I like the middle one best but I think they are all a bit too grey. Not sure what to suggest though.

The cabinets will be the star so I say subtle on the countertops. I also think warmer tones not the gray would work better.

Cambriausa.com dovedale or ridgegate

Or Cambria Ironstone... it has some veining but more subtle and warmer than the grays. Def agree that warmer would be better with the red birch.

Middle one

The cabinet wood shows a beautiful grain. A busy counter pattern (as would a busy backsplash) would compete visually with the cabinet grain. I think you should choose backsplash and counter at the same time, and I would go with a warmer tones since the wood has red in it. The grays you show here are too cool, imo, for the wood.

@jck910 Good choices. Dovedale looks more white, ridgegate more creamy. Which is best depends on what else is in the room but I like them both.

@D Walker

Adding Ironbridge (couldn't find an Ironstone)

I like the beige and cream tones with your cabinets.

I love gray, just not a fan with the birch.

Will the cabinets get darker as they age?

The risk of anything with fake veining is that it might look contrived next to genuine wood grain. I wouldn't rule out solid white. Let the cabinets steal the show.

eld6161 I was trying to find out how they darken but never found an answer.

This is red and white birch. The sample above seems to be closer to white birch.

I’m liking the creams and beiges better too now that I see them. I’m really liking VicoStone so will see what they have, but these are pretty choices above. That Ridgegate does have more of that marbled look, but maybe I can find something with a whiter background.

As far as backsplashes, should I rule out this then?

If you can find a Taj Mahal piece with a lot of the cream color, the caramel-toned veining will be complementary to your red birch. Look on Houzz for Taj Mahal and see what I mean. Some of the stones have a lot of sage green, but that’s not the one you want. Some pros here may have photos of what I’m referring to. My friend just bought a slab of Oxford, which is a quartz that has cream, caramel and a touch of black. It would also look great with your cabinets. Hers are a soft wood color too.

Here are some offerings from VicoStone in the warmer colors.

^^ better tones in the ones you posted above.

What is your flooring as that also has to be taken into consideration.

I've seen some beautiful granites posted on here lately with natural or stain cabinets and they really make a statement rather than following the crowd on what has become a typical choice. And each one of those post has had nothing but raves on their choice so don't discount granite. I know you are excited but if you can, you'd be better to wait till your cabinets are installed and then decided on your countertop as often what looks good now will not once you see your cabinets in your space and in your own lighting.

How will these cabinets look in 5 years? I'm only asking because I had a house full of birch wood floors, and originally they were stunning....5 years later they were yellow, and at 15 years old, they were really awful yellow. I don't know what type of birch, and I assume cabinets are made of better wood...just warning you. It's also a very soft wood.

lucky998877 I’ve not been able to see red birch aged, but I have seen that yellow birch does yellow more over time. I think red birch is harder than cherry, about the same as red oak.

The middle one of the VicoStone options looks best.

Why quartz at all there are so many beautiful natural stones why not enhance those cabinets with one of them instead of fake stone. There are white granites with just a touch of a darker brown fleck to work well with the wood and if polished is almost bullet proof. This one is Alaska white

Talk to your cabinet maker about how the wood oxidizes. Get them to show you a sample that has been laying about the shop. Discuss if the wood will need a tinted stain to protect the original beauty of the wood colour that you are in love with.
You seem to be drawn to counter tops and backsplashes with lots of movement. You really need to decide which element you want to stand out. Having all 4 (flooring, countertops, cabinets & backsplash) have to work together which can be a daunting task. Sit down and go through your dream kitchen pictures and figure out what you are truly drawn to. If it is the wood cabinets, will your flooring go with it? Get all of your samples together and look at them as a whole. Good luck you can do this

Red birch can be very light... there are some beautiful examples of it on Houzz (https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-contemporary-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~442851).

But definitely agree it has a lot of character (it’s what we are using in our new kitchen), so would recommend being thoughtful of that in your other choices... Course this is advice we didn’t follow given that our island is leathered green fusion quartzite :-). But the perimeter counter & backsplash is very neutral..

I think your original choice in the middle (the more subtly grained marble) would do very well. I don't think you should be so concerned about getting a warmer toned counter to match the warmth of your wood. Definitely select a counter that has very subtle movement.

To respond to some of the recent comments.

I don’t think my cabinet maker has worked with red birch in the past. It was a special request that they had to go to their wood supplier to see if they could even get. It’s going to take a couple weeks for him to even be able to get it.

I’m not looking for movement so much as I just like the look of natural marble. That’s what I was hoping to get, but since others didn’t like that because of the grey, I’m trying to find something similar. I don’t like the look of granite, and I don’t want something with speckles because it reminds me of dated laminate. I’m not really a fan of these brown tones in the kitchen either.

Red birch doesn’t really seem so warm to me that a warm counter would be required, but it’s hard to tell without seeing it in person. I’ve seen photos of them pared with all sorts of different color counters. I’ve gotten at least a couple people liking the second of the original set. I think I will look at something like this first I do wish the designer made all these decisions for me.

How about soapstone?

Thanks, but I’ve decided on quartz already.

Wait to get a sample of the wood that will be used on your cabinets, then decide in the lighting of your space. If you like the look of natural marble, then do that. It's your kitchen, do what you love.

Agree with tozmo1, wait and get a sample of the wood and quartz to see if you like them together.

We have beautiful custom red birch cabinets my brother in law built 22 years ago. Over the years the color has changed from its natural state to a yellow. We are now considering having them resealed or painted white. Very beautiful wood but it has a tendency to change color. Also upgrading to granite so going through similar decisions with counter and backsplash.

Can your cabinet maker give you a piece of the birch so you can go stone shopping? Granite is not always speckled. It has many variations, but I know you are set on quartz. It’s always better to bring a piece of cabinet with you.

Thanks Pam. This is what I was looking for. The red birch has been confirmed now, so that’s what I’m getting, but I’m a little disappointed about the idea of it yellowing.

I am a fan of option 3 to be honest. I tend to prefer large spans of white space between the veining.

I hope this helps.

If you are still deciding, I have a great blog post that may help.

Which countertops should I use?

I hope this helps. Happy designing.

Thank you everyone for giving me suggestions and feedback. I have since hired an interior designer to make decisions for me.

Pam Brooks That is disappointing to hear that the red birch has yellowed, especially since our new cabs are red birch :-( When I was researching cabs I didn’t find much info about that happening... course in 20 years my eyesight prob won’t be good enough to see it :-). Can they actually do something about it if they refinish?

D Walker I'm going to have my BIL over to look and discuss if there are any products that could be applied after sanding down to keep the natural color. But I'm also ready for a change so painting is still an option.

Marci, great idea. I hope the two of you find the perfect countertop for your cabinets.

Hi Marci, just wondering what you decided to do with your cabinets and countertop? I have red birch from 18 years ago and am looking for a nice quartz. Also my red birch has not yellowed one bit.

@P W I went with VicoStone Borghini. It’s beautiful. The kitchen isn’t quite done yet, but here’s how they look together. This section happens to have less large pattern. Not sure if the finer veining shows up in the photo.

Try Cambria Colton - it's creamy (not stark white) and the veining goes with 'wood' cabinets.

Thank you for the quick reply! What tile did you choose for your backsplash?

Your cabinets look great!!

@P W Tilebar, Portmore White.
Thanks mariagrazia

@Marci, the countertop and backsplash choices are great! I hope you found a solution for the long term color change that others mentioned last year. And it was a good idea to get a designer to help you.

@RedRyder Thank you. As far as the long term changes, I’ll just have to take it as it comes. My windows at least have UV protection I was able to verify.

@Marci very nice - just what I have in mind. Do you have a wide shot of your kitchen? I‘d love to see how it all came together.

@Marci I don’t know if this will ease your concern about the color change but here are my red birch doors front and back from an upper cabinet facing a window. They were installed in 2003 and the color change is minimal. Photos taken outside, cloudy day.

The color doesn’t seem to have changed much. Good. I’ll post a full picture once they finally finish. It’s one problem after another with this company, and I’d like to have everything complete before sharing the final product. Latest problem is the door they just put up today. They had a toe kick on backwards. That just got fixed.

so pretty! I had red birch with a light stain (spice?) in the last house we lived in. Cabinets were built by Cabico out of canada. They never darkened for us.

Hi Marci

Can you tell me the finish on the hardware on your red birch cabs? Thanks!

DC, just regular chrome or stainless steel. Sorry, I’m not so good at telling the difference.