" I feel like I'm seeing the juxtaposition of cool toned marbles and quartzites with warm white and wood cabinets more "

Where are you "seeing" this? Context is key. If you post up pics perhaps someone here can offer you advice.

marble looks are like a little black dress....kinda "goes with anything" . is this what you mean? If this were my preference overall and for long term and the builder can get it done for me then go for it.....usually w new construction I'd not do upgrades unless the result is exactly what I wanted to justify higher price point..but maybe you are within his standard palette. If you post the offerings and circle what you like....people weigh in

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I'd be careful of warm white cabinets with cool tops in any variety. If you want warmth? Do a wood tone cabinet.

It takes tremendous skill to marry warm and cool and make it look intentional. There are trails of tears on this site, disappointed folks, disappointing results.

Most important? What is the feel you want in the house? Are you a warm and cozy color person? Bear in mind, cabinetry TRIM. is not divorced from other trim in your home. What is the flooring?

The best thing to do? Post the floor plan for the new build. Post some inspo pictures of rooms you love, especially the kitchen and also the great room, living room.

A spec build rarely gives you all the options you need. Lovely, neutral and problem free with "warm white" painted cabinets? Soapstone, a honed, plain black granite. ......anything else you see is generally quite a bit of design skill, married to 150 - 200 k kitchens : )

Warm wood and cool counter is a different animal. Post inspo's. It doesn't MATTER what you see, it matters what you WANT.

Sea Pearl quartzite is a natural stone and will vary depending on the slab. Grey here isn't cool.

You should view and go through the entire process of choosing your slabs. That includes testing with a glass tile scratch and lemon acid reaction. You should bring door and floor samples and ask to have the slab moved to natural light. Next is planning the layout of your counters and island to get the best configuration out of the grain pattern. Including corner cuts. Tape and pictures are good ways to lock this down for communication with the fabricator. Consider using that slab material as your backsplash. Could cost for a better look. But you won't have to pick out tile and grout, or maintain grout.

Is the Carrara marble option natural or quartz? Marble is reactive to acids and can be honed to help with that. It has a different care profile when compared to quartzite. A glass tile will scratch it and a lemon will show a reaction. A consideration around the range and sink. Quartz is made to avoid those characteristics. You give up the unique patterns of natural stone.

A last consideration is the led lighting and natural light from windows. Led bulbs can come in different warm to cool values from 2700k warm to 5000k bright and more blue.. Task lighting in from the edge of the counter should be 450+ lumens lighting your counter.

It would help to show the flooring and cabinet choices wood and painted. European oak is a choice available for floors but not so much yet for US cabinets.

I like LED 4000K lighting in ktchens since they are actually a orking space. I do agree marble goes with a ton of wood tones no problem.You are lucky the builder is actually doing real stone not fake plastic. Why choose warm cabinets that are not wood . Post at least pics here of the choices you get then more help will come. I love cararra marble it has been used for counters for ever in Italy and I have seen many that ae 30 -yrs old and older that look awesome. I agree mixing warm and cool tones is tricky but can be done. I suggest you post the choices here in a comment do not start another pos t and you will get at least some guidance.

I second the advice to view the slabs. Carrarra is usually very gray and sea pearl can be dingy. Are there other cabinets to choose from?

Thanks to everyone who has responded. To clarify, I'm not personally interested in mixing undertones if I can help it. It's just something I've notice more. I have attached a few pictures of examples that stand out to me as a mixture of undertones.

As for my personal options from the builder, that's an issue. Cabinets have already been delivered so they can't be changed. They have a slightly yellow undertone. Many of the countertops are either something I don't like (busy granite) or quartzite or carrara with an undertone that I'm not sure will work. I would prefer not to use quartz if I could help it but it may be the only one that would work with the color scheme I have (white perimeters and black island). I'm not impressed by the options I have, even with the quartz. I've been told that it wouldn't be wise to pull out new granite countertops right after close so I'm trying to figure out if there's something I can work with and quartz may have to do. I'll find pictures to share.

I have a soapstone perimeter, a honed white marble (island and slab backsplash) with walnut cabinets. The marble is cool-toned and has blue, brown, black bits, and gray. It is stunning. It is similar to the one in this thread except my marble has a lot more of a white background.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6338177/backsplash-ideas-for-remodel#28397484

Here is the mockup of my counters and cabinet combination. My actual soapstone slab is a little less busy. My wall and trim colors are different than the mockup. The walls are snowbound and the trim is off-white. It looks purposeful and everything works beautifully together.

@abi What are your backsplash and floor options? It's possible to make the warm and cool look intentional if you mix the tones throughout the room. A rug runner, a basket of succulents on the island or a pretty bowl on the counter are all easy ways to mix undertones.

Also, there are some lightly variegated backsplashes that will help make the cool counters look intentional and not the odd man out.

Is there any option of getting a credit on the countertops and getting your own installed by an outside company? I know nothing about spec houses in developments, but I would push for that if I didn't like the options given.

Okay I found some pictures.

This is what I have selected as far as cabinet color for the perimeter (the actual cabinet style is shaker) with a black island. The floor is as seen. Subway as displayed will not be used (opted out to allow myself to choose later). The quartz pictured is the best match out of the options in my opinion.

If given a choice and I had to choose quartz, I would choose something more subtle and not trying to mimic marble. I've also considered viscont white as an option (the black and white in upgrade 1). I may be able to choose my slab for whatever I go for. My style is transitional with more modern leanings which in itself makes me think that quartz, porcelain or marble are the only options that would truly give me the look I'm going for based on some of my inspiration pictures.

Here are the builder countertop options.

And here's some inspo pictures that have some elements that I love.

deegw I love those tiles and actually am considering using them as a backsplash especially if I go with sea pearl.

anna_682 Gorgeous!

herbflavorKyla McSweeney I would definitely upgrade this after the fact if allowed. However, people have claimed that it isn't ideal to rip out new countertops (especially with their base being granite) due to risk of damage to cabinets or surrounding areas (It doesn't seem like it should be that complicated to me but what do I know). I'm going to ask if they can downgrade the countertop somehow so it wouldn't be such a hassle. I'm not sure they'll agree though and I'd be stuck ripping out new granite countertops. If I could find a service that does this and donates the granite, I'd be all for it.

In the third choice photo the upper left seems like an option on my scene.

@dan1888 Do you mean the upgrade 3 option or in the upgrade 2 options? Thanks for responding.

I wasn’t suggesting you put in countertops and then rip them out. Opt not to have the builder install cabinets and contract with your own company to install what you choose. I am doing a custom home, but if I choose to source my own materials the builder gives me a credit for whatever the allowance was for that item. For example we are doing our own kitchen faucet because I didn’t like the choices at the plumbing supply company, so I get a credit towards that, which will go towards my overage on other plumbing fixtures.

Oops that should say countertops not cabinets

It's an upgrade 2 option in the box with 5 samples. Top of 2 on the left.

@dan1888 Oh yes! That's sea pearl as you showed above; one of the ones that I'm hoping to find a warm leaning slab of instead of very green.

@K M Ah, I see. That's the beauty of custom building. I can certainly ask them since that would make it a million times easier. Thank you!

@JAN MOYER @Patricia Colwell Consulting @cheri127 Any thoughts on my options with the pictures uploaded?

Maybe I should create a separate thread for advice.

This seems pretty good.......

Every spec builder is different. The fabricator is certainly local to the build. You should know who that fabricator is.

Some fabricators are ALSO a stone yard..... some are not. But there is no denying that you want to love a top, whatever it is.

The only certainty is to see the slab in person, WITH your cabinet face in hand.

Talk to the builder - if there's a local stone yard , and one who will deliver to the builders fabricator, you WILL pay more.....have that discussion. But you will have the kitchen for whatever your "forever" may be - nice to love your top at the start.

You haven't shown your kitchen layout. If there are perimeter turns? Beware bold veining in any top, for vein line up and especially if a boldly veined quartz.

Settling for something and a later rip? I'd rather pay for what I want at the get go.. Is it a big deal to rip/replace? Not really. Counter tops are secured to the cabinet with a bead of silicone. If you have counters wedge in a "niche" - caution in removal to not damage side skins on cabinets.

Best scenario is as I stated. Talk to the builder. See if you can source your own top. Divide the dollar up charge by the length of stay in the house.....: ) in years.

You want pretty good? Or to die for. That's always the question, right?

What the heck......maybe you want Taj Mahal quartzite depending slab: ) It's an in person thing, no matter what.

I had the same reaction as Jan to your photo of your selections. I don't see the cabinets as being particularly "yellow" but that may not be what you see in person. Whatever the color, I would avoid any quartz/manmade material that has heavy veining. Not only does it look fake, but it is very difficult to install with the veins matching. Just visit the Design Dilemmas here to witness the problems inherent in bold veined quartz.

Personally I think the gray quartz in the next-to-last grouping you showed might be a nice choice.

And to address your initial question, you absolutely can mix white and off-white, but it is very tricky and probably not doable with a limited number of builder choices. There's a fine line between it working and it looking like a miss.

My issue is so complex as my kitchen is in the center of my colonial home, open concept. Outside our windows (8’ ceilings) are lots of trees. I want an airy light but not bright bright kitchen. I originally planned to use alabaster in perimeters and stained maple island, but then I got stuck on alabaster trim & doors? I do t think so. So now trying to find a better white for light but comfy environment. The slab is Calcutta Michael’s help marble which is cool. Everything I read says cool paint palette With cool marble. This makes me sad. I did have them put dimmers on all my lighting just to possibly help later if I have any issues.
Any suggestions? Maybe a nice pastel instead of white and stain?

You should start your own discussion on your kitchen, Cindy. Before you start considering the finishes and colors, you need to make sure that the layout is the best it can be. I can see several things that aren't optimal.

My issue is so complex as my kitchen is in the center of my colonial home, open concept. Outside our windows (8’ ceilings) are lots of trees. I want an airy light but not bright bright kitchen. I originally planned to use alabaster in perimeters and stained maple island, but then I got stuck on alabaster trim & doors? I do t think so. So now trying to find a better white for light but comfy environment. The slab is Calcutta Michael’s help marble which is cool. Everything I read says cool paint palette With cool marble. This makes me sad. I did have them put dimmers on all my lighting just to possibly help later if I have any issues.
Any suggestions? Maybe a nice pastel instead of white and stain?im sorry, im embarrassed please forgive me.

You should start your own discussion on your kitchen, Cindy. Before you start considering the finishes and colors, you need to make sure that the layout is the best it can be. I can see several things that aren't optimal.

(I figured a repeat question deserved a good repeat answer)