation of the counters, so they have a good sense of what the change will look like. The sealing and/or enhancing of the counters is typically done on site after the installation.

Hope this helps

Steve

I prefer to use soap stone in similar situation and the tumble edge on the Carrara marble. It is a softer feel and has the added advantages of being able to work on it with standard wood working tools to scalp the edge or just to make repairs.

Here is another image on Houzz by Blackband Design. It has calcutta marble subway subway tiles as the back splash. The counter is a taupe grey ceasarstone with all the stainless appliances. I think this type of look would compliment what you are going for and keeping the island in black would set a nice contrast.

I think you should do the whole kitchen in one countertop color. There has been some great advice about the type of granite and various sealing methods. Just want to say I prefer to see one countertop color. Two colors in a small or even medium sized kitchen can feel choppy. If you would like a little variety change the color of the island cabinetry.

Hope that helps. Charmean Neithart

many great ideas; personally I don't like granite but I would get it in a honed finish for sure; our new house will have a quartz in a neutral color in a honed finish; good luck and I am sure you will love anything you choose (just going honed finish no matter what will be a more natural look and easier to live with)

great info @beautiful remodel. one thing i can add is that the shop i use seals it once at the shop, and again when install is complete.

@nelli, have you ever seen MARMARA EQUATOR? it's a gray and white striped marble.

World Contracting: Beautiful! I love the marble. Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate the feedback.

MY VOTE---black counter top all around and the marble back splash.

Thanks for all the great feedback! We are still leaning toward Super White on the island (looks like carrera marble) and black on perimeter with carrera back splash. I don't want an entire kitchen with black counters and I don't want the super white everywhere either. I like the suggestion to paint the island and go with all super white counters, but that is just not in the cards at this time. Want to pick something timeless with a little spark. Decisions, decisions!

I think Charmean has it right. I would definitely research the two colors in this small of an area. I rarely see two countertop materials in this size kitchen.

Your kitchen is beautiful and I don't think there is any "bad" choice to be made here. Personally I think 2 different colors granite will be perfect, and I love your ideas. You are right, you don't want too much white or too much black. My suggestions: For perimeter, if you choose the absolute granite, go with the honed finish, you should be be able to have a honed finish in the super white also. Definitely not a high gloss finish, many people complain about fingerprints and dust particles driving them crazy later. Do you have to have an apron sink? It is an expensive option and your cabinet will have to be replaced or modified. If you do the absolute granite on the perimeter, consider a black composite sink. I have one, and I LOVE it. No maintenance and totally heat resistant. No scatches, no scrubbing, no bleaching. Love it. The SW white granite for the island would look great with the island cabinets painted black. It will anchor the kitchen nicely. Love the the carrera marble subway tile. I think your taste is slightly modern, you might like it installed going vertically, as opposed to horizontally under cabinets as a backsplash. You might try a dry run to see which layout will look better in your kitchen.

CrazyLife thanks for the encouraging words! My hubby won't get the honed granite for exactly the same reason that you said NOT get the polish....finger prints, crumbs, etc. I think it is beautiful! I like that it is darker than the leather, which to me looks a bit grey. So many suggestions, differing opinions, and feedback. I have a lot to think about!

We just redid our kitchen with white cabinets and put honed Labrador around the
perimeter (black) and did the island with a light cream/grey/taupe granite called
White Springs. It has a sheen to it. Our backsplash is white crackled subway tile.
The walls are a very light greige, very neutral, and we love the granite we picked.
Hope you figure it out!

Hi Nelli, its interesting that you say the honed looks darker than the leathered, I have found the opposite to be true whenever we've used them. (Thats the beauty and unpredictability of natural products! :o)

However, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, thats where the combination sealer/enhancer works well. In general, the leathered stone is even more forgiving than the honed (in terms of not showing fingerprints etc) so you may want to experiment with samples of the enhancer on that as it deepens and darkens the color beautifully.

Steve

Don't guess...know for sure what your surfaces will look like before you commit! Check out our website at www.freshsurfaces.com. It's a great tool that allows you to see your room before you do it.

Try the www.freshsurfaces.com website its amazing !

I think your plan will look great! All natural stone must be sealed and when leathering or honing I always recommend the enhancer. The enhancer sealant will darken the countertop - and amount it darkens will vary by the enhancer you buy and the actual stone you are using. There are various types of enhancers - some darken and keep it matte, while others darken it but give it a wet look. Lots of options now when it comes to customizing your natural stone countertops!

Thanks Pacific Stone!

I usually give my opinion once and then move on, but feel compelled to weigh in once more. There are many times when two counter top colors make a kitchen look chopped up, but yours is not one of them. You have all white cabinets for both perimeter and island. Using white on the island simply keeps it monochromatic with an outline in black around your perimeter. A fairly minimal look. Painting your island cabinets black would have pretty much the same effect as using a black counter there. So, despite respected opinions to the contrary, I still say go with your original plan for counters.

Regarding the whole honed vs. polished vs. leathered discussion -- you see how conflicting the opinions are about how much they show fingerprints and dust. Here's my suggestion: go in a showroom and start touching both kinds of counters and see which type you think the prints show up on more. Then choose what you like best and be done with it. When people talk about things "hiding" or "not showing" fingerprints, dust, dirt and so on, I think to myself, hmmm, so it's okay with you if the dirt is there? You just don't want to know it or see it? LOL! For some things that is understandable, like a glass counter or table -- you simply cannot put a finger on it without prints showing prominently. But granite is just not that delicate.

Last -- Get a granite sample of the stone you intend to use and put your choice of enhancer and sealer on it to test it so that you know you're happy with the look of it before you install. Okay, now I really am moving on. Good luck!

I agree with Pangea. You and your husband need to decide on the finish of the granite first in a show room somewhere. Go together, it won't take long to decide. Good luck to all!

Pangaea thanks for the second comment! I am very glad that you gave your opinion because the picture you shared is EXACTLY the vision that I have for my kitchen. I am starting to get excited about this project and as I just sent my firstborn off to college yesterday (sigh) I am in need of a major distraction! This kitchen will be it. We know we are doing black on the perimeter and super white polished on the island (gray walls and carrera backsplash). We haven't made the final decision about the finish for the perimeter, but we are taking your advice (crazylife too) and shopping for our slabs. My kitchen may not be huge......but it can still be grand! Thanks to all that shared. I greatly apprecite it!

Any updates on what you choose? We are doing something similar.

Waiting to hear what you ultimately decided. We are also planning a polished granite island w/ black perimeter but dont know finish type...yet. Updates please?

We have a flat matte finish on our kitchen granite, i would say it is way easier to keep clean than a gloss (which we have on our island directly across from this)

I completely disagree with the comments about the space being too small for two coordinating stones. If it was all the same it would be boring. This is My kitchen... I have absolute black leathered for perimeter and ivory fantasy for island and I LOVE the way the two stones compliment each other.

A leathered finish will look dated in a few years and you may get tired of it. I agree with the post below honed absolute black will look awesome with your marble subway tile. this will give you a classy look and the contrast will really make the white cabinets look crisp. keep it simple. kitchens can sell a house!

Leathered granite will not be out of style in a few years... It's like saying subway tile will go out of style in a few years. Subway is timeless...so is honed or leathered finished granite.

Love the leathered granite... leathered absolute black not so much! Just had this installed in kitchen and the maintenance is a nightmare. Shows every drop of water, every fingerprint, anything "wet" shows up. Also shows every speck of dust. Requires constant attention. Would never go with a "solid" color leather finish on kitchen countertop again. Pattern would be much better. Do love the leathered finish however.

No, I actually love your idea. Your space is big enough to do what you came up with. The contrast will be amazing. Plus, you're getting two absolutely superior materials for your kitchen. If you're interested in learning more about Super White, you can do so here http://aquagranite.com/super-white-quartzite-everything-need-know/ and more about black granite countertops, including leathered Absolute Black, here http://aquagranite.com/black-granite-countertops-sophistication-kitchen/. Good luck with your project!

Lana,

i have had absolute black leathered counters for almost two years and they look brand new. The key is you have to use Tiger Ager to keep them dark and solid black looking. I only applied it one time in the two years and they look perfect. Not any discoloration at all ..no smudging.

We did AB (although polished) on the counters in our last house, and White Fantasy on the island: