I'm so excited to see the door style in the stain I'm getting! It's a lovely rich brown color. It reads dark IRL, like this:

With the granite:

I'm thinking whitewashed and bleached would be the colors to choose between for the cork floor. Bleached is the darker sample, whitewashed is the whiter one. The AmCork sample is what I think whitewashed would look like in the traditional pattern (square sample is nugget pattern).

Of the 6 or so sample tiles I've collected so far, I like this one best. It's MOP tile from builderelements.com.

So, opinions? I'm not sure if that tile would be too reflective? Plain white tiles are just way too stark, even the lovely wavy surface ones I found. But I'm afraid to go too dark with such dark cabinets. I like these a lot, but I guess I'm scared of committing. Tiles, and flooring, are pretty permanent!

Why are there two granites or are they 2 of the same? Either way, your choices are starting to come together, aren't they?

I'm looking at my sample of whitewashed (don't have bleached but do have the whiter yet alabaster which is very nice) and I can't tell from holding it to your pics. Are your granite white areas very white? The bleached is reading goldish orangey on my monitor.

I'm getting excited for your kitchen!

Glad you like the tiles! Anything that is all one color, no matter how well it matches spots, looks awful. They would go all along the range/sink wall, so about 13 continuous linear feet including behind the range and around one window. They are thin though, not sure how hard to install.

The bleached cork looks just like regular cork color but lighter. I could be persuaded to try other colors, I've only had a few daylight hours this am to see the door so my mind is a whirlwind!

Thanks, linelle!

The tile is great looking. One thing I experienced with mop for the bs, is that when the lights went ON in the kitchen, the tile went flat. Great with natural light, and light from other areas, but the lights under cabinet and the recessed lights and the chandy just sucked the life out of it. :( So check yours, might not happen with all mop.

Everything really works so nicely together!

Will you be able to choose your actual slab or do you have to pick just using those samples?

I have 3 different samples sitting on my back splash of MOP and it seems to look beautiful with recessed lighting, the light coming in through the windows and my chandelier. I don't have my under cabinet lighting in so I hope it won't make them look dead.

I'm going to take my samples over to my girlfriends to see how it looks under her new UC lights. I hope it's still beautiful since I have my heart set on it.

Good luck and let us please see your photos as it happens!

Thanks, Poohpup!

Bee, thanks for the heads up! I will check tomorrow. I hope it looks ok, I love the MOP bit I am not crazy about the 1x1 grids or mini bricks. I like the hexagons, but I'm not sure why I think they would look busier than the diamonds.

Sum, your tiles sound pretty! I love some of the glass ones, but I've heard they're more expensive to install. Plus I couldn't find any that were not stark white, but no hint of green. Had to give up and admire from afar :-)

Suzannesl, they have only one plus a partial, so it is all mine (well, it's all reserved for me with my deposit so they are sure they have enough).

Sanjuangirl, no pics?! Lol! Glad to hear yours look good in different lighting. But seriously, if you have any pics I'd love to see them.

Island, I might buy more to see how it looks. There is a 5 sf minimum, but if I can buy what I will need for the kitchen and return it if I don't like it, I might do that. Not sure yet.

I totally need a brown floor.

Alabaster

Natural

Maple

Night

Chocolate

All of the above for reference

Regarding the floor. From what I can see alabaster coordinates the best, but it is really light.

All the browns look to have a lot of orange in them, especially natural and night. I'd eliminate those for sure.

Your stone samples look much cooler in tone than any of your brown flooring samples. Is there any shade of brown in the stone to coordinate with?

I love your cabinet, countertop, and backsplash choices. Your kitchen is going to be so beautiful and elegant.

Why are you so set on cork? Is it mainly for the comfort? It seems too "homely" with the richness of the gorgeous cabinets and granite.

While I think the alabaster looks great with the granite, I am just flat out too lazy to keep it clean enough to look good. I refuse to clean the floor every day, I need a little bit of hiding power! I realize that, like wood, it will need to be swept almost daily, but I don't love it enough to comit to bright white.

I love the Night sample, but probably too busy for that granite. I'd love to find it a home in another room if we love the cork though.

I wish the sun would show up here, it's been overcast the whole weekend! I want to see what things look like in sunlight and post a few more pics of the final contenders.

Island, haven't seen this tile locally anywhere. I did post online asking if they have a pic of the tile grouted or installed, hoping they do. There are shades of brown in the granite, just not prominent. You can see some in the sample on the left in the last batch of pics.

May_flowers, I definitely want cork. For comfort mostly, but also durability, allergy issues, moisture resistance (definitely getting glue down), and environmental friendliness. We also considered bamboo, but so much of it is floating which is not great in a kitchen. Plus I do not under any circumstances want grout to clean. It's fine in the upstairs bath with such a small area and just on the floor, and I'm thinking the backsplash won't be too bad, but definitely not on the floor.

#1 alabaster (sorry, cleaning I know)
#2 chocolate

I don't think the others work for me, but once they're down they'll probably just blend in and feel neutral.

Good luck! You're getting close!

I'm sure that the whitewashed would look great.. esp when you have the whole floor that color.

Are you putting in the cork after the cabs, right?