We have polished black Galaxy in our kitchen. It shows every fingerprint, smudge and watermark. I would never put it in again. Going with a lighter color tone in the next house.

I think a black based granite would look nice; I would avoid using the same granite on all and use solid black on perimeter and a dramatic, perhaps the Magma Gold on the island. I would stick with simple pendants x 2, perhaps like thehillondunnlake's above., but in all metal...be sure diameter/scale will work with your island....larger better than too small.

Love the lights from Patricia Calwell and the granite ideas from imhofan. Ask to see a piece of Magma Gold in a honed finish for the Island. A classic look without all the shine to keep up with. I do have to say you're kitchen is already very nice. A more interesting tile or slate backsplash might be very helpful, too.
PS: the wine bottles are really distracting, the first thing I noticed. Can you get them into one cabinet and store the rest out of sight? Maybe all above the desk area?

I am so over Granite. I have Ubatuba and it is gorgeous but I have to spray and rub every time I use them. Drives me nuts and they do chip. I'm a cook and now have chips all around my sink and another one I got the first week. I'm loving all the quartz and plain and simple counter tops. Don't spent the money to get different granite go for a softer lighter look. Black splash needs to be lighter and different. Good luck!

Black is hard on the eyes, and will add heaviness to the space. Open it up with a lighter tone. If you like granite, choose one you 'fall in love' with, otherwise, I recomened Quartz counters.

You didn't say what style of lighting you prefer... personally I would choose something with some visual interest because the space looking toward your desk looks like it could use some larger presence. Here are a few examples: http://www.wayfair.com/traditional-kitchen-island-lighting-th.html

I have quartz countertops and I am so glad I made that choice !! No staining or chipping issues... ♥LOVE IT♥

I would recommend absolute black for your counters. The less pattern and color in the stone, the more timeless and classic the look. Also get rid of the track lighting and replace it with some beautiful pendants over the island.

These lights are nice too if you like a chandelier effect

My daughter in law put plain black on counter. Gorgeous, impossible and she is doing light grey Caesar Stone and white cabinets.. She wants to lighten up her life and get over constant spaying and polishing. Plus, granite has to be re-sealed in the heavy usage area and rubbing a granite polish really brightens it up if you have time for elbow grease.

I think you're on the right track. Our cabinets are a little darker than yours. We used ubatuba on the perimeter, and Magma Gold on the island. It kept the cost down, and the pattern on the granite didn't overwhelm the room. A backsplash will really complete the look and mood for you. I need to see if I can find a pic for you. Lol, none of mine are staged, there's likely to be cooking and people.......

Just nicely recovering from major kitchen/main floor bathroom renos -- everything from studs out. Now have white cabinets & Cambria quartz 'Armitage' -- black w/ white & rust & some sparkle -- in kitchen. Love it! Very effective. Still undecided on backsplash -- have it narrowed down to white/mirror/stainless steel random sizes or painted glass (then no grout to discolour).

We have Blue Pearl with white cabinets. Easier to clean than solid black. We went with no back splash and had the granite scribed to the wall. This creates a very clean look and had not posed any other issues for us. Lighting: Use LED Under Counter Lighting. Absolutely stunning. We chose Halo HU10 with 3000 degree color. Very energy efficient and a ton of clear crisp usable light.

Your kitchen looks wonderful now and while a backsplash is nice, you don't have a lot of backsplash area so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Have a lighting expert come in and help you with the layout you need. There are trained professionals for a reason.

I have had absolute black granite counters for 15 years. It's the hardest "tightest" granite. I've never resealed the granite and it's perfect. My husband cooks all the time and the granite gets plenty of use. There are no chips or cracks.

One thing I will say is it has to be clean. I like seeing where the dirt is and hey, don't you want your counters clean? I make my own solution and keep in a spray bottle--1/3 alcohol, a few drops of liquid dishwashing liquid and the rest water. Works great and it's cheaper than anything you can buy.

Black is pretty timeless and not as much of a deal breaker as some colors might be when and if you sell.

Black granite and black appliances against maple cabinets is okay look. I think you are on the right track with gold veining or speckling in the granite though. However, I agree with another poster that you should look at Magma Gold options. There are tons of different looks, with differing amounts of black in them. The sample pic in the comments is only one of many options.

I think black will be much too dark for a space with just one double window lighting it.

Hi frencie89,

There are several styles of pendant lights that would work in your lovely kitchen. I like these that I attached and there are many more that would look great in your kitchen. We have many more to choose from at our store. Please visit us at www.essentialsinside.com

I hope these help!
Marika

Definitely change to black granite

I attached a pic of my kitchen....sorry, it's from a Thanksgiving so you can't see the full pattern of the island granite. Perimeter had the ubatuba. And yeah, I have had some chipping around the sink, but I have a lot of pots washed in the sink by young adults....

You have a lot of beautiful cabinetry, but I think you need some contrast to make it pop. And some texture too. A granite pattern with a lot of "movement" to it will really help, as will a backsplash. A pair of pendant lights would help set things off nicely. You will need to be certain they provide you with enough task lighting for cooking. I'd like to see something with a cylindrical form to help with all the right angles in the cabinets. The small cabinets near the ceiling need glass in them and some lighting to make them sparkle. Depending on what you store in the tall hutch cabinet on the right, I'd consider putting a textured glass on that one too.

Aim for adding something of interest for your eyes to feast on.....like dessert.

WOW!!! Looks like you had quit a feast. Nice kitchen.

I found a shot of the kitchen just after all the granite was installed, but before it was all finished. This should really help to see the black stone on the perimeter. And the Magma gold on the island.

Thanks Judy. 19 relatives and I was recovering from a being sick ten days before. I had no voice, but my sister did nearly all the cooking for me.

Black granite will make your kitchen dark and cave-like. Go with light granite with dark texturing. And use the same granite for your backsplash since your backsplash area is small.

I have dark granite and wish I would have gone light. It shows smudges and always looks smeared. Go light!

tomanygames-you have been reported.

Thankyou all so much for your ideas! This is my first time posting on Houzz and I am pleasantly overwhelmed!! I will continue my search and keep you all aprised of my progress....esp after the bid comes in! I love the ideas for pendant lights and backsplash. I am leaning towards Spectrus or Magma gold. I also have considered the honed finish for my kitchen. i will see if my local dealers can show me a sample.

Absolutely black is extremely durable. You might want to look at is in honed. That will be a little lighter.

The honed will help with hiding fingerprints, but I like the sparkle you get from the lights on the counter. You have devpnt lights under your cabinets, so I wouldn't be too concerned about it being dark. I would definitely consider redoing the lighting above your sink area. My eyes have gotten old and thirsty for light. That's the one area I see where more light would be useful. If you entertain, I'd definitely want dimmers on everything. It's nice to reset the kitchen mood!

Also look at the Mascarello granite. There is a lot of variation from slab to slab, but something with a decent amount of black in it could really make things pop in your kitchen.

Have you considered quartz or Eco, a recycled product? Granite has downsides and is pretty passe by now, I think. And awfully assertive. Think outside the granite box!

Granite is passe and assertive?

I vote for light-colored granite or Quartz composite countertops, white or light gray, bc you can see every single water spot on dark countertops, granite or otherwise. Impossible! I stayed at a friend's house for a week and spent half my time in the kitchen wiping countertops, no joke. Your beautiful cabinets provide lots of warmth, so no need for colorful (such as pink-, green-, or yellow-toned) or heavily marbled granite, and adding black countertops to the black appliances will weigh the room down.

Consider adding LED "string" lighting inside the frames of the top decorative parts of the cabinet, storing wine elsewhere, which will bring the eye up and accent that soothing architectural element. I applaud the elegant and simple lines of the pendant lighting suggested by Thos. Baker, over any of the other suggestions, because they complement the existing clean lines and add a refreshing contemporary element. I especially like the glass pendant with a shot of color, like the muted green, or a stunning cobalt. Good luck!

I'm not totally fan of black granite.. My sister spent half of her time wiping the water spots off the counter.. I suggest a warm tone .. Amber, brown with speck of black mix in and cream in it too... There's many colours for u to pick out but go to reputable store who are very knowledgable and eager to help u. The first place I went.. She's not very knowledgable and nervous and unable to answer my grilling questions plus the owner spent half of his time yakking on the phone, looking very arrogant and watching me grilling the poor girl.. So I figured he lost his customer and walked out...I went to another one.. Excellent service and very helpful answering my questions .. They suggested to bring your cupboard sample with u to pick out the colour of counter then pick out the backsplash after .. I already bought the backsplash and have the cupboard sample but was very lucky to find the perfect granite for my kitchen and love it!!

Just my opinion.....don't do black, honed or otherwise. It may be the cheapest choice (what does that tell you?), but will be the most difficult to keep clean, etc. We went with Magna gold, but we have a large kitchen. The large scale granite patterns may not be your best choice, but anything in that color pattern....caramel/black/off white patterns will look rich and warm in your kitchen. If you choose to go with a quartz, you can always find patterns in that color range. I love granite because of the organic nature....don't mind the small imperfections, but if you want something that is always "perfect", go with quartz. All of my friends that have quartz, love it.

I agree with earlier comment that your kitchen look almost perfect already. Have you thought about making darker backslash. That could create a nice contrast between counter top and cabinets. Here are some ideas you might like: https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-backsplash-ideas-phbr0lbl-bl~l_67

I think the counter top is fine. Change the back splash and find a "wow" piece.

Juperano Classico supreme is worth looking at.

I also have black appliances with warm colored cabs.... Love it. I put black pearl on my island and Venetian gold on perimeter. The black on island looks good without too much dark but it does show fingerprints. Glad I did not use all black.

The older the granite that's installed, the greater risk of radon. I don't like granite because it's cold and if things drop on it--they break. love the warmth and feel of Wilsonart much better.

Corian is what I had in my house in Md. and it was GREAT. Formica has the tendency to swell up at the joints if there's a leak in the seal, and water seeps in. Corian now has patterns that look like granite and Wilson-Art has the same selection.

I have to agree with an earlier commenter regarding Cambria Quartz. It has a look of granite, it's earth friendly and virtually maintenance free. I'm thrilled with mine!

I just redid my kitchen and have the same color cabinets. I have a grey/black/bit of tan colors for the granite and I love it!!

Sorry - meant to add a pic... Kitchen still in the remodel stage, so not completed. I will add full detailed pics when backsplash has been completed. Note this is also an ADA remodeled kitchen.

Doing my kitchen over in Maine, and since it's all tongue and groove thick pine , to throw a little color in, I chose green cabinets. The green is on the avocado side . The top cabinets are glass mullion doors. There were 2 choices--sea grass green and willow green, all leaning towards avocado. Also chose Corian countertop. I'm not a fan of granite. It's cold to the touch and upkeep is horrendous. and things break too easily when dropped on that surface.

I have it narrowed down to 2 slabs on island... Either Fusion (on the Left) or Blue Storm (on the right) with dark gray quartz on perimeters.
Any opinions welcome as they are totally different looks!

I like the first photo (assume that is Fusion) because of the lighter pattern running through it. I think that would compliment the gray quartz on the other counter tops. Have fun.

Frenchie, I like your choices! Do you have a pic of the dark gray quartz too? I'm a big fan of the colors in the Blue Storm, and a big fan of the pattern in the Fusion. I'd have a tough time deciding if I were you. It would probably come down to which one works best with the dark gray quartz.

Either one of them would be beautiful.

You have so many great options for lighting in this beautiful space. Here are a few ideas for grouping pendants. You could do a few mini-pendants over the kitchen island, and then choose a larger one to hang over the sink as well! There are so many decorative options when it comes to pendant lighting. Take a look at these:

Great pictures of pendants. This is what I chose for my cabin in Maine.Have a florescent and I hate that light.. Will also put a pendent (altho a short one) over my kitchen sink.

The kitchen looks great I would leave it.