I really like the Calcutta gold - the warmth works well with your hardwood floors. You could also consider a taupe countertop like the one below. You could use the same material for the back splash, which would be beautiful, or a simple solid tile depending on the counters. I think the linear design isn't right for your kitchen, and you don't have a large enough backsplash area to use the herringbone pattern imo. What I would absolutely do is add more recessed lighting to your kitchen. That will make a tremendous difference in the space.

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I like your first choice as well. I would not do Chloe with either quartz you have chosen.

I would do a simple cream tile if you choose the first one.

You have a lovely home and I have to take your word that it is dark.

Maybe investing in more lighting?

Your cabinets look really good for 25 years!

Love the Neolith, but be aware that the cost to fabricate it usually puts total cost in the same realm as marble.

Before you choose any materials, address your lighting. It doesn't look as if you have under-cabinet lighting everywhere. Add that first. Is there a light over your stove?

Look at the lumens and colour temperature of your bulbs throughout your kitchen and living room, including your pot lights. Be sure they're not too dim or too yellow. Your pots and under-cabinet lights look like an older style. The new styles that could replace them are lower-energy and better light quality. Some pots can be aimed to hit the areas of the room that need it the most.

Add floor lamps or wall-mounted plug-in sconces in the dark areas, since they can be added without an electrician. For example, consider a wall sconce to the left of your fireplace, instead of wall art.

Do this first because the lighting will affect how the colours look. You don't want to make your expensive counter top choices and then find out later that they look very different with your new lighting. Things that look good together with one kind of lighting can look mis-matched with different colour temperature bulbs, so beware.

As far as your living room being dark, your inside-mount bamboo blind covers about 1/5 of the glass on the window. I would suggest a window treatment that leaves the glass 100% uncovered during the daytime. That might be as simple as mounting the bamboo blind above the window so that it clears it completely. You will be surprised how much difference it makes to completely uncover the glass.

Finally, look at where the sunlight hits your walls. That's where you want to hang a mirror, right in that patch of daylight, to bounce light into the room. Mirrors hung elsewhere don't do much. If a big patch of sunlight hits your floor, leaving that section uncarpeted can bounce the light into the room too, if that works for your furniture arrangements.

I don't think replacing your granite with a lighter counter, by itself, will give you the result you are looking for. The same dollars spent on good lighting will be more likely to give you a better space.

partim brings up a good point and if you have them and we just aren't seeing them on skip to next point lol.

Of the 2 you selected, Neolith calacatta gold is definitely my favorite and pulls colors in from the fireplace as well. Reviewing the full piece before install will be key because some have more grey and are more busy.

Since you want to keep that mountain look maybe a white washed butcher block would work for you? I think this would look great in your kitchen.

oh forgot the white washed butcher block pic!

Design Girl, I had an off the cuff quote of around $7600 for fabricating and installation for porcelain.. I think that included porcelain backsplash as well.. I nearly fell over when I heard that... I haven't had a bid for quartz, or natural stone, but I thought they might come out about the same.. ?? The slab suppliers I visited didn't have a quartzite that was light enough, or with the right undertones (too yellow, or wow.. that's a lot of pink..)

The problem with marble is staining. My husband is completely unaware when he spills or spatters something.. I'd rather keep peace in the homestead..

The one quartz I looked at that was somewhat ok was Silestone calacatta gold. It's a much softer pattern, but I'm not seeing much in the brown tones in it like I do in the Neolith porcelains.

eld6161, thank-you.. There are LED lights under the cabinets, but are turned on separately.. I had the cabinets painted a little over a year ago.. Once they were painted, the countertops and backsplash just felt sad.. I'd much prefer cheerful to sad 😊

Calidesign, I agree about the random linear being too busy.. My husband doesn't like the idea of the countertop material as backsplash... soooooo...

I brought home a porcelain equivalent to Taj Mahal quartzite (no quartzite samples available), and it looked dead in the afternoon. But thank-you for the suggestion.. I'll look at that one next week when I go back..

Lisa, I really like that idea! I was considering butcher block on the areas not around the sink and stove.. I haven't seen whitewashed.. They look great! Are there newer ways of sealing these that doesn't involve a 70's epoxy float?

Lol let me do some checking to confirm it all, unless anyone else knows readily.

OK Acacia wood is like teak and even home depot has it with the white oil.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Interbuild-Acacia-7-ft-L-x-25-in-D-x-1-in-T-Butcher-Block-Countertop-in-Organic-White-Stain-672049/312360230

#1 Recommendation: Upgrade your lighting (Electrician + wiring + all new fixtures = $1200 - $3,000). Spend all the money you can on the lighting. Then WAIT while you build up your savings once again.

#2 Recommendation: Sand/refinish the floors to a lighter colour. The wood is darkening the house...a little bit. You probably have an oil based finish (turns orange over years) or an oil modified finish (turns medium yellow...because it still has solvents in it).

If you work with a 2 part water based finish, your wood will become the LIGHTEST COLOUR of stone in your fireplace. It will turn a very pale wheat colour. That alone will lighten the home.

Add that to your INCREASED lighting and you have a kitchen that is much brighter than what you have now. And the counter top hasn't been touched (yet).

No matter what, whenever you want to lighten up a space make sure you start with lighting. And then move on to the next biggest ticket item after that (flooring).

For your home i like the counters you have but the pass thru would lend itself to butcher block very well...add to that a great show stopper pendant over the peninsula ....lots more lighting and a backsplash that pops out ..shiny and white....as your home looks more interesting and casual...almost rustic...that vibe seems to suit you more than the whole new white marble trend that works better in minimal contemporary settings..where people don’t really appear to cook or live there...

So I just went through this phase of being hot about using porcelain for my Master Bath counter. But then I started doing the research and changed course. Reasons I backed away from it- edges can easily chip and then there is no way to repair, the edge profile is white as the print is only on the top though you could have a edge fabricated but to me it didn't look natural, limited fabricators that can actually work with this product so their pricing isn't competitive. So just make sure that you've done your research and besides knowing it's pluses you also are aware of the negatives so you make the right choice.

And don't make your choice from a little sample. See full slabs of whatever material you go with. As that dead Taj Mahal may not even look like the slab you could end up with. I was at a stone yard the other day and there had to be at least 4 different lots of Taj and every lot looked different. I found a Dolomite that I plan to use instead.

if you go w butcher block, home depot makes a tung oil product that doesn't make the wood look like the deck of a ship. I didn't notice much of a color difference after application but it works great protecting the wood and repelling water. prob needs to be redone every once in awhile

Ok.. There is under counter lighting. But really, I don't want to be turning all the lights on at 2 or 3 in the afternoon.. The can lighting is mostly adequate when on.. I would, however welcome something more interesting over the peninsula, or over the table..

The floors are not stained, and only have a water base finish.. They were refinished about 4 years ago.. I went with the water base finish so that it would be lighter.. They look slightly darker in the picture then they actually are.

The living room blind is hung about 6" above the trim.. only about 1/4 of an inch of glass is covered.. Sadly, there is no wall in the living room that gets direct light for a mirror... and that is the only window.. In the past I tried one over the mantle, and on the small piece of wall to the left of the fireplace, but it didn't make a difference. The living room has it's own problems .. haha!

The only direct sun in the kitchen, is on the floor in the morning, through the door.

Thanks for the warning about porcelain.. Of course, all the "professionals" selling the material have said that it's not prone to chipping. I have worried about the mitered edge, however.. Since it's just us two old farts, I figured it wouldn't be as much of an issue, but...

Aaaaarrrgh! This is so hard!! :-)

It looks like a pretty kitchen. Porcelain at least in my area are new so has high production costs (no one wants to touch it). Quartz has been around for a decade and is almost bulletproof... As others have said get led tape lights installed, on one switch, mounted at the front of the cabinet face. It seems minor but will make a huge difference. Are you adding a ducted hood as part of this mini renovation?

Have you actually gone to the stone yard/s to look at slabs? I live in a small town but went to the city and visited 4 different yards. The 4th yard is where I found the dolomite. None of the other 3 carried this particular one.

I just bought a new home with 3 yr old quartz kitchen countertops. I am not a fan of quartz for many reasons. My quartz has many polished and matt looking spots on it which I don't know if those are due to the seller using a product they shouldn't have. On the underside of the slab is stamped the name of the stone yard it was purchased from. I called them and talked to one of their "professionals" and told them my problem. Their reply was for me to call the fabricator. I told them I had no idea who the fabricator was and I don't think it was a fabricator problem. And since they sold the product they should know what it's short comings are and how to fix it. Long story short, they couldn't help me as they didn't know. So as with everything now a days, you really need to do your own research if it is really going to matter to you on how it performs.

I am also a fan of marble but like you was concerned with etching etc. I went with LG Viatera in a color called Minuet. I’ve had it for several years now and many people have mistaken it for marble. But my real point here is to find something you love, there will always be naysayers on any choice you make and also remember virtually any choice you make will go out of style but if you love it you won’t care!

Partim covered the lighting situation. Since you live in a clearing in the woods, your trees and shrubs may have grown to block more light than they used to. Pruning and removing trees would increase the light in the house and improve fire safety. Santa Cruz area fires were especially severe. Take a walk outside around the house to see if there are overgrown shrubs and trees that can be professionally pruned or removed.

Changing the backsplash alone out to a glossy white to reflect the light would increase the brightness quite a lot.

HALLETT & Co. We are adding a ducted hood and replacing the downdraft stove. My husband just replaced the fluorescent fixtures with LED about a year ago, but I will look into the LED strips. We're adding a couple of additional outlets, so adding a switch or two wouldn't be a big deal.

tedbixby, I've gone to three slab places in San Jose, as we have none in Santa Cruz.. Can you share a picture of your Dolomite? They had some at one of the places I looked... I think with quartz, there's a variation in quality. My daughter's has chipped along the edges.. They did a major remodel and may have gone with a less expensive quartz to keep costs under control...

Jeanne Cardwell I know I looked at Minuet the other day, but can't remember why I didn't bring a sample home..

apple_pie_order, The main problem with the house and light is how it is situated regarding the sun.. The kitchen faces N/E, and the only direct sun is in the morning, on the floor by the door. There's a 6' overhang on that side, which also limits light. We're in a canyon, so in the winter, the sun goes behind the mountain at 3.. There are mainly smaller trees close to the house, with broad expanses of lawn. We've taken out all of the big pines and most of the firs, and continually work at keeping the forest at bay.. It's really pretty open and sunny.. I'm a horticulturalist/landscape designer by trade and am no stranger to pruning. I think that being a designer in a different medium is part of what makes this so difficult for me. I understand a lot about the aesthetics, but am still relatively clueless about how I'm going to make the materials work in a cohesive manner that fits the house... So much easier with plants :-)

Hanging lights over the peninsula will just cut off the space. You only appear to have 4 recessed lights in the entire kitchen and dining area. You need at least double that number. You can put the dining lights on a separate switch, or put the whole thing on dimmers, but you need more functional light.

OMG! That is just gorgeous! You are a great artist based on your gardens. Tells me that you just haven't found the right slab that has sung to you yet as there is no doubt in my mind that when you do, you'll know it. If you aren't a time crunch, I'd take your time looking for that perfect slab. The world is so upside down right now that I think the slab inventories are low, just like all products.

Here is the dolomite. They had several different lots and the other lots were more creamy with more gray and less brown. Its called Gold Da Vinci Leathered but of course who knows how many other names it could go by.

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This is a blog on paint and how the position of the house affects the wall color. You might glean some info from it that you can apply to shopping for your counter.

https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-8-best-benjamin-moore-white-paint-colours-undertones-and-more/

Is that YOUR garden? It is stunning! Who needs a kitchen! Seriously though, lighting is key- more is more. With modern LEDs taking no energy you don't even have to feel guilty turning them on and leaving them on! Dimmers everywhere of course as the brightness you need during the day is different than what you need to dine.

Re the counters, I had marble in my last house and they were lovely. No staining but they certainly do etch (and like natural stone or quartz they chip)

I also hear you about the quartz looking 'forced', much of it does. Maybe your husbands idea of a warm solid color 'boring' quartz (or Corian for Joe C) with a fabulous back splash could work?

Gorgeous garden! Since your yard and trees are more than perfect, adding indoor lighting is the thing to do. Is a skylight or Solatube feasible in your kitchen?

tedbixby I love your dolomite slab! I will put that on my list of ones to look for.. And thank-you, the garden has been a labor of love over the past 20+ years..

I've read that Kylie M blog on white paint before.. Picking a paint that worked on all the walls here was quite a trial!

HALLETT & Co. yes, that part of the garden is what I see from the kitchen.. If I put as much time and energy into the interior as I do the garden, it would probably be pulled together a little better.. When it comes down to it, the design decisions come down to me.. I'm not going to get anything my husband hates, but his design sense leans towards inflatable aliens and lava lamps (don't ask)..

apple_pie_order The house has 2 stories, so the best I could do with a skylight would be to put one (or two) in the overhang.. It would probably help, and that's a great idea.. When we re-roofed, we put one in over the stairwell off the living room, and we did get more light on that side of the room..

I have a similar problem with my kitchen, it has no direct windows. I have solid white counters (Corian) and white backsplash. I’m happy with the look, but still need the lights on during morning/ late afternoon.

And your garden is gorgeous! I wish I could do that!

If I had views like that I would put all of my money into more and bigger windows

First of all, your garden is amazing! And your house is adorable. I have an “inside” kitchen in an open concept house so there is ZERO natural light. The kitchen was quarter sawn oak with not-enough light. So I changed the cabinets to white (refaced doors, repainted boxes) and put in 12 recessed lights and LED bulbs. The lights are on ALL THE TIME due to the lack of direct sun. I would consider more cans in your ceiling and higher bulb wattage first. As for the countertop, it will be worth your time to research Silestone. It has changed drastically since it first came out and there are several light options. I loved the light butcher block idea if you think you would like that surface. I prefer granite for a lot of reasons and you may find one that is not too busy, too speckled or too dark to replace the one you have. My opinion on pendant lights is they are fabulous in a large area where they are not hogging precious visual space. I chose more recessed lights in my house for that reason though everyone showed me gorgeous ones. That’s a personal choice. An electrician should be your first call. I think your floors are fine and do not need refinishing (which is a huge mess and expense you’ve already gone through).

Wish I had your garden skills, sherry Austin. My first thought was skylights, and lightening the backsplash will go a long way. To reflect light, you might consider glass doors for a couple of the upper cabinets in the darkest corner. Depends what's behind those doors lol.

I visited a friend who recently had her kitchen done with Taj Mahal quartzite. She said she had to look around to find some slabs that were light enough. Her kitchen, like mine, is small and dark, with only one window. I wish I'd taken a picture, but the countertops were great. I brought home a remnant from her remodel, and it's perfect.. I can take it with me to compare with other slabs.. So the hunt goes on for the perfect slabs.. Phone calls in the morning to slab places..

I hope everyone has had a good Easter. If I haven't replied to everyone, please know that I find all your help and comments invaluable. Your time and expertise is greatly appreciated.

We purchased a home in August with a very dark kitchen and installed Taj Mahal quartzite—it is beautiful—one of our best remodeling decisions! It brings me “joy” every day.

Sherry, I like your choices. neolith isn't a cheap option. I have a great tile/stone place that I've been visiting for over 15 years. they mostly carry tile, but do have some nice slabs. one of the newer porcelain slabs was this calacatta. I couldn't believe it was porcelain. that's how real it looked. the design was perfect

I don't know the brand name of this one. my guy said it was newer and the print of the design was much finer. the cost for this slab was $2300. No way it would cost 5K to fabricate it! I'd say probably 2.5 for fabricate and install.

the downside to porcelain is the chipping. but heck, I've chipped my new quartz countertop twice already! So, I can't see that one being better over this one. The other thing w/porcelain tops is they need to be installed with mortar, and 100% coverage on the back. just like a giant porcelain tile. the entire back needs to be coated.

other than that, you can do anything else w/them.

this is the Neolith in the 'silk' finish.

If you like Dolomite, look at Super White. it's not as fragile as a carrara (with stains and etching) I have this in my bathroom and it's held up great.

Cielo Quartzite

comes polished or honed and both are very pretty.

Silestone Statuario quartz.

Surface One Aria quartzite

Infinity Crystal Ice

this was also at my place

Beth H. : Thank-you! I've seen some absolutely gorgeous slabs of porcelain.. I was in love with this one for a nano second until I decided it was too busy.. The colors were good, but it would overwhelm the space...

I also loved the Calacatta porcelains that I've seen, but not all of them have much tan or brown tones, which I would like to warm it up.. I'm a warm color gal.

I have a sample of Silestone statuario here right now. It's nice, but feels a little safe,. I think it's the best I've seen of the quartz for my place. I have not seen the Aria quartzite, or Infinity Crystal Ice, and will keep my eyes peeled for them next time I hit the slab shops.

The problem with 2 porcelain fabricator/installers in town is that they can charge whatever they please.. the $7600 bid, was from the company my daughter works for (no perks for mom!). There may be more, but honestly, I have not had the best luck with tile or countertop guys, so I'm going with the two my contractor likes- who happen to be the same one's the tile shop in town recommends... There are many more contractor options with natural stones and quartz.

kellie_dyslin Thank-you! I am the garden's slave... I think I have close to 3 acres I've planted...

And thanks for the links.. I know I'll enjoy reading them..

I have looked at Cambria, and I should keep better notes on what I've looked at. Honestly, I had no idea this would have taken this long.. but this house is just so tricky with light, that a lot of the samples I brought home just went dead in the space..

I think I'm in agreement with everyone on the lighting.. The friend I visited today to see her new kitchen had the strip lighting under her counters, and it's a much more even light than what we've got. So good to see it applied in an actual space..

Ah yes, jewelry! I've only done a little research on the cabinet pulls and knobs, but haven't sunk my teeth into that subject yet.. The ones that are there are from my craftsman phase.. I've moved on from that :-)

I understand the “who knew this would take so long” thing completely. Our kitchen was a complete gut DIY and took FOREVER (and we are still wrapping up final details over a year and a half later). Picking hardware took months alone.

Quartz is nearly indestructible and basically maintenance free, which works for us. We’re responsible home-owners to be sure but also don’t want to spend time maintaining a counter top when we could be hiking (or gardening!) instead, you know? There are so many options out there (almost too many) for quartz and such a variety that it’s not hard to find something.

Cambria has a Brittanica Gold that’s a bit similar to your big slab pictured just above - not sure if it teeters over that line of overwhelm but it looks gorgeous. You can select “warm” designs on their site to help narrow. Clovelly is beautiful - I wonder if it might hit a sweet spot? https://www.cambriausa.com/quartz-colors/#!/design/Clovelly

LG Viatera has some nice quartz too, and is less costly than Cambria - may be a good option if you end up leaning more toward a marble look. We chose a top from them for our butler pantry and it’s beautiful (ours is Nocturne - dark since that’s what worked in that space for us - but they have some beautiful light options too). Something like Lumina (https://www.lghausysusa.com/viatera/color/view.do?pid=2020011515261101081) has lovely veining - subtle enough to not overwhelm but still impactful enough to be noticed and create a feature? It’s described as white with grey and gold veining so may not be warm enough for you but the veining is lovely. Something like a Soprano may be warm enough and is more like a marble look: https://www.lghausysusa.com/viatera/color/view.do?pid=2020011014465200715?

If you like warm and end up with a cream/gold/brown counter, brushed gold / bronze / brass hardware would be really pretty. Top Knobs (https://www.topknobs.com) has brushed bronze and honey bronze; Schaub (https://schaubandcompany.com) has brushed bronze, empire bronze (drool), and satin brass. We looked at both (and a few other companies but these stood out) and ultimately went with Top Knobs because of the variety in sizes they offered and the lower cost. We worked with Studio 41 - not sure if you have them in your area but we got a good deal on the hardware (compared to direct ordering at list price from the Top Knobs site). Top Knobs will ship you samples for cost of shipping only too, which is nice. (I still have a bunch if you need / want some - could send them to you.) We’ve had our hardware for about 18 months and are very pleased.

My kitchen has west-facing light and we keep all the lights on unless the sun is coming in. The under-counter lights, in particular, stay on all day. If you want a bright kitchen and don't have windows on multiple sides, I think that's the way to go. The good news is that new lights/bulbs are energy efficient and give nicely-coloured light, compared to older fixtures.

May I just propose that with your wonderful fp and wood table, other changes than counter would 'do more'?

Like the wood [live edge?], an organic looking rug? instead of blue-grey cushion, something else....

@partim - I totally agree - we use our kitchen lights ALL THE TIME due to lack of natural light coming in. Best investment of time/energy we made, really, in the reno. We have LEDs and loved being able to specify how warm/cool we wanted our light to be. Everything is dimmable and our under cabinet lights can change colors and even kelvin, and are run on Alexa. Love, love, love our lighting.

Which reminds me: one lesson I learned was failing to look at finishes under the new lighting we were going to have vs our old lighting or store lighting, etc.

kellie_dyslin Thanks! You are a wealth of information!. I've bookmarked the cabinet hardware places, so that I can go back to them after I get this countertop figured out..

I like the Soprano Quartz, and it will be worth another look..

partim I'd keep the light on, but someone turns them off.. I'm not naming names, but the dog can't reach the switches....

everdebz Oh no! you noticed my old outdoor teak bench cushion! Yes I want to change that, *and* the carpet.. also get new pillows.. The dog chewed up the ones I had when he was a puppy. Now he just re-arranges them..

Where are you talking about live edge wood? The coffee table is live edge, and doing it on the mantle might feel redundant.. ?? Although, I have to say, I've never loved that mantle.... It seems when you live with something for a long time, you stop seeing how it's aesthetic doesn't work.. I'm open to any and all suggestions..

pls tell Houzz to feature your gardens!!