I like the darker mock-up far, far better than the lighter choices, much better with your floors. I don't think a light counter is a good choice in this room with the cabinets and dark floors. The warm white mock-up (Taj Mahal) is an absolute no -- it does not look good with your floors. The quartz you like is meh, it doesn't really do anything for the room.

Soapstone would look terrific, but educate yourself on the pros vs cons of it before committing to it. Some people love it, others don't care for the patina or chips that can develop.

A favorite granite of mine is Virginia Mist (aka Jet Mist). Simply gorgeous. Would look terrific with your cabinets.

Here's a bookmarked pic I have of Virginia Mist with a cabinet color similar to yours (not my kitchen):

I'd do leathered or honed if you do granite.

Although, who the heck is going to be looking at the granite with all those glorious windows to the outside!!

@porkchop_z5b_MI, thanks for your comments. I do love the look of soapstone, but I don't think it is a good fit for me. I cook a lot, and I want countertops that can withstand oil and wine spills. Virginia Mist looks beautiful! Photo shows it in my kitchen (although it changed 2 of my wood cabinets to granite - what's up with that??). I'll have to check it out. Do you know if leathered or honed granite can stain from spills? I'm ready to get rid of the high gloss because the sunlight highlights wipe marks from my dishcloth. I'm laughing about the windows because chatGPT added the blue sky. I live in Michigan so that would be awesome just about now!

^^ The Virginia Mist looks terrific in your space, looks beautiful against both your flooring and cabinets. The soft white swirls add a bit of interest so it doesn't read as harsh black.

Some granites need to be sealed, but many don't. I'm not sure about Virginia Mist, but to my knowledge the dark/black ones don't need sealing. A board search will probably help you there. I have Costa Esmeralda (green) and it's not sealed, no stains whatsoever, and we use our kitchen.

Leathered or honed doesn't make a difference as far as staining goes, though some people report that oil stains or marks from something wet are more noticeable on honed. IDK, I don't have a honed countertop. I have a piece of leathered quartzite in the basement bar, I love the finish of leathered. I don't know that I've ever seen leathered Virginia Mist IRL, but I imagine it's out there somewhere.

I'm in MI too, and the sun is shining gloriously brightly today -- it's a beautiful afternoon in my neck of the woods.

are you able to do a bit of an overhang this time? seems like those current countertops are too 'short' on the edging.

soapstone is good, so is a honed Virgina Black,(also known as Jet Mist) granite

Argento Gray

this is Leather Black Pearl granite w/a copper sink

quartz:

Silestone eternal Charcoal in the suede finish

you have cooler gray floors, I'd wouldn't go w/anything too gold or warm, its going to compete.

cherry looks best w/black or the white quartz

I'd also update the hardware and pendant lighting

Here is the leathered Steel Gray, mentioned below.

Have you looked at leathered steel gray granite? That is what we have. It is more of a charcoal than a black and has a similar look to the black pearl. It was in the cheapest category when we purchased it for our home. It does not show finger prints and does not stain or etch. We cook a lot. Wine, lemon juice, tomato sauce etc have sat on it and wiped up just fine leaving no stains. It's been bullet proof.

Agree leathered Steel Grey is quite nice, too. (Clyde Kalvin has a gorgeous kitchen, BTW!).

The sample Beth H posted (photo 2) is perfect!

This orange and green/black color combination definitely works, but feels realllly old to me - after 30 years, a change would be very refreshing! The dark counters need a lift IMHO.

If I were in your shoes I'd get a nearly-solid soft white counter (similar to the wall paint) in corian. Or a subtly flecked/pebbled quartz. Veining of any sort sits uneasy with this old style kitchen and highlights the OLD by being so obviously NEW. So, solid/barely contrasting pattern only for the counters. A runner with a creamy background and a dark green pattern would bring the floor and counters together, plus a couple dark green useful/decorative items around the kitchen, i.e. a fruit bowl or a potted plant.

I would go with something light. For sure.

@Beth H. : I will definitely go with a larger overhang! We bought this house 3 years ago, and it has a unique edge treatment where the there is negative overhang. I hate it. Every spill runs down the wood cabinets and often runs down both the inside and the outside of the wood cabinet doors. Ugh! I can't wait to have an overhang.

Remove one drawer front, grab an extra floor tile and go shopping! Know your countertop measurements so you’ll only fall in love with a stone where they have enough slabs. If you always have a piece of your cabinets in the car, you may stumble upon a countertop place you didn’t notice before.

My kitchen has a greenish-gray granite, which I haven’t seen in too many places. It would be lovely in your house with your stunning wood cabinets. There are several stones that lean “green-grey” and it worth taking a look.

I like the ubtuba so much better than any quartz or light color . You can get a slab od ubtuba and just replace thta piece . I agree if that cannot be done then soapstone for sure no fake anything . I have to tell even now I LOVE ubatuba granite it has depth that is awesome I absolutley do not think a light counter would work in this space .

It would be less expensive to get a different sink that works around the crack

I think honed Virginia Mist will look great. It's a neutral charcoal color that won't suck light or reflect it and it is interesting without being busy.
I put it in a kitchen almost 20 years ago and had no issues with it. I sealed it once every six months or so but it really wasn't necessary.
I'd put some natural elements on the peninsula, like a long low bread bowl or interesting basket with succulents and a short runner to break up the gray a bit.

Not sure why chatgpt didn't center the bowl but here is the kitchen with honed jet mist and a couple of accessories.

What a great kitchen! I love the stones pictured above: honed and leathered dark granites and Red Ryder's yummy green and grey granite.

FWIW I have a leathered black granite with some white striping and it cleans up like a dream. Shows no oil spots or fingerprints.

I second the idea to bring a drawer or cabinet door to some stoneyards. There are so many beautiful natural stones - I kind of envy your task to search through them!

Soapstone is a lot of gray and a lot of dull with those floors. If it were my kitchen I would look for an interesting stone that is generally light but has blue, gray, tans, maybe green, similar to below (similar to Juparana Colombo Granite):

How some other colors/stones generally look:

Are there no plans for proper ventilation over the gas cooktop?

I think you should do a leathered uba tuba. ;-) . I realize that is not an option you want - but your counters are gorgeous. And the leathered uba tuba will create some texture and get rid of the shine.

It looks so cohesive now, I think the change to leathered would be "enough" without risking going too cool with the grays.

PLease share your project - this kitchen is fabulous.

I think deegw's mockups of Virginia Mist look smashing. Or, as suggested, stick with the uba tuba and get new slabs that are leathered (with the proper overhang).

"My 26-year-old "uba tuba" granite countertop is badly cracked by the sink and cannot be repaired."

Of course it can. Pictures please.

Even if it can be repaired (which if Joe says it can, then it can), why would you want to keep that weird non-overhanging edge?

Also, replacing the old uba tuba with new uba tuba? Unless you're wild about uba tuba, get something different!

RedRyder LOVE what I can see of your kitchen!

Beautiful cabinetry in a beautiful kitchen.

If I were going to spend the money on new counter tops, I'd not only get something other than uba tuba, but I'd also take the opportunity to move the cooktop to a better location. How do you cook with no landing space on either side of the cooktop? And as darbuka wondered, how is the cooktop vented?

I love the look of your kitchen. Classy, unusual, sleek, such a statement.

Would be a shame to ruin this with some today-trendy white stone from generic every-kitchen.

I would either replace that section of the stone with the same material, or use a different dark stone. Soapstone would look amazing and is very stain resistant, thus is the traditional countertop material for chem labs.

I would also keep the negative reveal as that is a big part of the look. Find a fabricator who can do a good job of cutting and polishing a shallow drip channel into the surface, just 1/2” away from the edge. Besides being practical, it subtly says ”yeah, custom”.

Soapstone is impervious to stains. it wont shock from heat, and all the scratches and wear buff out and become part of its character. Learn a bit about it online before you dismiss it. There are similar looking alternatives you may also like, they just wont have some of the unique attributes soapstone does. I put it in my remodel a few years ago and still love it!

wow, beautiful kitchen, Therese!

Remove one drawer front, grab an extra floor tile and go shopping! Know how big your countertops are so you’ll only fall in love with a stone where they have enough slabs. If you always have a piece of your cabinets in the car, you may stumble upon a countertop place you didn’t notice before.

My kitchen has a greenish-gray granite, which I haven’t seen in too many places. It would be lovely in your house with your stunning wood cabinets. There are several stones that lean “green-grey” and it worth taking a look.

There are also different shades of soapstone. The lighter grey or green slabs could look stunning with your wood cabinets.

Love those both Red Ryder - but, I also have to caution about the cooktop. At a minimum, now is the time to replace that gas with induction if you can’t stomach/budget a bit more rejiggering.

If you do go with a darker counter consider making the grout in the floor a lighter shade of gray to help brighten up the floor.

Sorry for the heavy push for soapstone. We all love it so much. However, there are so many other stones available that I think it would be a shame to settle on something as generic as the options you’ve shared so far. I’m not sure what your budget allows, but a beautiful piece of emerald pearl or labradorite would be stunning. So many other beautiful quarried stone is available from all over the world. I highly recommend going to a stone supplier where you can see hundreds of slabs in person and the specialists there can share expertise. They can set you up with a fabricator if needed. I also second the opinion to move the cooktop and add a hood or downdraft if at all possible. Here is one site you can browse, but look for local sources as well. https://www.stoneholding.com

I love soapstone. I have spent MANY hours in chem labs (one of my undergrad degrees is in chemical engineering) - it holds up to everything!

M. Teixeira Soapstone is a great supplier of soapstone. You can learn a lot about it from them.

It also comes in many different styles/colors:

GRANITE OPTIONS:

Alaskan Blue granite with cherry cabinets (it looks really pretty honed also):

Fantasy Brown Granite with cherry cabinets:

I really like honed black granite. There are so many different types - some are more solid black while some have a lot of white veining. I believe that people here on Houzz were having issues with Absolute Black honed granite - there also has been issues with dyed Absolute Black granite (however, I have no personal experience with it).

Honed Marine Black granite:

Honed Black Fusion granite:

Python Black honed granite:

I can't believe that you have been living with a negative over hang for your countertops - it will be nice to change that! Your kitchen is very cool looking!

@dani_m08 . ONE of your undergrad majors was chemical engineering???? You are Wonder Woman!!!

Love those black stones! Just note that "Fantasy Brown" can be marble, so buyer beware. You don't want to buy it thinking it's granite and then find out it's marble. The people at the stone yards aren't always the most reliable--they want to sell you stuff and will tell you what you want to hear.

The best way to make a countertop decision is to remove a door (or drawer front) and go look at slabs! Bring your measurements to make sure the supplier has enough. I found an unusual greenish-grayish granite for my kitchen (and laundry room) that I had never seen before. When you have a door in your car, you can stop at places you now notice because you’re in the market for a countertop. You never know where you’ll find the right material in the right color.

Color is a funny thing. Also, you need to bring a sample home so you can also see it in your lighting (which may need to be adjusted after the kitchen is finished.). This is a fun part of the process.

I know several people who chose induction when remodeling their kitchens. Go for it.

There are several of us that see soapstone in your future….