I'll preface this by saying I'm usually not drawn toward greens. Blueish or grayish greens yes, but not true greens. I love the coastal with your choices. I love the flow of the stone. I also love the Bianco Romano but I think it might be too cool in color for your space. The Millinenum is very pretty and ... safe. I dont' know which of your pics is most true to the color. The last pic was definitively more green then the others. I do think the slab has a natural warmth and movement that is rich and beautiful while still maintaining it's "lightness".

I wish I had the same ability to have insight with lighting. I"m like a duck outta water in that department!

I like the first one, but if you are planning on selling in a couple of years, I think I'd play it safe and go with one that has no dominate color. The green may not appeal to some potential buyers. Millennium Cream is really pretty with your colors, but so is Giallo Ornamental and it's usually a lower cost stone.

i'll start by saying, i love green and i have costa esmerelda. that being said, i love your coast green slab. i think it is warm and neutral and a nice touch of "slight" color in your kitchen. that is mine choice for sure!!!!!!!

I firmly believe that a wonderfully functional kitchen with a good balance in values is the key when it comes to resale rather than one colour over another (except for perhaps extreme in your face bright!).

So if you love that Coast Green Slab, which is BTW absolutely beautiful, I say go for it.

Take care to pick the right paint to compliment all your other elements and you will have a stunning combination that anyone would love when it comes time for resale! In the meantime, you will have a kitchen you love being in every minute of every day!

I'd go with the green it looks wonderful with the stain on your cabinets. But what will you do for a backsplash? When you are selecting your granite, keep in mind the backsplash is like an extension of the counter and what meets the granite is crucial for your finished project.

I think the coastal is different than all of the others with the fineness of "spots" and the flow. Your cabinets look like cherry and I think green always compliments the cherry cabinets. It is not dark and you like it....love it.
As far as trying to make it "neutral" for resale, I would say that it is not so unusual to not appeal to others. And many people will choose a home thinking they can live with something of good quality as long as it is not unappealing, but have their own plans for their more specific taste in the future.

Wow, definitely not the feedback I expected! I think I'm just nervous about picking something a little more out-of-the-ordinary. But yes, we both really love that slab (wow, that would stink if someone else bought it already-- we just looked on Saturday morning), and even though some of the others are beautiful, and might even make more sense, I think we'll kick ourselves if we don't go for our "true love."

I wish I knew for sure which color was more true-- It's definitely closer without the flash, although it might look a tad more green in person than in that picture. I'd show a picture of our entire kitchen, but it's a total mess right now! We've got a few small portions of our old laminate in there for some counter space, and it's completely cluttered as I'm trying to figure out where I want to put everything in the new cabinets.

Great question about the backsplash-- I have no clue! My original plan was to have very light quartz counters with some kind of cool, herring-bone pattern glass/metallic tile backsplash. But now that's out! What would you suggest??

Oh, and the cabinets are actually stained alder wood, but they do resemble cherry. I always heard dark green looked good with cherry, but I think you're right-- this lighter one does as well.

I love the costal green! Its different and it goes great with your cabinets!

The coast green is gorgeous. And if it caught your eye from across the room.....then that's what you should get! Not to mention that it looks great with your cabinets. Good luck!

I'm going to be the tiny voice of descent-- I wanted the rosemary caesarstone, which is a similar tone to that green granite, and my KD talked me out of it saying it would be too much. I sort of didn't believe her until I saw a mock kitchen done it. It was very much! Beautiful, very green, but it would be tough not to get tired of it.

I would google other kitchens with green granite, and maybe even put a big green piece of cardboard or something in your kitchen and make sure it would really be livable.

Another vote for the coast green--I think it is gorgeous! I also think it might appeal to the masses (as evidenced by the responses to your thread), which would help your resale value.

Good luck!

I vote for green costa.
You will love the look.

Another little voice of desent. If you weren't selling anytime soon, I'd say go with the green as over 10-20 years tastes will change anyway. But 4 years for resale isn't very long and I can honestly say, green counters would be a "no buy" point for me. I like more neutral and not being tied to one particular color scheme. Take that for what you will!

Well, look at it this way. You went to three granite yards and out of all the stones that you AND your husband saw, BOTH of you fell in love with the same slab. Something about that stone, far away creamy gray, close up green, reached out to both of you. I say go with your hearts and your souls. My vote is for Coast Green! With all the help of the GWers, surely you will also choose just the right backsplash for this granite. Best of luck to you!

I would agree with wildcat. After having seafoam green for the past 18 years (which was really in then)I need a break from it. I have not finalized my granite selection yet. I started with the Giallo O and then went to Baltic Brown and now it looks like Crema Bordeaux. Giallo O is really popular and inexpensive. Great for resale too. If this was not my forever house, Giallo O it would be.

I have Costa Esmeralda granite and I never would have thought it would be my choice. It looks similar to your coast green. Now that it's in I feel that it is so neutral, it doesn't read too green at all and I love that I can change out my accessories with the holidays or seasons. Green goes with everything! Sometimes I use orange accents, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow....and christmas I'll use red!!

I say go for it, you'll love it.

I think it looks great with your cabinet color. Here are a few shots of mine with cream cabs.

i think this is just one of those things that will have varying opinions. we have a friend who works for a very high end kitchen designer in chicago. when we fell in love with costa esmerelda, i asked him the same questions about resale. he said that the green/gray combination is really quite neutral and he wouldn't be concerned about it. since both you and your dh are in agreement, i would go for it.....here's a pic of mine (with white cab and dark island....)

also,
i remember seeing a ton of mosaic backsplashes that had "ming green" in them and they all seemed to work with my granite. if you pic the coast green, i will try to dig through my stuff to give you some suggestions.....

Okay, I'm definitely leaning more towards the sea coast at this point. DH hasn't really had a strong opinion about much of this kitchen, so I feel like I should especially consider is love for this one... It does scare me, as some of you pointed out, that it could be a deal-breaker for some home buyers, but compared to the rest of the kitchens of the homes in our neighborhood at our price point (and probably up to $200K higher), it will still be one of the best kitchens buyers will see. As long as I have the help of you GW-ers to help me choose a great backsplash and paint color, I'm pretty confident we can make this work!

positano: Speaking of paint, could you tell me what color you have on your walls? I especially love that color granite with your cream cabinets. And great accent with the orange flowers!

gglks: Yours is beautiful as well! I just hope mine won't be "too much," considering all of my cabinets are dark. They're not as dark as your island, but still... Oh, and I love your backsplash over your stove-- that is so beautiful! I would love any backsplash advice you could give me.

Thank you so much for your opinions-- we're not completely set yet, so I'll definitely still hear anyone out. I appreciate all of the feedback! I'll try to post a pic of the entire kitchen, as it is now, tomorrow to see if you still think it will look good.

"Another little voice of dissent. If you weren't selling anytime soon, I'd say go with the green as over 10-20 years tastes will change anyway. But 4 years for resale isn't very long and I can honestly say, green counters would be a "no buy" point for me. I like more neutral and not being tied to one particular color scheme. Take that for what you will!"

Otoh, from a re-sale point of view, a neutral would be a no-no for me whereas the Coast Green would be a big plus!

You can never please everyone at re-sale (the buyer of our last home didn't even want the higher-end granite we had picked out, and asked us to leave the house as is with its old laminate counters!), so go with what you like.

kmgard,
My paint color is Crown Point Sand by Benjamin Moore. It's a great neutral that goes with so much. Glad to hear your still considering your coast green. Especially since your DH liked it. I would love to see more shots of your kitchen when you post them.
Good luck, my countertop decision was definitely the harderst for me!

Tiny voice of dissent or not, those counters look beautiful, and the kitchens do, too! I love both of them.

I think that the flash is going to show the counter more green, and that is what you'll see with an incandescent light or a warm fluorescent. That's what my recently taken pictures of my floor and countertop choices. The no flash is more what you'll get in normal daylight of course. If the green is too much, you could try different bulbs in your kitchen lighting until you acheive the right color.

My Mom had some yellow formica in her 70's kitchen which always read as just medium yellow. We changed the fluorescents to "warm" fluorescents. Now, the yellow trim on the window sills clashes with the formica, and it looks like a greenish, horrid yellow! I was totally jarred, never having seen her kitchen look like that. So yeah, your lighting has SOOO much to do with how the counters will read!

BTW, I vote for the green/gray that you fell in love with. I think it's neutral enough in daylight and even the green is on the neutral side. Of course, I'll tell you that b//c DH keeps me having to stay on the safe side! After seeing all of the G Ornamental, etc out there, someone is going to LOVE this counter and be happy to have found something unique. I know that you're supposed to be all safe when selling, but well - what katienic said!

I'd say you have the battle won, if you both love the same granite! I too think that slab is the best of the ones you posted! I truly think green is pretty close to a neutral (unless you live in a concrete jungle)- and particularly the one you chose which is just barely green.

(Must admit I live in a house with green siding- walls were green until we renovated, and Master bedroom is dark grey/green)

No one can accurately read the future- ignoring what you really want to try and guess what might be best for resale- is a tricky game- One I wouldn't play. (your choice really is beautiful- and I can't imagine anyone being 'turned off' by it)

Now that I'm looking at the pictures again...

Do any of you think the green clashes with the floor??

The Millennium seems to compliment the floor a bit better...

See, even with all the feedback, I still can't make up my mind! :) (Maybe it's because my husband likes it?)

We're always so torn with making these decisions, aren't we? But I STILL think the coastal green would be gorgeous...ESPECIALLY since you and your husband both like it; and as you said, your husband really hasn't chimed in much until this point. You won't be sorry!
Sue

I think the granite and the floor don't go together-- not horribly, but just a teensy bit off. I agree that the millennium is a little better. Remember, a lot of men are a little bit color blind! I think that the green granite is pretty, and the floor is pretty, but they aren't perfect together. The floor is much more brown.

Can you go back to the granite yard and look again? Sometimes a second look is helpful.

Oh no... my husband called to reserve the coast green today, but it's still not too late. suzp, you're absolutely right-- it's so hard to make a decision and stick to it! nesting12, do you think they're off enough to make it ugly? I think we can go back, but not until this weekend... Even if one is slightly better, (the millennium is also more expensive), I just don't know if it's worth crushing his excitement. Argh, I always thought I wanted him to have an opinion about this kitchen-- I just didn't realize I wanted it to be my opinion! :)

So here's some ugly pics of my half-finished kitchen to give you a better idea of the colors. Obviously haven't picked a paint, and please excuse all the electrical mess- still not finished! Oh, and the colors look a bit different because once again I used flash in one and no flash in the other.

I came back to this post again and before I read the last couple, I too saw the picture and noticed the floor seemed a little yellow-brown and wondered if maybe I was too quick to say go with what you loved. Now, I think that the Millenium cream (from what I can see in the picture as there is a little less detail in the picture of this slab) seems to bring the cabinet and the floor colors together better than the costal green. I think you are right to try to make the right choice from a design standpoint and if it works that way, it has more mass appeal. Maybe someone with experience with many granites could suggest one that would compliment the two colors, perhaps a granite with some gold tones and a touch of the color of your cabinets. Good luck!

Another thought regarding your floors in combination with the Coast Green granite... don't forget that that granite will not be right next to the floor as you have in the picture (there will be cabinets between the two). I also see the green in this case as more of a neutral. I love your choice!

i agree with dinajo as these items won't be right next to each other. also keep in mind, you haven't picked paint or backsplash yet which will tie in all aspects of your kitchen. can you tell i like the green????????? here's a quick, and i mean QUICK search for a backsplash that has both green and brown undertones that would tie everything together......

Here is a link that might be useful: sample backsplash

Would it crush his excitement to go back and look one more time, especially if you explain your concern? If so, then just go with what he wants-- marriage = more important than this stuff. If he gets curious about your point, then maybe go together again with fresh eyes and see.

dinajo and gglks, good point! I don't have the greatest "design eye," but maybe with the help of this forum I could come up with a backsplash that will work and tie everything together. I like the concept of

nesting12 and fleur222, I might be able to get him to go back with me on Saturday. He knows I'm always completely indecisive, so this would be nothing new... We did just find out that the Millennium Cream is a bit more expensive, so that's another point in his column. I suppose we could still go with one of the others, but again, I'd hate to completely crush his excitement when I don't think the coast green would look terrible. Maybe not ideal, but not terrible. I guess we'll see!

I just stumbled upon this thread.....and I'm just dying to see what kmgard chose!

I was positive that I would not have any green in my kitchen. That all changed when DH and I found a soapstone slab that we loved! Now I am looking for backsplash ideas to go with this new color we are introducing into our kitchen. :)

Funny how all of your 'plans' go out the window when you see something you love!

The cabinets counters and floors are the main elements in a kitchen and I feel they should in some way relate to each other. The granite should have something in common color wise with at least one and hopefully help tie the cabinets and floor together. You have three separate colors. The green of the counter doesn't relate to the other two, and the patterning of the granite is similar to that of the floor, and they might fight each other. If your floor has many tones and goes from dark to light, you need a quieter granite.

I honestly don't think the first one works with your other elements. Only one should be the star or else it's not harmonious. I would use a tighter grained granite with some gold and some reddish tones to tie in your other colors. It can also have some green, but that green is just too cool to work with the other warm, golden components.

Well, we ended up choosing the coast green! We just loved it too much to stay away, so now of course we have to figure out a way to better tie these elements together. I think with the right wall paint, backsplash, and throw rugs, we can make this work. If I had it to do all over again, I'd pick a different floor, but we didn't know we'd be splurging on granite at the time. So now I have a NEW post to see if you can help me decide how to finish this design. I've already managed to get myself into a pickle, so I need people with better design skills to help me through this. Thank you!!

I didn't see this when you originally posted it, but I would have recommended that you choose the coast green. DH and I both loved (& chose) Costa Esmeralda, which I think is darker than your granite. As many others have indicated, grey-green is a neutral, so it's not difficult to work with. Installed, ours looks a lot blander than we'd expected--sometimes I wish we'd chosen something more interesting to go with it for the island than the creamy neutral honed marble.

With the lack of color accuracy we have seen due to camera and monitor issues, you're the only one who can really say if everything goes together. The right color of paint will do wonders as can a backsplash. You might want to live with the counters and cabinets for a while, and do the backsplash later, if that's possible.

Our realtor insisted that the rough sawn cedar wall and trim in our lower level family room needed to be painted white to match the white stucco paneling to make it all look more blended and up to date. I refused to do it, although I took her advice on most other things. (It also had an interesting orangy/reddish/brownish carpet with unusual texture and orangy-red & brown Moorish vinyl tile squares!) I loved that room! In a VERY tough market, we had only 3 people look at it in 3 weeks, and 2 of them made an offer. They were from 2 different ethnic groups that, in my experience, have decorated their homes with more color than most people I know. Now I realize a LL family room is not the same as a kitchen, but even if the green in your greenest picture were accurate, it still looks pretty safe to me.

Lots of people are going to love your green. All you need is ONE person to sell your home to, and not everyone likes "safe" colors. A lot of the new model homes (from a couple of years ago when there were such things!) were showing more bolder colors around here. When I was going through hundreds of model houses during the 6 years it took us to start building, I really got tired of seeing the same granites, and it was exciting when a builder had chosen unique ones for each bathroom and a couple of different ones for the kitchen and island.

Anne

I like the green one - it's unique