I'm going to bump this, because I am wondering the same thing!

I'm honestly not sure why there are so many darker colors of granite that are honed. I do think there are a lot of lighter colors out there that lose a lot of their attractiveness (such as sparkly inclusions) when they are honed. We are using Persian Pearl with an antique finish though and it's lighter (white/cream base with gray/black markings). I think it looks better with the antique finish than it does polished, but that's just my preference. The antique finish is slightly textured though, so doesn't seem to remove every bit of the shine such as when honing.

traci29...would love to see a pic of persian pearl....never heard of it....

Hi gglks,
I don't have a photo of our exact slab, but here's one from a supplier. I don't think it's the best representation of the Persian Pearl, but gives you an idea of what it looks like. I wanted something with a bit less of the brown/gold (you can see it better in the closeup shot), so our slab has more gray. The Persian Pearl is one of the colors that seemed to have more variability among slabs than most others I considered. Each bundle we saw was completely different.

Here is a link that might be useful: Persian Pearl granite (antique finish)

I was just at the local granite wholesaler and they have ventian gold and venetian light in a 'suede' finish. I think they look nice, more 'stone-like' than the polished (if that makes any sense). I got samples to bring home but I doubt I'd be able to take a decent picture of the 3x3 for you to get an idea what it looks like. But maybe try granite suppliers in your area to see in person.

Tara -

IMHO - (and I am just a Fab-Ri-Mi-Cator)...
the lighter stones like that have a good bit of movement and contrast
like Giallo Beach/Desert Amarillo, Golden Wave, Maduria Gold, etc
look absolutely AWESOME honed!!!

We did a "Street of Dreams" aka Parade of Homes in other parts of the US
in Desert Amarillo - HONED.... it BLEW PEOPLE AWAY, and we sold prolly.. like...
twenty kitchens off of that one model home we did - and this was 1998 -
ELEVEN YEARS AGO...

Personally - I do not like to even THINK about doing an Absolute Black Honed
project - I had a nightmare with 4 all at the same time, and have never ventured
back into those terrifying waters since.... HA!

IMHO - stick with a lighter stone that has contrast within the shades - in the
slab, and even some movement, and I think you'll be happy with the end product..
HOWEVER........
Have your Fabricator do a test piece on a size like a 12" x 12" or even bigger
if he can (it costs him $$$ to do this - so go easy on him - OK?) then take
the sample home and look at it at VARYING TIMES OF THE DAY AND NIGHT....

LIGHT affects (sp?) or is it EFFECTS? - Anyways - LIGHT will definately have an
affect on the way you see color - natural, incandescant, neon, halogen, HID...etc

I should prolly do a Podcast on this topic, since I have a real liking for the
lighter stuff - If anyone's got pics they can e-mail me, I'll use them in my
podcast....

hth

kevin
Kevin M. Padden
AZ School of Rock
Natural Stone 101

Thanks for your feedback and for resurrecting this thread (because we still have not come close to deciding on the granite!) We were considering Typhoon Bordeaux, or Golden Cream/Dream but it sounds like the TB would be a better choice honed? We'll have to check what the fabricators around my area can do. That Persian Pearl is beautiful! I feel like I'm hunting for treasures every time I go to the granite yard! We're bound to find something eventually!

I know the lighter granites have a greater chance of staining. To clarify, honing doesn't make it more/less apt to stain, right? I'm assuming it only changes the shine/texture, but doesn't effect the absorption. Is that correct?