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Countertop choices with natural maple cabinets ?

bristlingacres
16 years ago

I'm on the search for countertop choices for my Shaker style natural (unstained) maple cabinets. I have white appliances (they're nearly new). I'm not in love with how most of the kitchens that have my style & wood color cabinets are mostly contemporary- I'm a little more traditional. I'm searching for ideas. I have looked at FKB and I've seen a few kitchens that are nice but not exactly what I was looking for.

We are currently redoing our kitchen island. I think we've decided to stain the island a dark mahogany and do Zodiaq Cygnus Pearl (or something similar) for the countertop. We won't redo the rest of the cabinets though.

I kind of like the look of soapstone but dh is opposed to it (maintenance). Has anyone done natural maple cabinets with wood countertops? I was wondering what it would look like with deep mahogany wood countertops.

Thanks for any input.

Astrid

Comments (12)

  • divamum
    16 years ago

    Not a wood counter, but in the same colour family. Some pix in the thread linked below.

    I wound up with this kind of by accident (long story, but we were on a major budget and acquired this like-new material secondhand and very cheaply!) so I'm not sure what I would have picked with a free rein - possibly something quite similar. Maybe one of the quartzes in this same family, but with some blue or green in it to bump up contrast a little? Not sure. I do like the dark counters with light maple, but I couldn't decide if it was a classic look or a fashion one that was perhaps going to begin fading soon.

    In any case, have fun choosing!

    Here is a link that might be useful: not-finished-but-getting-there natural maple kitchen

  • divamum
    16 years ago

  • bristlingacres
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks! What are your countertops? Your kitchen looks very nice.
    Astrid

  • divamum
    16 years ago

    It's Cambria quartz in a colour that I believe is called Becon Brown (discontinued - the material was installed first time around about 4 years ago). There are some similar quartz counters available in Silestone and Cambria's current lineup, however.

  • cate1337
    16 years ago

    No idea if this will help:

    I'm spending my evening looking through the FKB, at natural, ginger, and nutmeg maple kitchens. I've narrowed it down to only those with similarly toned hardwood floors and see a definite countertop pattern. People seem to have chosen either white, black, brown in a close shade to the cabinets, or mottled gray. I haven't found many examples of non-neutral colors.

  • kailuamom
    16 years ago

    I have natural maple cabs, slate color porcelin tile and uba tuba granite counters. (7 ear old kitchen so appliances are looking dated)

    {{!gwi}}

    {{!gwi}}

  • cate1337
    16 years ago

    Lol - I just finished looking through the FKB, wondered where all the color was, went to the categories page.

    Out of all of the kitchens posted there:

    3 have red counters 2.06%
    7 gray 4.82%
    14 gold 9.65%
    15 brown 10.34%
    16 green 11.03%
    16 white/cream 11.03%
    36 mixed 24.82%
    38 black 26.20%

    page error for blue counters, but I know I saw some.

    Hmm, and I forgot to include wood counters, of which there are 17.

    Sorry to hijack a bit, Astrid. I'm trying to match counter colors with light maple cabs, too, and am watching your thread. I'd love to end up with a cherry or walnut over one of the cabinet runs. I didn't see anything but didn't look through the "mixed countertops" category.

    Total = 145 (not including blue or non-categorized)

  • bristlingacres
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I've been wondering if they make darker stained wood countertops and if yes how well they hold up to lots of abuse.

    Like I said I like the look of soapstone. Maybe I can talk dh into it. I wonder how soapstone would look on the perimeter (L-shaped kitchen) with Zodiaq Cygnus Pearl on my island.

    Any more ideas???
    Astrid

  • bristlingacres
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    bumping last time

  • clg7067
    16 years ago

    I have natural maple shaker cabinets and I'm seriously considering wood countertops. There are so many wood choices to choose from. I looking at Iroko right now. I'm working on my kitchen in phases, so I'll probably be finished long before I get close to ordering my counters. Don't forget to post pictures!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Countertops

  • cate1337
    16 years ago

    Astrid,

    Daniel Devos has a good list of woods available, with pictures and a hardness rating. He also seems prompt and friendly, at least on the quote end. I haven't gone beyond that.

    Couldn't you stain your counters almost any color you wanted, within the limits of what the wood will absorb?

    Also, I just found a neat room planning tool on DuPont's website (don't have the link just now, but look in their counters/design section). It lets you play with the color of your cabinets, walls, and island and perimeter countertops (separately). They won't have the exact non-DuPont products you want, but maybe you can approximate the effect.

    Cate

    Here is a link that might be useful: Woods Available

  • abbycat9990
    16 years ago

    OK, so our kitchen might be more contemporary than you like, but we used laminate for the countertops. It's basalt slate by Formica.