I would choose ONE material for all the counters. The one with least movement and contrast. The browns look rather cool toned in your pics, so its hard to say if they are good companions either.

The hickory and the up and down cabinets is already so. much.

Please be sure the LVP is not one of the stripey ones. Now i am someone who likes some hickory, but all other material choices cannot fight the hickory. They will not win :)

Thank u SO much. The Morro Zephyr is warm, although hard to discern. Appreciate ur input.

Good luck with the rest of your project!

The hickory cabinets are beautiful but extremely busy. I agree with rebasheba in not only picking 1 countertop material, but something very subdued, if not plain, or it will compete with the cabinets. If you have a lot of natural light in the kitchen, the Morro Zephyr could work; otherwise you might want to look at something lighter.

Thx kindly!

You r all very generous w ur time and advice - thank u for putting this together. I like the not too dark nor too light ;-)

Love the green options that @BeverlyFLADeziner shared but I am really drawn to the photo of the fresh white counter & backsplash she posted — love the simplicity of it and lets the cabs shine

That shape island is NOT friendly to laminate counters. At all. You will require a flat self edge, custom built. That's much higher cost than a basic granite. Without an undermount sink. Which, should never be black stainless as it will peel and be gross in about 5 minutes time.

A Black Pearl counter, leathered, would be perfect with that very busy wood choice. You need quiet, for EVERY other choice in that room.

No pattern to any countertop-as plain as you can find since you've got dramatic cabinetry. I like Minardi's black granite. A soapstone would be great if you can find slabs without much movement. Ditto for your LVP-make sure the planks are fairly one-note as some can be high contrast from plank to plank and you'll end up with a stripey floor.

Minardi - looking for a black pearl leather laminate - as you suggested - tricky to find - what is your sample you posted, please?

@HU-7180772 What minardi posted is actual leathered black pearl granite. You could also look for leathered steel gray granite. That is what we have and it was the cheapest level granite.

I find that your choices are just too much brown in the room (med/dark wood floors, busy hickory cabinets, wood ceiling). I would opt for Formica's Basalt Slate which is a charcoal with veining which is a texture effect which would not compete with the veining in your cabinets.

It would also coordinate with the black pot lights, stainless steel appliances and your black stainless sink. Find a coordinating roman shade for the window.

my first thought was the gold looks dated. I like the look of the light countertops in the inspo pics or black.

Lisedv - that's meat I can dig into - had Basalt Slate open on my laptop but wasn't sure about the veining (taking to heart comments to go for "plain"), so your advice truly helps. Thank you for your time and making the mock-up photo - helps alot! Yes, trying to hold back any more wood grain surfaces - agree on the brown/brown. Thank you so much!! and 1stepbehind - thank you for your input - also agree - have a direction to go!

@HU-7180772

Several years ago I had that on my kitchen counters and everyone who saw it loved it and copied it in their homes... and it's still a popular choice for laminate!

I know Home Depot carries it where you'd probably be able to get a sample and perhaps see a large piece on one of their stock ready made countertops.

That's too funny! Well ... if a product is well done, perhaps it becomes timeless. Would be great to see a larger expanse than the wee sample - so will look for that. This is when a project becomes exciting .. when details begin to pull together. Thank you so much for your input and kindness!!

Question Lisedv -

Stuck on black stainless sink purchased - will that work with Basalt Slate?

I would think so as my stainless steel stove had a black cooking surface and it was fine. Take a sample home and look at it with your sink.

lisedv - You are a real help! I hear you and will indeed do that - snowed in a bit so planning from home much as possible before trip to town. THANK YOU!!

@HU-7180772

On thing bothers me about the island. I don't know if it's too late but I would prefer to see squared-off corners instead of rounded something like this, and my preference is for Option 1: