These are a few photos of my sample piece and the full slab.

The walls will be painted also...and that ancient phone jack is going away. The green granite on the bar has to stay...per my husband.

The full slab looks fairly white. I have not purchased the slab yet...so I can change my mind.

I am not a pro but I do have eyes and completely agree with Jan’s comment

Are you sure you don't want to go with granite ..? It wears better than marble for kitchens .

The cost of replacing the green granite, would be worth it, as outdated and impossible to match. And while you're considering cost, efficiency and updates, I would take a look at soapstone.

You absolutely MUST NOT do any countertop that has movement with that green granite! That granite controls everything that will happen in your kitchen - it is the boss! Your other counters, backsplash, etc. must work with the granite. Personally, I don’t think the granite goes with the look your are trying to achieve.

Problem is hubby is the boss and the boss is out of his (design ) depth. Either get more of the green granite, or sit yourselves down and ask why you are wasting money. Piecemeal attempts at a kitchen reno, will garner the exact same result. Piecemeal. Or busy, Or disjointed. None are good.

I agree they will never work together .

For one the green granite doesn't quite go. It's like you ran out of marble.
For another marble is beautiful but not quite durable
For yet another white on white on white often ends up as one shade of white on another shade, on another shade. Whites aren't all the same, finishes affect the look too, as does lighting, etc.
Look at hiring a kitchen designer to help

The OP will rise from bed in an hour or two, she will show hubby the thread, and all hell shall break loose.....

Please pay attention to the post, she is looking at "quartz" . . Marble FAUX. Still doesn't "go", lol

Ah yes. Quartz. Well that's better for durability. How big is that granite in any case?

Good morning and thank you for your comments. Just a bit more information...this is not a complete renovation. We needed to replace our tile countertops and I have wanted white cabinets for about 15 years...lol. I am in the midst of having them painted. The granite piece covers a bar area. It lifts right off....was never glued down, and there has neve been a problem with stability. I never even knew it was not glued until we had to move it years ago for some reason. My husband renovated this 980 square ft beach cottage about 20 years ago before we were married...about 19 years ago. Here are a few more pictures of the space.

Unfortunately our house is a bit piecemeal...which I am trying to improve upon. I know the bar granite does not go...but my husband is not ready to part with it yet.

Nobody can help. You are asking for a "good" answer, and there isn't one. Sorry. You either want an improvement over piecemeal, or you want to spend more money to get MORE piecemeal. What could anyone say?

Here iare a few photos prior to the painting. in retrospect I can see that we should have probably just done a full renovation...but we didn't so this is what I have to work with.

So would you just make the bar and counters the same materials? I have seen many pictures of counters being one thing...Islands another...and backslash yet another.

Confused...the "bar" you're referring to is the peninsula? It's actually physically touching the rest of the counters? Hard to tell from your pictures.

If so then yes do one material for all counters. Otherwise you'll have a gap that will collect gunk.

ISLANDS can be a different material because they are visually separate from the rest of the countertops.

for the record, LOVE the wood detailing in your house! I think the fake marble you selected is too modern for the rest of the space- something warmer/darker/more natural would tie in better with the house as a whole. Even, dare I suggest...more green granite.

I OBVIOUSLY was not ready to start this "little" update LOL. Sigh...starting it has made me realize how much I would like to change...I have someone coming out to take a look at the counters, backsplash, etc. this afternoon.

Kayled...yes I guess it is a peninsula? We have always called it the bar...has barstools to sit for eating etc. Well I have to run...I have an electrician coming to discuss wiring for under/over cabinet lighting. BTW I was also wondering if it was too modern for all the wood. Was not sure....maybe something along the lines of travertine would be better. I was inspired by the beauty of the Getty Museum the other day.

Kayled...the tile counter and backsplash we had previously was the same material. The granite top for the peninsula had an overhang and the backsplash went up to the top. Hard to explain. I think I may have a picture.

Here is a photo of previous counter.

And? What's the goal here? Do it right or don't do it. There will always be a voice that says "it's fine!!! It your house! Do what makes you happy!!!

Love the bandaid fix? It is your kitchen.

HI Jan. I would of course like to do it right....and I probably should have thought things out better. Now that I am in it I see that I should have probably gutted the kitchen and moved things to where I would like them...although I will say...many revelations came to me after I started. If I had better foresight I would have had some type of kitchen design company come out and help me with ideas...since I have difficulty making decisions on such things. The original plan was just simply to replace the tiled counters (I tried having them refreshed) waste of money) which then turned onto..."I really want to paint the cabinets white which turned into....etc. My husband does ml not cate about imperfections etc. His words "Who cares? We live here." Nobody is going to care about what you do to the inside of your house. He says that whatever we do...it will look better than before. This is true I guess. I have been looking at too many photos on houzz! ;) But i digress. I had no involvement at the time ofthe original remodel. Who knew here we would be 20 years later. He bought the house in 1997. Anyway...I now see that once you start some thing...it easily leads into doing something else. I still want to change the layout of the kitchen....but I also want to put new flooring down throughout the house. I have never liked what he put in the back. My husband is slowly coming around to that idea. Ha. I told him it should all be the same. I do appreciate all the helpful ideas. :)

I think the point here is YOU care. You moved in, you had no involvement. You share this turf for a reason. You know what to do! Say it. Not to the internet at large, to me, or to anyone but the one who is under some impression it is still only "his" house. And you CAN say I said that. : )

Yes...I do...I am also paying for the upgrades. But it is a mess working on your house while living in it. I have many projects planned. I have to break it to my husband slowly. LOL....things I have wanted to do for a long time. On my next project I think I will try and find someone to help me with ideas. I have definitely learned that lesson.

Back up, get help with what should even BE the next project. A little of this and a little of that will only get you a whole LOT OF NOTHING.

Tell your husband to get over it.

And don’t spend your money. Spend both your money and compromise. If your husband can’t do that let him pay.

So Jan...who does that type of thing? Probably a stupid question...but I really don't know what type of professional helps with these decisions. There won't be any construction per...no knocking out walls. The interior things I want to do is replace all the flooring (so the front is the same as the back), revise the TV area, put in bench seating under the windows to make a little eating nook area, finish the upper loft, and paint the entire interior. I am going to have the exterior painted as well. We also have a gas fireplace near the TV area that I want to reface. We have granite and I don't really care for it.

And I won't be doing everything at once...although I do realize that is the most efficient and preferable way...it is just not feasible for us. I need to take one area at a time.

I wish you could reply to comments. Some of you are so funny. :D

Hi,
Beautiful ceiling and wood post.

Your DH may be like mine, “if it functions, then no need to change it”? And you are looking at aesthetics and mood and maybe layout? So y’all need to come to an understanding of your goals as a couple. It sounds like y’all are trying to be your own general contractor and that is not working.

Granite lasts forever and that may be why DH doesn’t want to part with it. Can you sell it? Maybe the dark green would look OK to you once the cabinets are painted and a new backsplash is installed and the floors are redone? But even if you wanted to go dark green granite on all the counters, even if the granite name is the same it is hard to match/blend new granite coming from deeper within the earth to old granite which came from closer to the surface.

Many homeowners update kitchen materials without really addressing a bad layout. Lipstick on a pig. If the cook uses this kitchen on a daily basis, it will benefit the cook in terms of mood and motion to have an efficient layout and pleasant environment. If this beach house is a vacation home, maybe layout is not a priority.

Sounds like Y’all need someone to help you choose the best materials that will be in budget, practical, and look good together. That can be a kitchen designer (who can do your floors, too) or a general contractor.

You have not mentioned lighting.

We were not planning a complete remodel. we really just wanted new counters to replace the old tile....which turned into painting the cabinets. No plans to change the lighting. We have recessed lighting in the kitchen and track lighting in the front room. It is an open design layout. Kitchen, dining and family room area all pretty much one. I am putting lighting under the cabinets.

Try getting as many samples as you can of countertop materials & bring them into your kitchen & sit them on your cabinets so you can get an idea of color compatibility, that is what helped me to make a choice. I'm going through this same exact thing that you are right now! I'm at the countertop choosing stage of our reno, & our Kraftmaid 'Dove White' shaker cabinets just went in. We were going to go with natural carrara marble which would have been a very easy choice and a certain match. But I chickened out about the marble due to it's fragility. So then I was facing finding a white quartz that looks great with 'Dove White' cabinets. I have my heart set on a bright white quartz look if I can't have my real marble. I have 3 different white quartz samples, and I have found that 'Caesarstone Pure White' is the best match/goes with the 'Kraftmaid Dove White' cabinets for my personal taste anyway. Good luck!

I am sitting here after midnight looking on the Ceasarstone website...LOL. I like the pure white also....and the cosmopolitan white. I am going to try and go look at slabs tomorrow. May have to wait until after Thanksgiving though. As an aside...I cannot tell you the debate I had with myself over dove white and simply white. I loved them both.

An interior designer LOCAL TO YOU is your best advisor. You are just spinning. You are wasting time here, in fact. That's because what you are saying is I hate this, want to change that, can't do this for hubby obstacle or not even caring, and whatever!

Get some help to prioritize the "projects" . Sit the "who cares" guy down like a grown up. DON'T waste effort on building in "eat in nooks" when you can BUY a damn bench! You've got VINYL? in the mud entry? Or is that a dated tile? What about that?

More truth? His "bar"? That should be cut down to counter level, and it's a darn peninsula anyway! One level. SAME counter top,. You can expect a battle on that man cave concept he has going..............

The bottom line is you have a case of house lust, and your partner does not.

Not sure of this was mentioned, but if the green granite lifts off, can't you buy or custom build a stand alone piece of "bar furniture" and put the green top on it? Then you could relocate it to a different wall even a different room.

I think the white painting looks better already! One counter around the space would look best.