I just going to lay it on the line. You sound like your taste is original and eclectic and maybe your space needs something to ground it but in my opinion Ubatuba is a done look. If it is in high demand it means everyone has got it or wants it. Your description of yourself makes me think you go your own way. I appreciate countertops are not the best vehicle to express your individuality but with all the choices out there I bet you coud find something a bit edgier than Ubatuba. Just a voice from the peanut gallery, feel free to disregard it I know I probably would.

It sounds to me like ubatuba would be great for you, even if it is one of the less exciting granites. It will let all your art collections shine! Okay, so I'm a bit biased as I have ubatuba, too. If it's what you really want, keep searching and you'll find it. I love my ubatuba, it's quiet and understated but sparkles and glimmers in the light. Personally, since this is not my forever home, I'd rather be edgy through my stuff, rather than through my countertops. Here's a pic of mine:

However, in my powder room I have a very small corner vanity and found a gorgeous piece of wild west green (also known as verde sequoia) that I absolutely love. If you like the green granites and want to introduce a little bit of movement, it might interest you.

Good luck finding your perfect counter!
Robin

Wow rmlanza, that's a really pretty slab of ubatuba!

jerseydeb, I don't know if you know this, so I'll throw it out there. When we were looking for our granite we were considering the Ubatuba as well, but then our granite store had another stone called Green Peacock and we fell in love with it. It belongs to the same family as ubatuba, has all the same colors as Ubatuba but it's markings are a little more pronounced and in some cases it also has blues in it (just like a peacock) Another name for it is Verde Peacock. We brought home a sample of each variation from the store, and honestly, we cannot tell the difference. Maybe this is more available in your area and an additional option that you can consider. Here are sample photos.
Uba Tuba: {{!gwi}} Peacock: {{!gwi}}

As you can see in the photos, the colors in the Peacock are more pronounced. HTH

Yes, rmlanza that is beautiful Ubatuba. It looks a lot more like what is called Verde Butterfly around here, except that you have a little more lovely golden brown. Your stone has far more depth than the two slabs from the same lot I found locally.

Thanks, caryscott. Know for certain I will have to move in less than a year and a half due to my husband's impending job transfer. Done deal. So, I would probably be choosing a granite with more movement, if I planned to stay in my home. I actually set out thinking I would do so. However, having said that, the dark greens really do work better in the space. They do not fight all the color going on in the kitchen, provide a good contrast, but are softer than black which also probably would work. I know the Ubatuba is considered overdone, but it is because it works with so many design styles and is a relatively affordable granite. Also, for resale purposes, I have to be careful about choosing a granite that many people will not find fault with in my local market. One with lots of new home competition and many older homes with recently updated kitchens and baths. Mine's ten years old.

lukkirish, I looked at Verde Peacock. Most of them had very little brown webbing like the image to the left. In fact the Ubatuba I did find looks very much like the left image of your Verde Peacock samples except no blue tones in the slabs.

Jerseydeb, you may want to look around at several shops or ask your store if you can look at slabs from a completely different lot. Just this week, I was at our granite store to take a second look at some slabs and they had one that was very light, and matches what you have described seeing, but then they had another slab from a different lot that was very dark with lots of the gold in it. The slab we've chosen is dark like Ubatuba but the gold is more bronzy looking and it actually has what looks like a pool of gold in the slab that's 6-8 inches wide. Really pretty. When I commented on the strong differences between the two slabs, our sales rep said the differences in the color are common and just depend on where the granite came from. HTH Good Luck!

I love UbaTuba-- good looking, affordable, and one of the best in terms of staining and scratching.

If it suits your space, absolutely go for it!

As to color variation, though-- wasn't it posted here a while back that it contains a good deal of iron, and so oxidizes a bit over time, with more prominent warm tones emerging within a year of the slab being cut? Maybe some of the variation you are seeing is due to this...

Hope someone can confirm-- I'm pretty hazy on the details.

oooooh...I haven't heard that, but that's an interesting thought. Would be curious to know more about it also and if that is applicable to the other granites from the same family.

jerseydeb - Try to look around and hold out for a shipment that's the best match for your kitchen. There's a lot of variance and hopefully some newer shipments will come in that you like better. Also agree with lukkiirish about checking out Green Peacock; we loved that too.

We got ubatuba about six months ago that has a lot of gold in it. We were originally just going to do the island, but when it got put in and I saw how well it matched the cabinets I ran out to the granite fabricator that day and they still had just enough of the same shipment left. So we got the rest of our counters done and gave up on getting new furniture any time soon. I knew that ubatuba was becoming very popular and that other granites were more distinctive, but ubatuba was the nicest choice that was within our budget and looks great in our kitchen - the key for us how how well it matched everything.

rmlanza, Wow! I really like my ubatuba, but yours is even nicer.
I got a lot of help great help and advice from GW about granite. I'm including the link to my favorite thread which is a checklist that buehl coordinated. Hope you find the perfect match for your kitchen!

Here is a link that might be useful: Stone Information and Advice (& Checklists)

Thanks everyone. My camera makes it a little too flashy in that picture, it's not quite that bright and sparkly! What I love about it is that from a distance, it just looks like a black countertop. Get a little closer and you start to see some sparkle. Get even closer and you see that it's actually green, not black, and there are so many flashes of teal, white, gold, silver, black and these irridescent spots that almost look like an abalone shell. Those are my favorites. Between the granite, my copper slate backsplash and my multicolored slate floor, my DH often finds me going around and staring at my favorite spots. He gets annoyed with me because I drag him around saying, "look at this one, and ooooh...this one's pretty, huh? Oh honey, look at THAT bit there, and see how this tile shines?" LOL. It's all just a bunch of expensive rocks to him! ;o)

Here is our recently installed UbaTuba. I mostly went with UT because I wanted something that I would be happy with for a long time. Mine has a lot of dimension to it. The longer I have it the more I like it! Here are a couple of pics. Best of luck to you!

Attaching my link. Haven't taken the time to figure out how to post a pic directly. Sorry.

ccat

Here is a link that might be useful: Uba Tuba pics

We had Uba Tuba in our last home, along with tons
of other stuff like St.Cecilia, Emerald Pearl, Black Galaxy,
and Golden Amendoa in the kitchen...
but it's because I CAN -
This is because I've been a Fabricator for the last 23 years.....
so when you "work in THE Candy Store"
- you get a Sweet Tooth pretty easily
and then... your blood sugar goes up,
and then you get Diabetets.... :-0

Anyways, the point I wanna make here is that Uba Tuba is
a WAY Classic looking stone that never goes out of style.
It's WAY affordable, and along with the many other varients-
Verde Peacock, Verde Butterfly, Verde Veneziano, etc..
You have alot of choices and can put in a color that will
look terrific for decades - or until you get tired of it,
which then means you start angonizing all over again about
what you want for your counertops... and then guys like me
have another income source...hoepfully... ;-)

By the way - Uba Tuba and St. Cecilia used together looks
AWESOME - UT on the counterstops and SC on the full height
backsplash in slab or tile....
WAY COOL!!!!! and VERY afforable too!!!!

We are in our 6th home, and been now for going on three
years, and of course - I am like the cobbler - everybody ELSE
gets their shoes....... EXCEPT me...

My wife has let it be known that she would be
perfectly happy with doing Uba Tuba in out present
kitchen, but because I work with it
and all other Granite - all the time, I think
that - (as for me) - I'd like something with a little more
"panache" - but then, that's just my personal choice for
ME in my own home.....
Does it matter? probably NOT!!! HA!!!

In the end... I'll probably cave......
I'll say something like.....
"Yes Dear - I'd Just LOVE to put Uba Tuba in YOUR kitchen"
(sensing my underlying sarcasm?)
- to keep the peace... HA!
- AGAIN.........

because I CAN!!! ;-)

just my .02 cents worth

kevin

Giving it a go at posting a pic in my message. I totally agree with what Kevin says about UT being classic!

Let's see if this works.... ccat
{{!gwi}}From Granite Installation

Kevin is having a happy Friday!