I have blue pearl counters with natural red birch cabinets - also used blue pearl tiles for the backsplash. Pictures in the Finished Kitchens Blog

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Pictures

I adore red birch. Costa Esmeralda or sea foam? Something in the greenish family?

Thanks for the ideas.
weissman
Yes, if I went with granite, I have thought about blue pearl (got the idea from your pics already) or silver pearl, or another dark color. Not sure what price comparison would be with soapstone. I think Blue Pearl is a medium priced granite.

remodifila , I was in a house with the Costa Esmeralda with cream colored cabinets, and it was beautiful . Probably doesn't cost less than the soapstone, maybe even more., though.

BTW...I keep missing info on posts...I completely missed that you loved soapstone. You can't go wrong with SS. We have it and I absolutely adore it. It was a HUGE splurge for us and I don't regret one single penny. We have it with natural QS oak.

I have Verde Peacock granite with natural cherry cabinets. I think it would look great with red birch cabinets too.
My fabricator classified it as a stock or level 1 granite. I have a polished finish but it in can also be done in a honed or leathered finish.
Just in case you might be interested, here is a close up of the granite with my cabinets. Clicking on the picture should take you to my photo-bucket album if you would like to see more pictures of it.

badgergal
The verde peacock looks nice with the cabinets. Beautiful cabinets, by the way.
That would be another option if we abandon the soapstone (We are still wavering ). I'll add that to the list to check out.

remodelfla
Any photos?
Thanks

And close up

remodelfla
Beautiful!
What type of soapstone is that?

It's called Monsoon Wave and I purchased it at Texiera. I don't know if they carry it anymore. It's a little wild and crazy for most people but I absolutely love it. I"m not the least bit careful and it's held up like iron.

Yes, we'd probably go with something more traditional , but yours looks beautiful! And the soft, subtle backsplash complements it really well.
Still wavering - it's an awful lot of money-
Any other feedback from anyone?

Yes, we'd probably go with something more traditional , but yours looks beautiful! And the soft, subtle backsplash complements it really well.
Still wavering - it's an awful lot of money-
Any other feedback from anyone?

I think that going with something that is relative uniform is the way to go. I think that because of the lightness of your cabinets, a darker countertop would be best. I didn't see the color of the floor. This should be taken into account as well.

Soapstone is fabulous and would really set them off, but since it is very expensive, you could use Uba Tuba, Verde Butterfly or Verde Peacock (all 3 in the green family-great with the red tones of the natural birch), Tan Brown which looks fabulous with lighter cabinets with a reddish hue, New Caledonia, Black Pearl, Giallo Fiorito, or New Venetian Gold. They are all Level One priced.

All of the Blue Pearls (there are seveal of them), Green Pearl, Silver Pearl, and Steel Gray would all look very nice. These are medium to high priced in the Atlanta area Level Two or Three, at times.

Whatever you choose, the Soapstone would probably be the best. As you said you can buy your appliances on time and get the soapstone. You can even have soapstone grooved on the side of the sink as a drainboard and it will not hurt the look or the quality. It does scratch, which is why most people don't use it as well as the high cost, but oh so fabulous it looks with a new coat of oil. :)

RoRo67,
Thanks for feedback. We still have to choose flooring!
Probably some kind of tile - dining room has oak but we don't feel like we would do well with wood floors in the kitchen.
So many decisions!

RoRo67,
Thanks for feedback. We still have to choose flooring!
Probably some kind of tile - dining room has oak but we don't feel like we would do well with wood floors in the kitchen.
So many decisions!

remodelfla

where did you get those kitchen cabinets. I am going to buy red birch and cant decide which place to go with. I am looking into rta place since ikea does not have solid wood or red birch with matching cabinets.

Any ideas?

btw I love the peacock granite and that soapstone is great too!