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mjsee_gw

Granite to use instead of Lagos Blue?

mjsee
11 years ago

I have my heart set on Lagos Blue Caeserstone. I desperately want it. Works perfectly with the backsplash micro-mosaic tiles I fell in love with. Picuted here with BS, cabinet sample, stand-ins for appliances, and flooring I'm NOT using:



Yesterday my GC emailed me and told me that his usual fabricator is quoting him a price so high he doesn't want to share it with me, and that I should "think granite." (Went to Costco website--they are quoting $84/sf for Lagos Blue--if memory serves...it was close to that, anyway.)

Most granites I've seen are TOO BUSY for that wild&wonderful backsplash. (At least, to my taste. I like either busy counters, or busy bs, but not both!) Can y'all think of a granite that has the calming effect of the Lagos Blue Caeserstone and would work with that BS?

Or should I just call costco and get a quote on what I want? (I am tempted to do just that...)

Melanie

Comments (11)

  • eam44
    11 years ago

    Granite is a little speckle-y and busy. How about Inca Brown Marble with a grey linen floor tile?


    Another option would be to embrace the movement and pick a granite you love, then choose another bs. This is honed antique brown granite with a possible bs alternative.

    I'm not entirely sure which of the colors at the bottom of your mock-up was supposed to be the floor, so I removed the yellow and left the orange in this image. The left is with Inca Brown Marble, the right with honed Antique Brown granite.

  • mjsee
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you for all your hard work! We ended up using NEITHER of the floors in that picture...marmoleum was going to be exorbitant. Colors I chose were not available as tiles (the flooring store lied to me) ...only click or sheet. I'm not willing to do click/floating floor in a kitchen, and the size and shape of our kitchen was going to necessitate buying almost twice as much of the sheet as we'd need. We went with a pre-finished oak hardwood. (Lumber Liquidators, butter rum). Looks great, at WAY less than 1/2 the price of the marmoleum. I'll post pics of the finished floor when I get a chance. We had a wood floor in the kitchen in our former home and I loved it.

    The Husband and I priced out other options...in the grand scheme of things it looks like the caeserstone will be 2K more than any of our other choices...we're willing to go over-budget for it. (Well, HE is. I was willing to look at laminate. Functional--lots of choices--relatively "green"...appropriate to a MCM home...he wasn't impressed.)

    SO...not changing anything. Which is a relief.

    melanie

  • KevinMP
    11 years ago

    You could try to find leathered antique brown granite. It's going to be expensive, but I was told its less expensive than the Caesarstone. If you look for my posts on here or the bathroom forum about it, you can see pictures. I spent forever trying to find it and really wanted to use Lagos azul limestone, but feared using it generally let alone in a bathroom. To give you an idea in price, I paid about $100 per square foot, but that was for 2cm, and I negotiated it down. Good luck.

  • mjsee
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    One of the reasons we decided on Caeserstone was the functionality. I am a messy cook. And I cook a great deal. I didn't want a surface I had to worry about. I don't want to have to stress out about sealing, etching, etc. (I'm careful with knives so not worried about scratches.)

    If I could have found a corian or corianesque surface that worked with that tile I'd have gone that route. (Former counter in this kitchen was Corian--LOVED the functionality!) Lesson to be learned? DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH A BUSY BACKSPLASH. ;^)

    Costco is quoting $82/sf in our zip-code for Lagos Blue and my contractor says his fabricator should be able to match that. We've only got about 55 SF of counter, give or take, so I think we're going to stick with the Ceaserstone.

    (Everyone's suggestions are wonderful!)

  • francoise47
    11 years ago

    Lagos Blue and real Lagos Azul limestone are so beautiful.
    But, as Kevin has said, real Lagos Azul is impractical because of etching.
    And, like you, I found Caesarstone more expensive than many granites.

    A darker honed gray or black granite may give you
    a somewhat similar look the Caesarstone Lagos Blue at considerably less cost.
    Granites like "Black Pearl" are at the low end of the cost spectrum and are as tough and low maintenance as you get.

  • mjsee
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    francoise--I'll look. We'd actually considered black granite...but were worried about too much contrast. I'll revisit that.

  • mjsee
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Here's a picture with the new flooring...

    From kitchen post demo--with new floor

    And the counter sample right on the floor (with something under it so it won't scratch the new floor):

    From kitchen post demo--with new floor

    Both were taken with natural light--different time of day.

  • hags00
    11 years ago

    Price out Lagos Blue and Cambria Sussex. They are very similar and I was able to get my price down last year playing off two companies bidding against one another. There is plenty of wiggle room in quartz price although it won't be as low as granite.

  • colorfast
    11 years ago

    There is a basic gray granite called Steel Gray that would look nice with your choices. I have a blue granite but it would not look good at all with your backsplash.

    I think some of the soapstones posted on this website would also look great with that backsplash.

  • eam44
    11 years ago

    I'm not trying to talk you out of anything - your choices are very nice. But if you are a messy cook, you might want to consider a seamless, groutless bs, or you're going to have a lot of grout to clean. Options that come to mid are large format ceramic or glass sheets, or solid surface. Anyway, be certain it's really love. If it's just infatuation, you'll be changing it in a couple of years...

  • mjsee
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Sorry I wasn't around yesterday--power was out for a good chunk of the day. (Big oak fell in a neighbor's yard and took out the power to the entire neighborhood.) Luckily my drywallers had extra lithium batteries and my kitchen has lots of natural light!

    hags00--thanks! I'll see what I can do with that. Either way--we are sticking with the lagos blue. DH is as in love with it as I am with my BS.

    EAM44--I hear you. I'm not messy in that stuff gets slung about...I'm messy in that things get set down/spilled on the counter. (Wine, olive oil,etc.) Will sealing the tile help? I really am in love. NO...truly. That color mix is EXACTLY what I've been dreaming about. For 15 years. And it matches my DR chairs:

    Bought that fabric n 2009...got enough to cover the seats and backs twice. (Found it on ebay...)

    I wanted the DR and kitchen to speak to one another--since there is a large pass through from the K to the DR. If sealing alone won't protect the grout...perhaps I should do stainless steel behind the range up to the hood...

    I'll talk to the tile guy about it. He seems to know his stuff.

    I love this board. Everyone is SO helpful!

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