Also - wanted to include a pic that shows the light colored ceramic tile we have. Grout work needs to be done. Recently replaced all appliances. Honest opinions are welcome!! Thank you all so much~

This post was edited by Remsby on Sat, Oct 4, 14 at 16:34

No opinion about granite but I don't know if it's possible to remove the countertops without damaging the backsplash.

If you enjoy the beautiful patterns of granite, I would redo the backsplash in something plain. Otherwise, I'd look for a plain countertop to highlight the stone pattern of the current bs, in a more complementary natural earth color than the blue is providing.

Blue Pearl. It's gorgeous, subtlely blue (mostly gray) and is bulletproof.

I used Blue Pearl in my bathroom. It's my favorite granite, although quite a bit darker than what's there now for better or worse. I like the backsplash. Actually, in the pic at least, the existing countertop looks good and doesn't clash with anything.

Definitely blue pearl - it looks great and requires no sealing or maintenance.

Thanks for the suggestions on Blue Pearl, that color looks gorgeous! Will definitely bring that into the mix. My husband brought home samples yesterday (prior to me posting) and he is thinking of maybe wanting to switch away from Blue, to a different color tone/something a little lighter. These are the samples he brought home, what are your opinion on either of these? Or is he completely off base? He is arguing that the gold pops in the more jagged piece pulls from the color of the cabinets and the other color pops pull from the backsplash. I am concerned that it would be too busy or not fit in well, and think we should go darker in the Blue Pearl family? Thoughts welcome, please!

I dont know what granite option are out there, but how about looking for something light to match the floor? Your existing pictures dont read blue at all on my screen, straight dark gray with white flecks. If I had to pick between your two samples, I'd say the one on the left. But I'd try to find a light sample as well. Have fun!

both samples are very busy and too close in color scheme to your bs. don't try to match the bs color, go for contrast instead.
do you have leftover bs tile you can take with you when looking at granite? you really have to go to stoneyards or at least to hd/lowes to see what is out there and how much it will cost.
also with your light cabinets and the tanish bs, it would probably look better to go with a darker less spotty granite. think uba tuba, absolute black, etc. look at pics online to see some stone bs with granite combos. many times busy granite with stone bs look awful.
good luck!

Remsby:

You should verify the thickness of your Corian underlayment. Most is 7/8" or 1" plus the 1/2" of the Corian making 1 1/2" between the cabinet tops and the bottom of the tile. 3cm granite (1 1/4" +-) will slip under the tile, but if they used 3/4" underlayment and lipped the front edge of the Corian over the cabinets, this could get tight especially if your cabinets are out of level. Corian has some bend, granite does not. Granite can be scribed to the tile, but it's best to know this in advance.

Were I bidding this job, you would return an email to me acknowledging that I am not responsible for any tile failure. It isn't likely, but if it happens I'm not paying.

Use color matched silicone, not grout, between the bottom tile and granite.

I just saw this picture in trojancai's post about picking a granite...this is sort of the color I was thinking. I am normally a contrast leaning person, but for some reason your kitchen tells me light. (No, I'm not hearing actual voices, lol) Do you have under cabinet lighting?

The last thing you want to do is introduce yellow into your kitchen. Sorry, hubby! Those granites are too brassy for 2014!

I would suggest Giallo Ornamental Light--not Giallo Ornamental, which is more gold. The crystals are creamy instead of gold, but it does have a little soft gold to work with the cabinets. The garnet inclusions are a deep maroon brown, which will pull the browns from the tile. You will also see some taupe and blue-green-gray. However, it will be a little busy, but that can't be helped if you want granite.

I have GOL in my guest bath with dark cherry cabinets, but I held a pine shelf under it to simulate your yellow cabinets, and it looked pretty good. Another granite to try is Colonial Cream or Colonial Gold, but it might be too carmel for your backsplash.

If a granite doesn't work, I'd ask myself if it's worthwhile to make such an important, expensive, and long-term decision based on a couple of hundreds of dollars of old tile. You could use a quiet creamy quartz or a quartzite like OOTM posted, but also ask yourself if the age and condition of the cabinets warrants that type of expense.

Here's a pic of a Giallo Ornamental Light counter that looks a lot like mine.