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granitetrouble

Help, I don't like my new granite

granitetrouble
10 years ago

I saved up & finally got granite countertops installed this week, and now I don't like the way they look in my kitchen. They look much too busy, dark and yellow or khaki depending on the time of day. The walls in my kitchen are gray, which I love, but don't think the color goes with the new granite. My cabinets are whitewashed, which I think just emphasizes the weird granite color and almost seems in opposition. I really wish I could start over & choose a whiter granite, but it's too late now so I'm hoping you all might have suggestions for making the room look better. Do you think cream colored subway tiles might be good for the backsplash? Thank you for any suggestions.

Comments (27)

  • cindyinct
    10 years ago

    I think it looks great. You may want to paint the backsplash another color. If that's the color of your whole kitchen, I'd find a color that goes better with the granite. A lot cheaper to change the wall color than to replace the granite.

  • LCaroline12
    10 years ago

    Ditto what cindy said! I think the cabinet + granite combination is be-a-u-tiful! I do agree the gray doesn't quite go with it, but how about a complimenting backsplash?

  • michellemarie
    10 years ago

    I think your granite is beautiful. It goes nicely with your cabinets. I think you just need a new paint color.

  • andreak100
    10 years ago

    The cabinets and the granite go quite nicely.

    You would have made a mistake going with a whiter granite because your cabinets and your floor have a warmth to them.

    The grey backsplash (and walls if they are also that color) needs to go - it's the wrong shade...you could still do a grey-ish color, but you need a greige - a color that tends toward the warm side rather than the cool side like your current color does right now...how lucky that paint is the cheapest part of a remodel!

    I am not sure that I'd go with cream subway tiles - you might be getting a little too monochromatic...wonder if you could so something with a bit of color.

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    10 years ago

    I also think the granite looks good with the cabs and the pulls. The paint color is wrong, it is too cool and bluish in this picture. If you want to stay with gray, see if you can pull out the shade of gray in the stone and have it mixed lighter for the walls.
    I confess that I really like Martha Stewart colors and think that she would have something that looks good with the whitewash finish. My cabinets are "Gull", which frankly I hated at first against the primed drywall, but now with the right paint and counter etc I think is great and might work well with your colors. Not quite gray, not quite beige, sort of a bone white.

  • gr8daygw
    10 years ago

    It looks great!!! But I do understand, it's been two years and I am just now liking my granite, lol. That's just me!!

    I think the backsplash will make a world of difference, hang in there I am the queen of not liking anything at first and then it grows on me and I really do like it and it becomes "me". I personally love the monochromatic look. It's what I can live with the longest and then I like to use color in other ways that are easily changed. Everyone is different though.

  • louisianapurchase
    10 years ago

    I think it's a perfect match. At least from my phone. I echo what the others have said about the wall color.

  • ellendi
    10 years ago

    Since you have the four inch backsplash, I would concentrate painting the BS wall and your kitchen one of the drier shades in the granite. I'm not a fan of tiles above the four inch BS, but it's personal preference.

    Can you post a close up of the granite? What is it?
    Everyone here agrees that your granite looks good with the cabinets!

    Again, give us a close up of the granite and we can suggest paint.

  • gmp3
    10 years ago

    Try Cap May Cobblestone from BM or Stone Harbor. I like the granite with your cabinets.

  • detroit_burb
    10 years ago

    I like the granite with the cabinets, I agree with comments about the backsplash color being too cool. before considering tile, try and get cream colored paint chips and tape them up on the wall for a week or so to see what looks good with the changing light conditions throughout the day. The 4" backspash looks nice and does not necessarily need tile above it.

    I do not love the dark handles on the light cabinets, my eye prefers less of a contrast, it looks to busy to my eye.

    Overall, a very pleasant looking space. You will enjoy working on stone.

  • athomesewing
    10 years ago

    Warmer, just for fun.

  • chiefy
    10 years ago

    Wow - athomesewing. Great job with those mockups!
    I'll echo what everyone else said. The granite is fantastic with your cabinets, but it's the paint that needs changing.

  • illinigirl
    10 years ago

    Yep yep. The granite is perfect for your cabs and it's the paint that's got to change.

  • Bunny
    10 years ago

    I like the mockup on the left that athomesewing provided. Normally I like lighter creamy walls, but I think you already have plenty of that in your cabinets and floors.

  • eam44
    10 years ago

    I'm going out on a limb here to agree with you - I don't like the granite. At all. I agree with the concensus above, you need new wall paint, and you should use warmer colors to accommodate the stone.

    How would you feel about removing the 4" bs you already have? If you did, you wouldn't see the granite in the vertical plane at all, and it would help the stone to disappear. You could then choose a warmer grey bs tile to get out of the cream territory. Maybe someone could mock these up for you (hint hint).


    If you're not going to remove the 4" strip, stick to paint. And upgrade your lighting. Consider retrofitting your cabinets with LED UCL. These lights come in warmer and cooler colors and can very much alter your perception of the colors you've got.

  • mark_rachel
    10 years ago

    The cabinets and granite read very warm, which is lovely. The gray/blue paint color is very cold. They don't go together. I would consider a warmer colder, maybe a dark sage green.

  • mrshanson1
    10 years ago

    ANOTHER OPINION TO CHANGE THE WALL COLOR...I'D GO WITH A BUTTERY CREAM COLOR, LIKE THE CABINETS....LET THE GRANITE SPARKLE ON THEIR OWN.

  • cawaps
    10 years ago

    I agree that the counters and cabs look great together. The busy-ness may take a bit of getting used to, but give it some time. A lot of people take a while to get over the shock of a change in counters, but most end up liking them.

    I agree that a different wall color would be more flattering. I think something in the taupe family would look good: BM Fairview Taupe, Taos Taupe, Waynesboro Taupe, Weimeraner, Chelsea Gray, Stardust, Revere Pewter, or Kendall Charcoal.

  • annac54
    10 years ago

    I agree with others that a different paint color would help.

    If you're going to put in a backsplash, get rid of the 4" tall one of granite that's there and put in one that goes from th counter clear up to the cabinets. Then the granite color/pattern won't be so much "in your face".

    We re-did a kitchen in a rental condo and and the guy who put in the granite installed a 4" backsplash. We hated it on first sight, and I think it was because the granite pattern became overwhelming for the space. We ripped it out immediately and installed a tile 6" high backsplash with a mosaic border on top. We didn't want to do tile all the way up to the cabinets.

    I apologize for my less than stellar mock up skills, but it may give you an idea.

  • sis2two
    10 years ago

    I love the deeper color in the first mock up picture! The granite looks great with the cabinets. The wall color is throwing the whole thing off and a deeper warm color would be perfect such as a caramel or pumpkin color. Don't replace your granite!

  • Denise6229
    10 years ago

    I think your kitchen looks beautiful, but I can definitely relate to feeling unsure about your granite choice. My granite went in yesterday, and I was shocked to not love it when I saw it in my kitchen. I'm not sure how I feel about it with my counters, although I'm not sure what I can do about it now. Thoughts...

  • Vertise
    10 years ago

    Denise, I would suggest you start a separate thread.

    I think your paint color needs to change.

  • romy718
    10 years ago

    Hopefully I flipped this pic. I'm on an ipad so you never know. I think it looks better without the 4" splash. The red & the grey compliment each other nicely.

  • canuckplayer
    10 years ago

    Wow! I think that looks so much better without the 4" b/s.
    Somehow, it even made the paint look better.

  • Suzan McClelland
    5 years ago

    Wait before you do anything. Sometimes things have to grow on you. I disagree with the some of the comments. Gray is the new taupe and I like it. In your next kitchen, don't use granite. It's very ubiquitous and 1990s. Quartz is best. I have one that looks like polished concrete. I designed my kitchen in 2010 and real polished concrete countertops would have cost me a fortune.

  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    5 years ago

    Well, granitetrouble never did come back and post again, so we will never know if he/she repainted 5 years ago or how it all turned out.