Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
chris_cwod

2 colors of granite and cabinets - worried!!

chris_cwod
11 years ago

Hi,

Ok, I'm starting to freak out a little that our kitchen is not going to come together the way I hope, so I'm hoping I can get some design opinions on what we're planning...

On the perimeter, we've got tropical brown granite with medium brown maple cabinets with chocolate glaze, and cream tumbled stone backsplash. We are adding an island to our kitchen that will have black cabinets to tie in with our black appliances. All that is pretty well set in stone, as the cabinets have already been ordered.

What's up in the air is the granite for the island. We had a designer tell us to choose a cream granite with lots of movement - cream to tie in the backsplash, and movement to coordinate with the more consistent pattern of the tropical brown.

I've seen plenty of pictures of islands that don't "match" the rest of the kitchen, and I like the look. But I'm soooo worried that in our kitchen it's not going to come together like it does in all the design photos! Even though tropical brown has a consistent pattern, it's still has a lot more going on than say, absolute black, so I'm worried there will be too much going on, or we'll end up picking a granite that will compete or clash with it.

Any opinions on this look or on what color/style/type of granite to use for the island? Or pictures to share that will help give me ideas (or peace of mind!)?

Thanks!!

Chris

Comments (15)

  • Liz
    11 years ago

    I used two different quartz countertops and two different color of cabinets. My backsplash is marble. I love marble but it was not a practical choice for me with young kids as a countertop. Make sure you go with gut not just what the designer tells you to do. I looked through thousands of pictures and was always drawn to the same kitchens with two different cupboards, marble and greys and bright. It is really hard to know exactly what you want but it almost always comes together. If the permitter granite is simple then I would go for something with movement on the island. Here is my kitchen(ignore the pendant burnt out light/ iphone picture quality):

  • ellendi
    11 years ago

    Sunny, your counters both look solid to me with no movement on either.
    Chris, you have the same idea only in the brown family for your perimeters. I agree that your baltic brown will not read totally as solid, but it is not a busy granite by any means.
    Why not look at both options? A really busy granite that will make a statement, and also a solid cream quartz. Bring both back here.
    If the baltic brown has black in, would you consider that on your island?

  • Liz
    11 years ago

    You are right about the countertops. They are pretty much solid. The island is off white and the back is dark grey. The splash is in my backsplash. There is a lot of color in it (which you can't really see in the picture). I just posted the picture so she could see the backsplash and island tying together with other colors in the kitchen.

  • chris_cwod
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for your input!

    SunnyAlberta - your kitchen is amazing!

    Because the tropic brown isn't as solid, I think that's why I'm questioning how it will turn out. I think you're right Ellendi, I'll have to bring home a few samples once the cabinets are in to see how they look and I'll post some pictures then.

    So far we've only been looking at cream granite with lots of movement, and as much as I want it to work because I love the cream color with black, I'm just not 100% confident we can pull it off. Not sure on quartz...I think I might like something with more black flecks in it. I will definitely post some pictures once we're at that point.

    I would definitely consider using tropic brown granite for the island again - it would probably be the safest choice since it has both black and brown in it, and I think we'd be able to find a close match to our existing tropic brown.

    We don't have a very wide kitchen, so the island will be skinny and fairly close to the perimeter cabinets/counters...not sure if that makes a difference in what will look good or not?

  • stellawinslet
    11 years ago

    I am very new to the granite world, I looked at absolute black counters yesterday at the importer and liked but whatever is done here has me head over heels. Any explanation or pointing to where I can get more info would be so appreciated. Thank you.

  • Linda
    11 years ago

    Chris, I'm still at an early stage but am considering a similar granite combination. I was thinking of a delicatus or bianco antico for the island (these stones vary -- one that has more brown tones in it). I haven't actually put the samples together yet, but would those ideas work?

  • gr8daygw
    11 years ago

    I think it will look great. Tropic Brown is pretty consistent all over pattern that you could put something with a pattern without having a huge conflict of interest going on. It has to be the right slab but I think with the black island and that you cannot change it at this point going with a lighter granite on the island is the way to go. It will be the focal point of the room and be pretty since the colors are pretty masculine otherwise. A granite in cream and brown/black maybe even some gold if your tropic has that in it, some do but many have a green cast. That may be an option. Light, airy and open will be just the relief it needs!

  • chiefy
    11 years ago

    Do you have pictures of the elements that are already chosen?

    One concern I have is that typically there is a lot of contrast between perimeter and island cabs - i.e. white and black or white vs. grey or a pop of red with brown. We don't typically see brown paired with black...

  • mom2sethc
    11 years ago

    Hello,

    I have medium brown cabs, AB on my perimeters, a black island with Ayers Green granite (which I adore!). I used my backsplash to pull everything together.

  • poohpup
    11 years ago

    Another here who has stained cabs with a dark island. I probably need to take more pictures now that the BS is in and the kitchen has been painted.

  • pqsmom
    11 years ago

    Mine is similar to poohpups - My pass through is a vintage onyx cabinet with Lapidis granite. It would have been way to busy for all the counters, but looks great with the absolute black on the rest of the perimeter.
    We are still waiting on the trim guy to come back and complete the job.

    {{!gwi}}

  • pqsmom
    11 years ago

    hmmm. here's the photo, again

  • pqsmom
    11 years ago

    Another angle.

  • autumn.4
    11 years ago

    Sunnyalberta - if you don't mind my asking - what are your kitchen dimensions and your island too? It looks similar to what I am trying to achieve with a 14'8 x 12'2 sized room!

    Sorry for the slight highjack chris_cwod!

  • gr8daygw
    11 years ago

    That looks great pqsmom. On second thought I'm thinking a bold gold multi color pattern would be really striking. Tropic does have some black in it, just dots but some. You know what might just be fabulous is rain forest brown granite. Actually the rain forest green might work too depending on the color of slab your tropic is. I tried to post a link for you but they were just so long I couldn't. I think it would be smashing! Love that rain forest brown. There is also a really beautiful Epoch tumbled marble diamond mosaic rain forest brown backsplash that is gorgeous as well.

Sponsored
Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars254 Reviews
Northern Virginia Design Build Firm | 18x Best of Houzz