I understand the dilemma! Do you think you can take a large door sample and go to the granite yard and look at the slab in person? I know nothing of Luna Pearl per se, but with certain granites there is a lot of variation and it really helps to see them in context.

I'm facing a similar dilemma, but with something called Blanco Leblon and I've decided I need to go to the wharehouse and look at it in person. I'm also considering something called Santa Ceclia and I've been warned that there is great variation in this granite.

My kitchen is in the middle of the great room, I have similar red oak floors to yours and I'm leaning towards a light-colored granite as well.

Good luck!

This site has a few luna pearl projects.

http://www.whitmoregroupllc.com/stonesummary.php?type=Luna%20Pearl

jb1176: Thank you for the link. It gives me a starting point at least.

karena: Unfortunately, we have no doors yet to take with us to look at slabs. I did get a lead on a few more cabinet / counter places in town that I need to check out when I get a chance. Maybe I'll get lucky and one of them will have more stone options installed than I've already seen.

Phil,

Just curious, what color cabinet are you going with? Is it a painted finish or is it a stained cabinet? I have looked at Lowes and I really liked a granite called Blanco Leblon, but the in-store display looked nothing like the granite sample they gave me. The Blanco Leblon looks similar to Bianco Romano and White Spring, which I have seen at other warehouses. So it is difficult to compare apples with apples because of the variant names :-(. That's why I think it's worth a trip in person to see the slabs.

Eventually, you and your wife will find the color combination that you like. It does take time, but you kind of know it when you seem something you like.

It's a stained maple that's basically one shade / step above natural color. I guess it's safe to assume that if you go with counters from Lowes that you don't get to go see the slab in advance? More reason to buy from the local folks if that's the case.

We have a similar wooded setting with a pond. We almost chose that exact cabinet color by kraftmaid, but we went with the off white. we chose Cambrian Black with an antique finish. It has a nice muted look almost like soapstone but ten times more durable, this stuff is indistructable. I think it would look amazing with that cabinet color. There are some threads on cambrian black antiqued granite on this site and some pics.

I just called the Lowes fabricator. Normally, they don't let customers choose their slabs, but I insisted saying that I won't buy anything without seeing it in person due to the wide variation in slabs. I told him that the store setup looked completely different than the sample they gave me. It appears that Blanco Leblon is more like Bianco Romano than White Spring.

He also contradicted what the Lowes contractor told me with respect to installing a farmhouse sink. They want the farmhouse sink installed before creating the template? I'm going to have to call up Lowes again to coordinate. If they have what I want, let me tag the slabs, then I'll buy it, otherwise, I'll go elsewhere.

Phil,
I think that given that you have very light floors and similarly light cabinets as well, I would try to use a darker granite/countertop to add some weight visually. I think that a beige granite tone might look monochromatic.

I would suggest something like dark brown or maroon / dark green or black galaxy or absolute black. My experience is that though black granite kind of seems boring to think of, I have never seen a failed kitchen that has had a black granite. It always lifts up the look.

Hope this helps.

here's luna pearl in a kitchen

it doesn't seem to have as much light as you do! lol!

Here is a link that might be useful: Luna Pearl

actually at the link below there are several kitchen pics with it. the pics on there 0 - 3 are all Luna Pearl!

Here is a link that might be useful: Luna Pearl

And... back to Ubatuba as a front runner again. After reading some of the comments here and another trip to see more installed countertops, I had to just make the call and told her to pick a dark counter. No one seemed to be worried about the darkness of the kitchen and we're coming up on a paperwork deadline from the lender. Having something as expensive as counter tops hanging out there as an unknown just wasn't an option. So she looked at the dark soapstones, granites, quartzes, and solid surfaces and Ubatuba won the prize. Based on my reading of the "personality" of soapstone, it would have been my preference, but she'll be using the kitchen far more than me anyway.

Now to call the local Lowes and see if I can twist their arm enough to let me come pick out the slab as well. :) For better or worse, the 203(k) documentation process makes buying from the big box stores much simpler than buying from a local place. Thank you for all the comments and links.

Nice choice! I'm always amazed that Ubatuba is on the less expensive end of the granite range because it's such a fabulous stone. I've never seen a 'bad' kitchen with Ubatuba in it.

UT is a beautiful and neutral granite and it looks great with light maple. Good luck.