It looks great! I like the leather finish on the granite.

Looks fantastic, awesome!!! very classic and elegant looking..enjoy it. couple of questions,
What range hood did you use?
How wide is your crown moulding from the top of your cabinets to the ceiling?

Thanks :)

Love your countertops! Are you in love with the finish? I have Absolute Black in my master bath, in the traditional shiny finish. Since it shows every spec of everything, I have been nervous about putting it in the kitchen. Does the matte look of the leather finish hide more (dust, fingerprints, etc.)?

Great job! I really like it.

Love your cabinet choice! Looks beautiful! Can you tell me more about your counters? Im not sure what a leather finish is. Does it show fingerprints and messes easily or is it better at hiding? Is it more matte or shiny? Thanks :)

Looks great, serendipity! It must feel so good to be done!

I am curious as to whether the leather finish on the Ab Blk granite keeps it from showing as much dust, crumbs, etc. Please tell!

Sandy

It looks wonderful! It is helpful to hear about your lighting meltdown and your cracked cabinet (after the fact) especially since it all turned out so well. Enjoy your beautiful space!

Beautiful rich color on your cabinets. Enjoy!

Very nice job, love the clean look of the kitchen. Enjoyed reading a bit of your blog. Thanks for sharing! Kris

You did a lovely job. I did notice your comment about the faucet being off center and actually I think it would look odd to have a D shaped sink and have the faucet centered. All that I have seen are either to the left or right. It would actually make it a long stretch to have it centered and it probably would not have fit as the D bowls are deeper from front to back than regular square sinks. I really think your made good choices and how wonderful to come in on budget too!

Your kitchen is absolutely beautiful - so warm and inviting. I like the leathered absolute black and plan to keep it in mind for another project - my office. I enjoyed your blog and sympathize with your trials, but all worked out well. I commend you for having a husband who knows how to listen and provide the drinks. Mine too who is also the contractor and designer for our new kitchen. Linda

Looks great! I know someone who has the leathered granite, and I agree it looks great in person.

Love the simple lines, matte granite and deep cabinet colour. Has a classic elegance without feeling fussy or over done.

Thanks, everyone for your kind words and I'm sorry I'm only getting back to you now with answers to your questions.

The range hood is a Broan AP 130 Professional style range hood. It cost me about $320 at a local appliance store. I don't do a lot of frying or cooking that would require a really heavy-duty fan and this one serves the purpose. The fan is a little louder than I had anticipated, but as I said I don't really use it that much so it's not bothering me.

The size of the crown molding is 6" from the top of the cabinet door to the ceiling. The flat face is 2.5" and the crown itself is 3.5".

Now on to the leathered AB granite. I'm not surprised there are so many questions. I struggled with this decision, too. I wanted a dark but quiet granite but I was scared off by what I read about honed granite. I have a friend who has it and it really does show all the fingerprints. Now that we've been living the leathered AB it for a week or so, I'm happy with my decision.

The drawbacks to the AB leather are that it does not *completely* camouflage fingerprints but the texture does help to hide them a lot and I don't notice the crumbs as much. But it is still a dark surface so you will see some crumbs. If you're the type of person who obsesses about this kind of thing then it's not the granite for you. It's definitely much better than the honed, but it's not completely free of the same problems.

To me, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The texture in the leather gives the stone a nice, organic feel to it. Although I can see some prints, it's not bad at all and doesn't take away from the overall look of the room. I didn't want the reflective quality and streakyness of the polished stone. Also, the cherry cabinets and polished granite reminded me a little to much of our recently renovated local Dunkin Donuts shop!

I will say that the leather finish knocks the black color down a bit and I was surprised when it was installed to see that the color leans toward a very dark gray. I considered applying a sealer with enhancer to darken it, but decided against it and I'm glad I did. It's grown on me and I love them now.

Good luck to those in the midst of it all now!