Is there a neutral quartz that is the same tone as those veins?? That is just a gorgeous rock, and I would definitely work around it to have it!!

Have you considered butcher block on the island and quartz on the perimeter? bbtrix has (I think) walnut on the island and marble on the perimeter with white painted cabs and it looks great.

Pattisue -- Gorgeous!

Wow - it all works so well. The movement in the granite, your cabs, island color and then the butcher block. So well done.

I do love butcher block -- what is the upkeep - care?

Staining issues?

I could look at that Fantasy Brown quartzite all day. The OP's picture of the quartz slab is lovely too.

jpmom, we chose to have a waterlox finish, so we're not actually using it as a cutting board. Let me rephrase, that. There was a miscommunication and we have a waterlox finish. I thought I was going to be oiling it and using it as a butcher block. At any rate, the upkeep is minimal. I wipe it down. We have a wooden cutting board on top of it that we chop on. We love, love, love it.

I think your quartz choice is beautiful. I think a contrasting butcher block would look great with it! I'll look for pics.

Good to know, Pattisue.

My floors are not my favorite feature in our house. They are what I call "90's oak" -- actually, they don't look half bad in this photo. They are actually a bit more orangey than this in person.

Anyway - for cabinets - I'm going with a black island and white everywhere else.

I really wanted to brighten up the kitchen - and I'm afraid that the dark island with a dark wood butcher block defeats that purpose.

I need to imagine yours with a black island. :)

It really is a stunning space.

Here's bbtrix's kitchen. Dark island with walnut top before finished. I got this pic from bbtrix's thread here http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2663686/countertop-install-part-deaux-is-this-it

I really like your counter selection, but if you're goal is to brighten the kitchen, how did you decide on a black island? fwiw, I considered a black island but decided against it - would be too dark, even with light stone floor. But I did do a black hutch in the hallway between kitchen and laundry room (first thing you see when coming in through the garage) and I love it for that space, but glad I did not do in kitchen.

I have three counter materials (antique pine - island, granite - perimeter and laundry room, and new pine - black hutch). Three paint colors, one stain. Three back splash materials (tile - range wall, T&G - black hutch, and copper sheeting - pine hutch and laundry room). We love our wood counters (9 years now), but we don't cut on them. You do have to be careful with some things, like no hot pans. We're both good about wiping water splashes before leaving area. That said, I would do again in a heartbeat. More kitchen pictures, here.

I would do that beautiful white quartz on both your island & perimeters. It's a beautiful slab - I thought it was stone, not quartz. You'll have plenty of contrast with your island cabinets being a different color than your perimeter cabinets.

I have 2 islands - for countertops, one of them is white marble & the other is dark walnut. My perimeter countertops are white marble. The perimeter cabinets & island cabinets are white. The walnut countertop is gorgeous, but If I had to pick between the 2 island countertop surfaces, I prefer the look of the white marble. You can warm up the white with a dark walnut cutting board & other countertop accessories.

Allison - I have seen your kitchen and it is just beautiful. You have incredible taste, and your use of different finishes, woods, metals etc. works seamlessly.

I didn't want my kitchen to scream WHITE - so that's where the black island comes in. With the light quartz top, it will work fine, visually, imo.

Plus, I have some other black furniture nearby (console, demuline and wall of B&W photos in Black frames in the hallway as you enter the kitchen.)

Romy - that quartz was tier 4 (pricing scale 1-4) I'm not sure what it will be for the island, but I'm not sure if it's in the budget for the entire kitchen. I'll have to see. You never know.

Thanks, Benjes! Yes, I have a black/brown island with Black Walnut finished with Waterlox also. It's a breeze to take care of as Patti said. Here's a more current photo.

Since you are painting the cabs white could you leave the perimeter counter as is, black? I am on my phone so my pics are not huge. You would be lightening up the space a ton with white cabs and a white Quartz on the island.

consider honing the black counter that is there. that will add a bit of softness to the stone and adding your beautiful choice above to the island with a light backsplash.

I seriously do not think you need to redo your entire kitchen to get it bright and cheery. have you considered leaving the island wood? or maybe this comes back to the pull situation??

looks to me like your floors are red oak….very classic really.

Well, I'm dropping the bar height counter to standard counter height…. so new countertops everywhere.

bbtrix - your kitchen is lovely. I read your threads earlier - and that walnut BB counter is stunning.

Isabel -

This whole project morphed and has now taken on a life of it's own. My original intention was never to do all of this. I think looking at photos on Houzz is part of the problem. ;)

I truly could have stopped at just painting the cabinets, changing backsplash and keeping the countertops. I'm pretty sure that would have been just fine. But I kept on having ideas, and more ideas - which led me to where I am now.

At this point, I just want to enjoy the process and love the outcome!

Just fyi jpmom, your floors are not Maple, that is Red Oak.

The good news is, unlike Maple, Oak can be stained a lot darker, if you do not like the natural color you have now.

Our island won't be done for awhile, but I'm planning on painting the island cabinets with a walnut countertop (that could change). But, here are our leathered Black Pearl countertops which are a soft black and I'm leaning toward a marble backsplash (excuse the temporary plexiglass and no crown molding yet). Hopefully this will give you some idea of how bright it is.

Designsaavy - I saw your kitchen in another thread (backsplash) and it is gorgeous. I think what's nice about the honed counters, is that they don't bounce as much light off of them. A polished stands out more, maybe?

I will really have to think hard about a wood island top. That wasn't on my radar at all. I'll talk to my husband to see how he feels.

Cook - yeah - I realized that after I typed it out… Red Oak, that has changed quite a bit over 10 years.

Have considered staining darker - but it runs through the house - 3500 sq ft worth. I stopped in my tracks with that one a long time ago. I've managed to choose colors for my walls and rugs that complement the floors really well, so they stay. Plus, while I love how the dark floors look - mine hide everything. (even though I vacuum and sweep a lot) The dark floors in my friends homes are hard to keep up - kids, dogs, scratches etc. I'm sticking with mine. :)

I found lots of photos with floors that are close to mine (with white kitchens) and I think it looks great.

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JP, My perimeter is white cabinets with blue pearl granite; the island is navy blue with statuary white marble. I have the same red oak floor as you do. I think it is plenty light.

Really nice, Debbie! Thanks for sharing. Seeing photos like this continues to confirm our decision to make these changes!

That Marble is gorgeous.

Your slab is lovely! We are also installing a white quartz in our new home. We choose white cabinets throughout, but I did consider having a grey island. I love white kitchens, but in your case, I think I'd stick with black for the perimeter counters. I think it'll look lovely. Perhaps choose a white backsplash to light up the dark counters!

Here's what it might look like with the quartz throughout:

The Great Spaces! Kitchen · More Info

And what it might look like with the black. I think this looks lovely!

Plus, it'll be easier to find a white backsplash if you don't have to worry about it matching your white quartz! (From someone who spent 2 months trying to find a backsplash that went with my white quartz, but was not white subway tiles!)

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My floors are not my favorite feature in our house. They are what I call "90's maple"

Except they're not maple. They're oak. Maple doesn't have that much character to it. But yes, the color is that 90's color. I happen to like the color.

cpartist - I know…. I typed so fast. You're the 3rd person to correct me. I think I'll go back and edit! ;)

Since I've chosen different colors for the walls, rugs etc - I've grown to like the floors as well. When we first moved in, my colors were golds, browns and deep reds - just didn't work.

Maven - when I first started saving photos of kitchens, many had the white counter on island, dark island base, white cabs and black honed perimeter. Part of me is afraid to go all white on the counters. I don't know if it's "me"

And the backsplash will be light - I'm leaning toward a slate blue, with light grout. I found one that I think works…. but the showroom I went to didn't have a ton of tile, b/c they are more of a stone place (for counters and floors, that is)

There are so many tiles out there…. I'd almost rather have a few choices than 100.

The slab you have picked is gorgeous! Is it really a quartz or did you mean quartzite? It kinda looks like a marble....if they have it labelled a quartzite make sure it is a true quartzite and not a marble as some are mislabelled. Are you ok with having marble and the etching that goes along with it? If its a quartz product - who makes it because it is really quite beautiful!

That said, I think it would be lovely on all your surfaces especially if your goal is to lighten up the kitchen. The black island will provide contrast to the white and keep the island from being too dark. If you want contrasting counters then you could consider keeping the island white and having a darker counter on the island.

I have all white cabinets and island with white quartzite on the perimeter and soapstone on the island.

It is quartz - manufacturer is Difiniti - from Terrazzo and Marble Supply:

http://www.tmsupply.com/products/natural-stone-products.aspx?filter=difiniti

The stone is called "Crestola"

I don't think it's in the budget to use it in the entire kitchen. Of course, I picked the Level 4 quartz.

I'm still researching quartz made in China vs. Quartz that uses something called Breton Technology.

Big decisions to make!

JP do you live in Michigan? We have a T&M near us.

North Chicagoland. Close to Lake Forest, IL.

Have you ever been in their showroom?

Ahh. My dad's in Crystal Lake. We did go to T&M, but it was 4 or 5 years ago when we were looking for our island marble. We went to so many that it is kind of a blur!

We chose soapstone for our new countertops after much debate. We thought it broke up the white cabinets nicely and added a rustic, industrial, farmhouse vibe to our home. We are keeping them unoiled for the time being, but plan on waxing / oiling them sometime to darken them up a little. Everyone asks us what material they are and are baffled by the smooth silky texture. Sorry for the lack of paint and decor in the pic, but this was right after installation. Good luck with your decision.

drewdogg-

I just returned from looking at stones and fell in love with a slab of soapstone. I didn't realize that it costs much more than quartz.

Your kitchen is beautiful - I love the open shelving & light over your sink. Did you design it yourself or have help.

Jpmom - I got my Imperial Danby from T&M in Wheeling. I would have considered the Difiniti Crestola - a very pretty slab.

Out of curiosity, about how much /sq ft is the level 4 quartz (just the material) at T&M? I am also in a north suburb of Chicago and am going to visit Stone-Design and MSI this weekend. Maybe I should add T&M to my list? Thanks!

Clockhart - I'm in the process of finding out.

T&M is not as big as MSI. Difiniti is their own quartz -- so if you want to look at it, you have to go to them. I'm still in the research stages myself.

Romy - how are you liking your marble?

Jpmom - no regrets on the marble. I got my 1st major etch over the holidays, DH & DSIL eating DH's home-made pickles. The juice was underneath the SilverWave protective mat so it even has the pattern of the bottom of the mat. Surprisingly, it's hardly noticeable. On the other hand, if I had been able to find a quartz that I like as well as the marble, I'd have quartz.

Hi, my island cabinet is a light gray where I am using London Sky by Zodiaq as the counter top and the perimeter cabinets are white. I want to put a medium gray quartz counter top (maybe Ceaserstone's pebble or Uliano by Vicostone) on the perimeter but I wonder if that would be too many shades of gray? I would want to paint the walls gray also! We are having our light wood oak floors made a warm medium shade. Could someone help me with this? My kitchen designer is getting impatient! Thanks!

@romy718 I would love to hear how your Imperial Danby countertops are holding up. Due to some /fabrication installation issues I can part with mine now or replace with quartz? I've been warned but wanted to know how you felt about this using them for some time in your kitchen. My decorator has suggested the Crestola for prior clients who don't like the maintenance of marble but I'm weighing my options. thx in advance.

@Jpmom- cresola is something I am considering. Do you have finished pics of your kitchen? Would love to see the finished product!