Many of the "black" stones are actually more towards the "grey" side when they
are quarried. Some stones that are "antiqued" also get a coat of enhancer to
deepen the color impact on your eyes, and make it "pop" a little more.

This will depend on the stone - but as far as "smoothness" goes - the Antiqued
style of finishing will be about as smooth as you can get - way more smooth
than say "flamed".....

hth

kevin

I have cambrian black antique granite on my perimeter and it looks black-black, just matte, not shiny. There is a texture you feel when you brush your hand over it, but considerably less than with a flamed or leathered finish. In fact, the kids laugh that you can write with a pen on a single sheet of paper on the counter and not feel the texture whatsoever. We considered Nordic Black as well, but my fabricator happened to have the cambrian on hand so we went with that. I could NOT be happier!!!

Igloochic used Nordic Black antique in several places in her kitchen and home renovation - hopefully she will chime in!

HTH!

lagrant,
Did you have your Cambrian black sealed OR enhanced? Glad to hear it is black but wondering if they needed to enhance it to get that.

Your kitchen is beautiful, btw.

Denise

It was not enhanced, but I did have them put a regular sealer on it following installation. It did not make the stone any darker and was probably a waste of sealer :). When I seal my marble, I do go over the black granite as well, but probably do not need to do so. It takes all of 5 minutes, so it isn't a big deal.

Thanks, btw!

Awesome Kitchen lagrant !!!! Tell me about your backsplash...very cool. Also, do you like your monogram frig???

Awesome Kitchen lagrant !!!! Tell me about your backsplash...very cool. Also, do you like your monogram frig???

benjava - thank you. The backsplash is 3X6 honed calacatta marble subway tile from Ann Sacks. I *LOVE* my fridge!!