I think marble is more timeless. Its been around for along time and always looks great.

My parents built their house in 2001 and they have white cabinets and a beautiful black granite. And it still looks classy and beautiful and not outdated one bit.

Maybe consider Soapstone with light veining

The black in your first picture is more likely to be honed quartz. Black granite is pretty but it sucks in the light, shows fingerprints and is harder on old eyes like mine.

The second picture may be granite or quartz. Quartz is soft and more porous than granite; it will stain easily and takes a while to achieve a patina. I associate it more with an old farmhouse look. The quartz on the end of the cabinet is something that's more contemporary.

The end treatment in the third picture is quartz. Natural stone is porous and can chip easily at a joint like that. Quartz is solid all the way through and if I were doing an end like that, it's what I'd recommend. Quartz is also much lower maintenance.

As for timeless looks, I'd pick number 2 in a quartz material. It resembles marble look most, isn't too busy (like number 3) and will be in style the longest. In terms of resale, I can see a prospective buyer say "Ugh! Black countertops show fingerprints/are too dark for me!" I don't see that with number 2 at all.

HTH.

I would not go with the black. I would be afraid it would show everything. I would also be afraid of it sucking the light out of the room. The pic you posted has a TON of light in it, so the black works.

You must mean Cambrian black granite, not Cambria. Cambria is a manufacturer of quartz.

Don’t do marble. It will stain and it will need to be professionally polished. Been there, done that.

As for timeless, each product has been around for thousands and thousands of years, so both are timeless.

Black counters are not what will make your kitchen dark. Lack of proper lighting and good natural light are what make rooms dark.

Yes, sorry, I meant Cambrian black granite!

JudyG Designs - So as mark_rachel suggested, if I don't get a lot of natural light, should I forego the black counters? Or can I go with either if I improve my lighting and will I be OK?

(The more I look at the comparison pictures, I realize that I really like the simplicity of the black granite/white cabinet combination but just not sure whether it would look oK int he room.).

Hi, what countertop are you using on your perimeter cabinets? In my new kitchen, the perimeter cabinets are painted white with black soapstone counters and the island is walnut with a marble countertop. Love the juxtaposition of light & dark!

If you have a photo of the kitchen to share it will be really helpful to address those questions. How big is your kitchen? Is it an open space concept or do you intend to change it to? Does your kitchen have enough light as the references you are showing us? Do you have young kids?

Between Marble & Granite - we'd vote for marble. Pairing it with the right pulls & light fixture will ensure you have a classic kitchen for years to come.

Our kitchen office has dark blue cabinets (also an island) w/white quartzite countertop and it looks great.

Here are serval examples of projects we did and may be inspirational to you:

Good luck!

Joseph & Berry
Indulge Yourself.

Kitchen is part of a great room with living and casual dining. We have a messy 7 year old (marble, I know!) The kitchen is in the back of an open great room. L-shaped (the picture below doesn't show the refrigerator cabinet perimeter). The counter in front is what we'll swap out.

The wood looks much lighter in this picture than it does in real life - the pictures were shot with background camera lighting.

I agree with Marci: a waterfall edge is going to be the thing that will date your kitchen not the counter material.

Your kitchen is underlit; consult with a lighting designer for placement
of additional can lights. Do you have undercabinet lighting? If not, add
that, too. Make sure you're using the correct lumens for overhead and task lighting. These three things will make a big difference in how bright or dim your kitchen feels.

To clarify, you're considering painting the cabs on the range top/wall oven run and you're going to change the island shape where the sink is. Is that correct? Are you planning to match perimeter cabinet style and paint the island white as well?

Painting the cabinets will be expensive, provided you hire a cabinet painter to do it correctly so that it holds up. IIRC, you want to request a catalyzed conversion varnish not paint for the best result. Search for threads about painting cabinets to learn more. There was a recent thread showing poorly painted cabinets, improperly prepared; there were already showing wear.

Have you considered leaving the perimeter cabinets as they are and doing the island in a white painted finish and putting a marble look-alike quartz on all surfaces? That would give you the look you want without the care headaches. You can seal marble but sealing won't prevent etching; you'll have to be okay with counters that don't look pristine.

If you replace your existing granite slab backsplash, which is busy and darkish, with beveled white subway tile, that would also lighten up the space.

This is approx how that might look.

Are you planning to repaint, too? Changing the wall color from its warm beige to something a pale greige or soft gray, or a warm white that compliments the counter will also help brighten the room.

One more idea: remove the undercab hood and cab above it, tile to the ceiling and install a chimney hood.

Hopefully whoever you hire to build your island cabs can make cab skins that match the existing stain to cover the likely unfinished sides of the cabs on either side of the range top.

"Marble counters with waterfall for island."

If one of your goals is "timeless", don't do a waterfall edge. They've become so popular in the last 3 years that they are even showing up in big mid-level hi-rise developments. A sign that the look is no longer exclusive and high-end, and perhaps nearing or over its crest before the tumble downward.

To echo Mark_Rachel, the pic in your OP with black counters is a very bright room naturally, and they've still used bright white cabinets and backsplash. If you won't have at least 2 of those 3 elements (bright light, white cabinets, white backsplash), a dark counter is not for you.

With a messy 7 year old, don't do marble. How about Silestone Lyra instead?

If you have 7 years old we would definitely go with low maintenance countertop and not sure we'd choose marble. You said NO to quartz, but you may want to re-consider the man-made materials as it's usually easier to maintain. If we may, we think your kitchen would look phenomenal as it is with the right countertops and new backsplash and we think that painting those cabinets will do no justice to them. Consider changing pulls to polished nickel backsplash and replace both countertops.

Good Luck!

Joseph & Berry
Indulge Yourself.

Ugh, quartz is not indestructible. Quartz stains and chips and cannot be repaired easily.

I love both of the looks you are considering. I agree with nixing the waterfall and upping the lighting. You may want to consider soapstone or leather via lacteal granite, which is pretty bullet proof.

Personally I have no problem with young children and marble, so long as you are fine with etching. Sealing the marble means no staining easily. You then have to worry about chipping and spalling (spalling is the white impact dots when something falls on marble.) If you are uncomfortable with those issues, consider quartzite, a natural stone. Look up threads here on how to test quartzite yourself since you cannot trust what salespeople tell you- quartzite is more expensive than marble and people are easily fooled. Calcatta quartzite looks like marble and is tougher than granite.

I have honed Jet Mist granite with white cabinets, also have 6 and 8 y/o boys - no issues whatsoever! (Similar appearance to soapstone). I’ll try to attach pictures which were taken 1.5 yrs ago just before we moved in.

I think black granite will show your fingerprints etc. But as a material it’s more durable than the white marble. Just be careful with abrasion etc. If you’re using trivets constantly etc you’ll be fine. What will date your kitchen is the waterfall tops. They look beautiful and I would do them but in a few years they will show their age when the time comes.

I have white shaker cabinets along the walls and a dark ebony island. I also have black granite countertops. Shiny. And they show every finger and palm print, dust, smear, etc. I not only have to wash down my counters, I have to buff them. Sigh.

I do have lots of natural light and good lighting, so the room is not darkened by the granite (in fact, all that natural light just shows off the fingerprints all the more!).

Soapstone does not show fingerprints and dust. I don't think the honed and leathered black stones do either. I have soapstone and marble.

Rita- are there any pics of your kitchen around? I'd love to see your soapstone marble combo!

Sorry, but when you bring up "timeless" you have to bring up Glacier White Corian. It's been around for 50 years and remains the "little black dress" of the countertop universe. None of the whippersnappers, with their staining, chipping, and difficulty to repair and refinish, have earned this designation.

Your cabinets are beautiful, as is the rest of your kitchen. If you want to lighten it, I think all you need is more lighting and possibly a different counter top/backsplash (perhaps a quartzite which you will probably like because you like the look of marble but want more durability).

Thanks for all the great feedback.

I have learned, based on feedback that waterfall is trendy, so I’ll forego!

Regarding the cabinets - I’ve tried and tried to find a wooden shaker style kitchen that I like on the internet but none of them speak to me. I am a mid-century modern fan so if they were flat I’d be good; in shaker I always only seem to prefer the painted shaker (typically onset). I’ll look again though to see ...

It seems like lighting is the main issue and I can just go with either stone (assuming I can tolerate the issues associated with both) assuming adequate lighting?

I have had black granite for 30 years it is beautiful but fingerprint nightmare, i am building a new home and love black so this time its oiled soapstone.

if you have a island, why not do both? do a black granite , honed or leathered, or the soapstone, and have the marble on the island. or vice versa. There are some great marble look alike w/the quartz,,,

this isn't going to show any fingerprints.

and the Nuvo quartz

since you like the mid century, look into walnut slab cabinets. gorgeous!

barker has them in shaker too

Black granite is a total fingerprint nightmare! I agree on the oiled soapstone

Maria,,not if it's honed or leathered. no prints.

I am a fabricator. If you like the black granite option but are put off by fingerprints you might consider a leathered finish. It's a very slightly textured honed look that doesn't show anything. My wife, who can pick any granite she wants, recently upgraded our island with a black leathered granite and it looks great. Our kitchen has good but not great natural light. +1 on the under counter lighting as well. I did that recently and it really brightened up the counters on the wall opposite the windows.

We have dakota mahogany granite and we are replacing it this month--it is just too dark. The granite is not my style, but more than that our kitchen is a little dark throughout the day and I am replacing it with a lighter granite. The black countertop you are considering is beautiful, I just think it will suck the light out of the room. I would go with a light countertop with no more than dark cabinets on the island if brightening up the space is one of your goals. I am sure someone will mention adding more lighting to your kitchen which is I am sure good advice :)

To get back to the original question, neither is going to be timeless. I can remember back when granite was costly and a favorite justification for putting it was that as a natural stone it would never be out of style. Just do a quick search here now for all the people tearing out "ugly" granite.

Whichever you pick, pick it because that's what you like, and will still like when it's an eye roll, because sooner or later will be, guaranteed. The trend machine will see to it.

I am sorry. I misspoke. I have two kitchens in two different houses, not one kitchen with both countertop materials. One is marble and one is soapstone. I am posting pics of the soapstone because it is paired with slab front cabinets. A few changes have been made since these pictures were takes. The overhand on the island is gone- it's a waterfall there too, for example.

With respect to mixing soapstone and marble. I have seen pictures of that here done very successfully. Soapstone ion the perimeter and marble for the island.

rita love your soapstone

Thanks for the tip on soapstone - I had discounted it as I thought it was very soft (which of course I shouldn’t really mind given I’m considering marble) - but it looks like a good option.

Flat panel is timeless due to the mid century appeal. You don’t need to do shaker to retain it.

@oldryder what is the name of the black leathered granite in your kitchen?

I love the combo of white shaker cabinets and soapstone. I know someone that has a rather dark kitchen and put new soapstone counters with natural wood cabinets, until they are able to redo their kitchen, and to my surprise the black soapstone did not make their kitchen look dark. The only thing I will say about soapstone, is that there is maintenance to it. The stone needs to be "oiled" to keep the rich black hue, if not it tends to get ashy looking. It's not a hard or time consuming process and you only need to do it two or three times a year.