martha stewart has a catolog with her cabinets at home depot. The photos are great and give good ideas to countertop colors. her line is at home depot, maybe a website with the photos. she uses this silastone type stuff and i wish I saw before I purchased my granite. I would have went with her ideas

With darker walnut on the lower cabinets, I'd choose the light granite. Both are beautiful, but the dark one is very busy, so I'd only use it if everything else in the kitchen were one color (i.e. all white cabinets and white/light backsplash) so that the dark granite would be the star feature.

I think the white on both the dark and white cabinets would look better than the dark on the walnut bottlms

Both are beautiful. The dark one will make room dark. So if you don't have a ton of light, and a very big kitchen. I would go the lighter one.

I like the lighter counter and darker table. Just make sure the fabricator lets you layout the templates to minimize seam discontinuity.

Keep granite the same

I'd go lighter. I picked dark granite with my maple cabinets and now that I'm considering having my cabinets made darker I feel one has more options with lighter colored granite.

I suggest considering Caesarstone, Silestone, or other quartz counters. We are using Quartz in close to 100% of our current projects. The advantages are durability and a more quiet patterning as compared to granite.

I'd recommend going with a darker stone for contrast. Unless you want a completely airy light feel, the dark would work well with your design.

Something like our Grigio Dolomite would look well if you don't want to go too dark. You can see it here- http://www.granitetransformations.com/southjersey/products/granite-
countertops/colors/

Hope this helps, good luck!

White Galaxy, for sure with the dark base cabinets and light uppers.

Just a comment - All my friends that have dark granite say that it shows finger prints everywhere it is touched. They are always having to polish it. Might be an argument for the lighter surface.

Though the dark is beautiful and would be my design preference, I have dark granite and really regret it. Functionally, it is very difficult as it shows EVERYTHING! Would not choose it again due to this fact.

The black granite she is considering would be difficult to show crumbs, dust , etc..and it almost looks honed or leathered. Solid polished black granite is high maintenance.. I hope you post picks of the final choice installed!

With having a table in the room with a dark granite top, I would go for the light granite for contrast.

I have dark granite and have been in my home for 8yrs. I can't wait until I can afford to replace it with either a lighter granite or quartz. The dark shows everything, of course not when you're standing right over it to clean it. So when I walk around my island then I see food stuck, etc. I would never go with the dark again!

I have dark verde green granite counters with toffee colored cabinets. It is very rich and cozy feeling. Which is what I wanted. However, it does darken the kitchen a bit. but doesn't bother me as I like that rustic farm house feel. If you do go light be careful of anything too grainy. I have friends who have light counters and i feel it is way too much going on with the pattern and is very distracting from the overall design of the kitchen. Darker has more continuity in that sense. If you want white, Marble is amazing, I have it in my master bath. I adore the veins and softness about it. It is more durable then you think. If I could design from scratch with Marble. I would do mostly Marble countertops with a wood accent counter, perhaps on an island.

Hi, this is an old thread but we are currently dealing with a huge problem that might be of interest. A client decided on a light colored granite 6 years ago in their kitchen. It was beautiful when installed and sealed using the recommended procedures. Unfortunately tan or brown mottled stains have appeared on much of the counter top and there does not seem to be any logical source other than natural light. We are now working with a professional who may grind and polish these counters after we do a test on a remnant which has developed the same staining while IN THE GARAGE for the entire 6 years. A second remnant which was behind others and not exposed to light shows no sign of discoloration. Anyone who has more information about this phenomenon with white granite please ping us so we can help our client!

Dark granite looks beautiful. Go for it.

I am struggling with the same issue, so watching this post....more comments, please????

I started this string way back when. We did ultimately chose the light granite for our counters and to-date I've been very pleased. Interestingly, we used a dark slab for kitchen table and have found while it fits well with the rest of the kitchen, it's difficult to keep smudge-proof and seems to build-up a dull film over time. Not a major problem but requires some extra maintenance. Hope this helps. Good luck with your project.

Thanks mtwelch! Looks like we have very similar tastes and nice to know which granite you picked. Post pictures of your finished project if possible - I would love to see the whole picture!