When we were quartz and floor tile shopping, we found the two really needs to coordinate. They are two large parallel planes of color and pattern. If the white countertop looks too stark with the floor, look at "griege" quartz patterns like Caesarstone Buttermilk. All the quartz companies have something in the greige family. In our home with natural cherry cabinets, warm colors in the DR and LR, and white plantation shutters, white and gray did not work for a countertop.

Thanks for your reply! I have attached a photo of my kitchen..

Here is a close up of my floor

How about the counter material, to see how white it is. A light counter could look good, not sure how white you could go.

The salesperson's opinion is biased towards whatever the best option they have is. So don't put much weight in their opinion. They probably would not tell you none of their products would look that good!

Here is Cambria Torquay against our cupboard... It is another counter we are considering. It is creamy white with beige and light grey swirls. The Zodiaq Coarse Carrara we are considering is more pure white with subtle grey veining. We also want to do a backsplash. Thank you so much for your help!

I agree with may flowers in that you really need to coordinate the counters and floor. Can you post a picture from an angle showing your sample on the counter as well as the cabinet and the floor? It might work but I just can't get a sense of how everything will look together.

White countertops will give your kitchen a cool feeling. That might work because your cabinets are a cool color also. You just have to be careful how it's all going to work with the floor. I've seen too many pictures where the floor and the countertops clash with each other, even though each is beautiful.

For what it's worth, I am having the same trouble in my kitchen, only problem is, hubby thinks we need to go very light because of the cherry cabinets, but light quartz is so tricky because it has to work with the floor. If we chose a dark quartz, which looks beautiful against the cherry wood, it would be so easy.

I just realized why I can't figure out your kitchen...it's upside down. Can you repost right side up?

Just click on it and it flips.

Usually you want a quiet countertop that works with the strong grain of oak, but your grain is hidden by the dark stain. I would suggest some pattern because of the solid wall of wood and the almost patternless floor tile. I think the quartzes you're looking at could be a little boring. I'd look at some granites. I just put light Giallo Ornamental on a dark cherry vanity, and I could see it working here. It's cream and taupe, with a little soft gray blue and a few garnet sprinklings. I played up the gray blue with wall paint and will add some blue in the backsplash. There's also gold GO, but I really dislike gold with cherry.

Will you be adding a backsplash? I'd coordinate that now so that you can either have pattern in the counter or backsplash.

Yes, we would be adding a backsplash for sure. I agree that there needs to be some kind of pattern or movement, so we were thinking of a mosaic style backsplash if we are going with a more understated counter. I really appreciate all the advice! We just want to be sure we don't put out a ton of money for new counters and then end up not liking them in the end. Agh! Who would have thought the choices could be so frustrating! :-)

The torquay seems too white...try to match that creamy tan color in your floor tile.

I love torquay but I agree, it doesn't match your floor.
I looked at it for my kitchen and 2 baths - but none matched - but BR number 3 is still in the running

If you are already looking at Zodiaq, you might want to look at Zodiaq Crema Botticino. We used it in our bathroom, which has floors similar in color to the tiles in your kitchen. It goes really well- light, yet not stark like a white. Look at it in person- the pictures online make it look really pink, which it is not.

Cambria Windermere would be a good choice. It has enough of the beiges and greys in it to work well with the floor and is still light in color. A white based counter isn't the best choice in this instance. Now, with the beige, it doesn't need to be dark, but it needs to be there.

Funny you should mention Windermere, as I came across a picture of it last night and thought it was very pretty. It was paired with a glass subway tile by Saltillo imports, and looked lovely! I really am so grateful for all the advice and suggestions. Torquay is lovely but maybe not the best choice in our home, which is full of warm colours (brown, cream, green, red). I will look at that zodiaq colour, too. :-)

Is there a lot of green in Cambria Windermere? Looks like there might be in some pics I have seen. Also, the yellow undertone to both caesarstone buttermilk and zodiaq crema botticeno would clash with my floors. Decisions, decisions!

Here is your tile with Cambria New Quay. Might be worth getting a sample of this. I love Cambria for counters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cambria New Quay

How ingenious of you to post my tile right next to the counter colour! I did see New Quay last week, a whole slab of it, but it looked very grey from far. But maybe it is worth looking at again.

heartlightgirl,

I also like the lighter colors and wouldn't throw out the Torquay, though the Windemere leans too green.

Here is the Waverton with your tile. Maybe, but perhaps a bit dull.

Hi beverly27,
Waverton is nice too, but the sample I saw looked like a light grey....but I guess I do have some grey in my floors. How do you post the photos of the counter and floor together? Would love to try that on my own with some other counters I am considering. I still haven't completely ruled out Torquay or Windermere....maybe I can borrow some samples from my local supplier for an afternoon to see how they read in my kitchen, with my lights, floor and cabinets. I guess once I finally do settle on a colour, the next decision will be a backsplash!! :-)

Heartlightgirl,
I use Windows 7. You know you can capture images from Cambria's site by right clicking and saving the jpeg to your "pictures" file. I take the pic and open it in 'Edit'. That will open the pic in "Paint". Then by resizing and using the "Paste From" command I can place both the tile image and the quartz image in the same jpeg. A little trial and error using "Paint" & you'll be surprised at what you can do.

I was able to borrow some cambria samples today. I have placed them on my floor against a cupboard. Which one is your fave?

Will post the names of each stone

First column of three, starting with the one closest to the cabinet pull: Darlington, then Bellingham, then Windermere. Next column of three: New Quay, then Torquay, then Whitney.

Windermere.

Darlington is too blah and Bellingham is too gray. All the rest are too white. (I knew it the moment I saw your tile that Windermere would be the most complimentary.)

I always tell my clients it's easier to say NO to a selection than to try to decide on one selection that is right.

So to start, I have crossed out two samples. Too white I think for the space. The other possibilities cannot be ruled in or out without seeing larger samples in natural light. IMO.

We went with Cambria Berkeley which looks similar to the other Cambria ones you listed. Obviously we did white cabinets and you can't really see our medium/dark wood floor but might that color be worth looking into:

I loved the Berkeley, too... Looks beautiful in your kitchen! I think we are leaning towards Windermere. My husband really likes Bellingham but when I look at pictures of it on Houzz, all that black scares me! Windermere seems to pick up the colours in our home and is still pretty light. We do like New Quay as well, but it seems to read more grey compared to Windermere. I think we are getting closer to a decision! I have ruled out Torquay... Looks too white and a little boring in our kitchen, even though I fell in love with it when I first laid eyes on it. Funny how things change.

From your photo, I really like the Windermere with your floor and cabinets. The Torquay and Whitney are much too white and the Bellingham and New Quay look too gray. All four of those samples appear to be cool colors and the rest of your kitchen is warm. The Darlington works color wise, but is probably too similar to your floor tile. (Of course, often colors look different in real life than in photos.) Could you borrow a bigger sample of the Windermere to be sure? A lot of the fabricators we went to had 12" square samples of Cambria in their showrooms.

I think the windemere is perfect! It has interest and the colors that go well with your cabs and floor!!! Very beautiful!!!

Jimson, your counters are gorgeous!

Why does Windermere photograph so "green" when it's not really? I am contemplating choosing that, but don't sometimes get worried that it will look green after seeing so many pictures of it doing so.
That being said, I think it's beautiful in many pictures and I would bet it is a great choice for you.

I thought that Windermere looked really green in photos, too. Then I saw a larger sample in real life and realized that the areas that look green on my computer screen are actually grey. But, you know how grey can be "warm" or "cool"? This grey is a warmer shade. In person the Windermere reads as a cream background with swirls of grey and copper. It also has these little reflective pieces in it that sparkle a little when the light catches them.

Windermere looked green on the installation I saw on white cabinets. Isn't Darlington the same tone?

This post was edited by may_flowers on Tue, Aug 6, 13 at 18:18

Just for curiosity sake, did you consider a quartzite, e.g. Taj Mahol?