It’s looking good so far!

Thank you!! Merry Christmas!🎄🎁

What are your thoughts on these options? My husband wants real leather if we go with leather. These are the most affordable leather stools I have found. Do you think real leather wears better than faux? .

depends on what you mean by "wear better" have you ever had real or faux. Faux holds up but leather will get a patina and feel scrumptious but that is what you want in a big club chair etc. For stool hopping I am not sure the real leather has such a great chance to showcase itself ... but if he is adamant about handling the back of a stool covered in leather then there is no harm. Maybe costs.....I think the Pleather [faux] is a cool invention. RE the affordable options you found......are you able to have them send samples of the leather...there are various qualities/ thicknesses/ etc. check out what you will be living with.

So most of the options have sold out. I prefer the look of the less expensive faux leather stools. They are the same price as the more expensive leather ones that are now on clearance. I dont want to regret my decision. Do you think faux leather is just as good of a choice as leather stools?

I would find a store when you can sit in them. Comfort is key if you are eating meals at the island.

Our extended countertop has small wooden stools under it and they are not great for sitting throughout a meal. We eat at a large farmhouse table we’ve had for decades, so the stool comfort isn’t designed for long periods of sitting. It’s mainly for visitors to sit so I can keep them out of my way when I cook.

The tan seats and black legs are a good look for your kitchen. Are you considering any swivel styles? Those are really helpful for getting on and off without having to move the stools.

Red Ryder, they're both swivel stools. They both have black legs. Which stools do you think look best, the rounded back or square back?

The square back is real leather but I can't return them as they're final sale items.

I also can't check them out as we don't have a local store.

You need a stool that looks good with this entire room, not just the island, and looks right with your dining chairs that I see in the background. Can you post pics of the dining chairs and dining room? It is all one look.

Here are 2 current pics... and one mockup with the direction I'm headed with art work and white curtains.

not all faux leather is equal and not all real leather is either. i would never buy bonded leather its technically real leather but its small pieces pressed together and it peels very easy. i do have a pleather on my dining chairs and its amazing. what are the real and faix leathers made of that you are looking at?

I like the closed back style the best. The lightest tan would be my preference if your kitchen and dining room are visible to each other. Your dining room is traditional-elegant. Really nice!

The leather ones I was going to purchase is bonded leather. I'm glad you mentioned that it's not durable. Here is the info on the 2 faux stools I'm interested in.

Which one is the best dupe for the pottery barn Layton leather stool(white)?

Are you specifically looking for swivel chairs? I like the Pottery barn version which is non swivel. The swivel chairs have splayed legs - takes up more space overall both in width and depth (if that is a concern for you). And some swivels just don't look great in terms of the symmetry of the seat and legs. 1 and 2 have the higher back which works well with the longer legs. #3 - a shorter looking stoof including the back - looks a bit squat on the legs. Pictures can be deceiving though.....but it sounds like you're trying to order online and not in person. So as you stated - you'll want to be able to return anything that doesn't work out.

Have you looked on Wayfair? They have gazillions of counter height stools and good filtering so you can really narrow down your search with the right search options. One thing I like about them is they often sell them in sets of 2 or 3. Most folks aren't buying just one so it makes sense to me.

I'm assuming you're in the US. Have you looked at Urban Barn (Link)? They have some very nice stools and I think they are cheaper than PB. Solid hardwood bases similar to the PB one you've shown.

Montana Counter stool (link) is lovely and I've sat in this one - very very comfortable. The colour may not be right for you but this one is currently on sale.

There are some others in their sale section as well. Worth having a look.....

Thank you!

The orangish and brown ish leather stools feel a bit random to me. They are not great with your floor and just don't feel harmonious with your dining room set up, which is in the same room.

I love the artwork you are proposing for above your buffet. Have you considered brining in a soft green on the stools? I think it could tie your rug, artwork, and flooring together nicely.

Don't know that these are the right stools, but something like this. Not as ubiquitous as a brown leather. But if you nail the right green stool, I think the room will feel designed rather than just purchased.

Love that idea!

@Kendrah has the best comment so far. Look for something in a more unique color, but has the comfort-height-look you want.

I guess I was thinking the camel color would match my goldidh brown granite and tie it all together

Dont you eventually want to replace the granite? If so don’t try and match it

Update: Our granite was installed today and we couldn’t be happier! The stools should arrive in the next couple of weeks, and the final decision left is choosing a runner. I’m leaning toward a custom faux jute polypropylene rug like the one pictured.

Make sure the runner is easily vacuumed. Some jute rugs/runners are a bitch to keep clean. Ask me how I know.

The kitchen looks great. Have you thought about which stools will work for you? I think the green ones from Kendrah could be the right “touch of color”. Take your time finding the perfect ones. This kitchen deserves the best!

Before ➡️ After
So grateful for everyone who helped bring this vision to life—couldn’t be happier with how it turned out 🤍

What a difference. It looks great. What material is on your island countertop?

Why do you need a runner at all? If it is a foam one for your back, I understand that. But if it is merely decorative, skip it. You have enough choppiness in that aisle between the two different countertops. Continuity is what is a called for here, not introducing yet another material resulting in three large differing surfaces.

Please share pics once you have your new stools.

Thank you Kendra! My countertop is honed absolute granite

If I had to get a C trick JOB? I SWEAR,,,,,,, I'd put the pants on the entire kitchen, get more absolute black for the perimeter and THEN die and go to heaven.

Sorry I can't lie, that would drive me to insanity, : )!! I might clean houses! Cut grass! lol.

Put some color on the floor please? At least a more exciting black/beige something?

I was a little nervous about what you’d say, Jan 😊 I’ll happily take that response! My husband loves the new granite and even half-jokingly mentioned that his next project might be replacing the rest of it—which felt like a green light to me! That might be my next post! 🤣

I'd love to go with a more colorful or exciting rug, I just feel so limited with my busy/bossy granite!

^^^

Thats exactly my point , albeit to a tiny degree!

There will always be rugs!!!

But to go this far, after months of agonizing?!

That to me is like splurging on the prom dress and then having to pair it with sneakers!

Sign me up for pizza, pasta, Ramsn noodles, sell a kid?!

Go all the way to the fiinish line, and truly loooove that finish.

Wow! Yes, you do one thing and it snowballs -but all black would be sooo nice!!

Sorry..hard no on the one on your picture

JUTE BELOW

Below RUGGABLES, 159 .00

COTTON BELOW, cheap : )

They don't have to last more than a few months, until you obliterate Mr. Speckle

Oohh, I love these choices, Jan!!

Ooohhh, I love this mockup.

I like these mockups more

Many places sell prefab countertops that are made out of popular granites (quartz options) - even some big box stores. I've also seen quite a few larger pieces of honed absolute granite available in a fabricator's grave yard (all the leftover pieces from jobs). I bet if you spent a little time, you'd be able to find matching granite for the perimeter in order to match your island.

FYI - I've opened this post several times - changing the island has made a HUGE difference in your kitchen! Adding the honed absolute granite to the perimeter wouldn't be very expensive and would complete the full transformation!

Geez, I suggested that you bite the bullet and replace that fugly spotted granite way back when you started this post. JUST DO IT!!! LOL.

The island and honed black granite look awesome!!!

I'm working on it Diana! While I'm at it, do you think it would be easy to replace my sink w/ a farmhouse sink?

^^

LOL!!! As did we all!!", Over BOTH threads.......

Yup.....No amount of lipstick covers the little piggy. TaTA.

ugh...if you're going to pull the perimeter ...perform due diligence and consider things other than black .

Two Tone Kitchen: Antique Brown Granite & Millennium Cream Granite · More Info

Super White Quartzite Kitchen in Calvert County, MD · More Info

Changing the sink will add to the cost, so only do that if you really dislike the sink you have now. Personally I don't care for double sinks--I prefer one big sink. But that's my opinion. Maybe Joe Corlett could chime in on the implications of replacing your sink with a farmhouse. It may require a new cabinet, but since he's the sink expert, he'd know better than I do.

Thank you, ladies! To be clear, I would have replaced all the counters long ago—unfortunately, my husband insists on being fiscally responsible. 🙄

Hey as an accountant (and married to one as well!), I know a lot about fiscal responsibility. But sometimes you can be penny-wise and pound foolish, so to speak. There are economies of scale to be gained by doing something like changing out your counter tops at the same time, as opposed to waiting and paying more to do it next year, for example.

Well it sounds like your husband may be open to switching out the counters now to match the black island. It makes so much sense to me to do so.

I see no need for a farmhouse sink, espeically if you are trynig to save money. Stay simple.

If I recall................There was a POOL fairly recently installed in the back forty? I don''t think I'm crazy, it was way back at the beginning of one of her two threads. None of my business, but as a friend always used to say? "Life's just a bunch of choices"

Anything on the perimeter is better and MAY I say I could love a white Corian to nuke and brighten simultaneously.? Yes, the original Dupont! I would veto a farm sink and simply do a nice under mount stainless single bowl.. No need to horse around with a cabinet redo..

The island looks great! But let's not forget that a change of both simultaneously? Who know what the tops would be or MIGHT have been if not locked into a gold Speckle Marriage?

It's a bit like shopping and seeing a phenomenal dress.. You try it on, it is a perfect fit...., except you need a new handbag, a new pair of shoes,.........maybe a different necklace or bracelet and there you go. Back on the rack.

You’re right, Jan! My husband surprised me with the pool after I was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. I had been wanting one for years prior and I was thrilled. While it’s absolutely beautiful, if I could turn back time, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it. The kids don’t use it as much as I thought they would. Between sports and summer schedules, we’re rarely home. enough to really enjoy it the way we imagined.

I am sure it IS beautiful, and I can completely understand his effort to thrill you after truly awful health news! Soooo sorry, but hope you are far out of the C woods now!

Get a mind and head blowing, snot filled, Kleenex maximus , faucet dripping, raw and red nose cold soon, and tell him a counter top change will CURE it ?! lol

PS.........This ALWAYS happens with teens and pools. It is amazing.....it's almost an 99%., that follows the much younger years where you get stuck baby sitting all their friends!! The reason my dad would not let us have it, despite a gigantic back yard. .............................

Haha! That's a great plan! I like the way you think!

A farmhouse sink requires a special cabinet which includes a reinforced shelf to hold it. If you want the sink, it pays to do it when you replace the countertops.

I agree with Dani that looking for stone leftovers might get you the dark countertop you want. Just keep in mind that black counters can be harder to keep clean when they’re in the cooking area.