Hey Cherry Blossom that's a private photobucket album at least to me! Your new kitchen sounds like it is going to be beautiful!!! Congrats! I think light maple is one of the harder ones to find a perfect granite, I know because I have it!! I have been looking for months but I think you have two that are nice with it. I like the lightest giallo ornamental also. Good luck!

Gr8day, I'm sorry, I must have clicked the wrong thing. I changed it to public. Some other ones I like are the Giallo Crystal, Giallo Beach, Napoleon, Champagne, Kashir Gold, Jaguar (wow!), Juparana Vyara Classic, and Soft rose/raw silk, to name a few. Haven't seen any of these just mentioned in person, until tomorrow hopefully.

Honey maple is beautiful. Natural maple wouldn't work with my floors.

Make you ask to see Yellow River if they have it.

That should read "make sure you ask...."

CherryBlossom99's Granite Style choices... I added the clickable link so I could view the pictures and so could others.

Here is a link that might be useful: CherryBlossom99's Granite Style choices

I would really need to see the granite samples next to the cabinet color and floor to help you decide. I would also do a search for cabinets your color to see what granite they used that was not too dark. My neighbor installed Santa Cecilia Granite in her small kitchen with very light cabinets that I think are oak but I was in her kitchen to look at the granite and she was in a rush to go someplace so I did not really have time to analyze the cabinets. Her kitchen looked so nice after the new cabinets and stainless steel sink as well as new light floors.

Dianalo - I will see if they have yellow river, thank you!

Lynn2006: I will take photos at the yard today...of the cab. door with the possible granites. Santa Cecilia is really gorgeous, I was blown away and I hadn't even see that much yet!

I will update this later today with some granite colors, thank you.

We are getting natural maple cabs and Persa Avorio granite. The gold/tan in it went perfectly with the cabs, And all the slabs are fairly consistent. We also liked Golden Beach. Persa Avorio also has a lot of gray to go with SS appliances. There is a thread on with pics of Persa Avorio but I don't know hoe to link it.....

Joanie- Yeah, I want to warm up the room, not too light and not too dark. Some of the golds were gorgeous, I just don't want to go all 'Goldmember' on the room, LOL. :)

We went to the granite yard, I added some photos. Here's 3 contenders we think are nice. Let me know what you think and then I'll let you know what we're leaning towards.

http://s1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd440/kitchen2011/?albumview=slideshow

Out of the 3, I like the Labrador Antique best (by far), but don't know if the combo with your cabs does either any justice.
I do not care for the Tropical Brown.
The Giallo Cecilia is ok, but I'd keep looking....

Labrador is very unique, we like it a lot, but it'd put us kinda over budget & I am slightly worried it's too dark for a 9x9 room. The brown is ok, it doesn't make me go wow. A little later today, I'll upload everything we saw in a separate folder. Please give me an hour.

Here's everything I saw that wasn't too weird:

Light photo is probably the light I will buy for over sink, ignore that.

http://s1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd440/kitchen2011/Additional%20Granite%20Choices/?albumview=slideshow

I was thrilled with my natural maple cabinet choice until it was time to pick the granite and realized just how much peach was showing up in the granite slabs that matched my sample door. This was when panic set in! I think you need to try to choose granite that is going to emphasize the caramel color within the cabinets.

For example, the Kashmir Gold granite looks peach and blue and your cabinets look more peach next to it. Same thing with the Brazilian Gold, I see more peach in the granite than caramel.

There is something about the Gold and Ivory and the Juparano Boreal that I like with your cabinet color. You say you don't want really dark but that Black Storm is WOW!

I finally stumbled upon a clearance slab of Costa Esmeralda that saved my sanity and my kitchen. You did a good job at the granite yard taking all those pictures of slabs with your doors. Keep searching on line for pictures of kitchens, because you are right, it is so hard to visualize the finished room with all the different elements.

Waaay to many choices and you need to start narrowing them down. Get rid of any that have a pink tone to them because natural maple can be pinky/orange (closing in on peach). I like the verde canyon but might be too much green.

tracee- Yeah! I love my cabinets too, but picking out granite is prooving much more difficult. The problem with where we went today is that it was out in the open and extremely bright. It threw off the colors of everything with that harsh sunlight and it was hard to envision it in my much-darker kitchen.

That's good advice, I love the caramel color in the cabinets that's why I was leaning towards santa ceilia. Turns out we don't like New Venetia Gold in person.

See, I may like dark, I just don't want it extremely dark or busy. We're going to another yard (this time indoors) tomorrow and may see 'the one'. Believe it or not, we saw a lot today but not much said "pick me!!" and there really wasn't enough choice once you eliminated what you disliked.

Of all of them, we've narrowed our favorites down to Santa Cecilia, Labrador Antique, and Crema Bordeax (really nice).

blfenton- I agree, I don't like the pink granites for my kitchen. The cabinet is really a true, beautiful maple color, the sunlight made it look peachy. Needless to say, I have sunburn from this trip!

Better luck tomorrow.

The one after Ambra Dorata with no name (pole on the side?) looks a lot like the Persa Avorio we are getting....the golden tan in it goes well with the maple without being too "golden" like a lot of the granites that also went well with maple. I agree with Traceee...a lot were too peachy for the maple. I also can't go too dark because I have a small galley kitchen with just a slider for light which faces north, onto woods no less. #1 and Tweed are too peachy. Verde and Labrador look nice, but you have to like the green and blue tones in them. Black Storm and "Gray" would look nice but may be too much gray if you are getting stainless appliances. My friend did the natural maple cabs with Kinawa granite which is a med-dark gray but she did white appliances...gray and natural maple do look great together. Sorry if I offend anyone, but Saint Cecilia is very common...lots of people have it...I wanted something different. Ambra Dorata is too washed out with the maple. Hope this helps....can't wait to see what you pick!!

Labrador Antique Vs. Tropical Brown Vs. Giallo Cecilia Granite

Always add the link to the optional Link URL and name it so it will be clickable so more people can view it easily without having to copy and paste the link into a a search engine.

Here is a link that might be useful: Labrador Antique Vs. Tropical Brown Vs. Giallo Cecilia Granite

Additional Granite Choices by the poster CherryBlossom99:

Here is a link that might be useful: Additional Granite Choices

I love the Verde Peacock. Brazilian Gold, that beautiful black Storm granite and Tweed with your Maple Doors form my monitor that may not be that accurate. Santa Celia I love so much but it was not working with the doors per my monitor's picture which again may not be what you see in person.

I love your three choices, fwiw the crema bordeaux really jumped out at me, and I like the tie in to the floors. All very pretty! Enjoy the process and don't let it stress you out - this is supposed to be the fun part! :)

The Brazilion Gold looks a lot like the Persa Avorio I have mentioned. I think it goes great with the cabinets. It really gets down to what tones you want to dominate since you have chosen granites where some across green, some come across brown, Some creamy, and some come across gray. Personally, I would not choose the real gray ones....too much gray with the SS appliances. But I also think you need a granite with a little gray to tie in the appliances. some of the brown ones have no gray. The verdes are nice if you like green.....the darker ones will be more dramatic, the lighter ones more airy.....it really gets down to the look you are going for....good luck! This has been the hardest decision for me along the way!

Thank you all for your comments!

We went to the 2nd yard today, this time indoors, thankfully with some more natural lighting. We found a couple we really like. We narrowed it down to 4! We're leaning towards the Kashmir Gold. *Important note*: It's not like the typical one you see that's very gold and gray. This one is more ivory/cream/some brown/some cranberry/garnet flecks and some white reflective quartz-y parts. We put our name on that slab and put a deposit but we can change our mind of course. The room is kinda small, I am hesitant to go dark or busy, plus it goes against my slight minimalism & clean, fresh look I want to achieve.

Here's the options next to my floor, door, and in the yard. It will most likely be under Halogen lighting + undercab. lighting, not fluorescent lighting like in photo.

Thanks for link advice.

Ignore strawberry jelly glob, we're just testing staining and so far so good.

Final note: Kashmir gold is hard to photograph, it looks much better in person!

Thanks in advance.

Here is a link that might be useful: 2nd Yard Choices Narrowed Down

Giallo Ornamental and Kashmir White were 2 of my final choices for my natural maple cabinets. Your Kashmir Gold is so beautiful and definitely will fit with your 'minimalism' vision. I love the subtle sparkle in it. GO reminds me of the coast, or the beach. You have two 'can't go wrong' choices.

You are smart to test the Kashmir. I have seen threads regarding Kashmir White being prone to staining--your Kashmir Gold may be a different animal and may be just fine. Try red wine or balsamic vinegar on the sample. Google 'Kashmir Gold staining' and see what you come up with.

Here's a link on Kashmir White and the questionable staining. Seriously, that Kashmir Gold is beautiful!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Is Kashmir White Stain Proof??

I liked the Labrador Antique 1st and the Giallo Ornamental 2nd. Depending if you want something light or dark.

The Kashmir Gold you found in the yard is beautiful! That particular Giallo Ornamental Granite is also so pretty.

I like the Kashmir gold.......wow....how were you able to get such large samples? I either couldn't get samples or they were so small they were basically useless.....very frustrating....especially when you are spending so much....

tracee, you just saved my butt and I am eternally grateful! You won't believe this. I took the two granites we narrowed it down to: giallo ornamental and kashmir gold and did a stain test. UM, WOW? I love Kashmir and it really let me down! It stained to high Heaven! And this was after 30 minutes, we were anxious to see results after noticing the red wine vinegar disappeared along with the lemon juice! There was still some surface liquid but look at the staining photos!

See photos below. I think we may go with Giallo Ornamental now. So glad I asked the question if we could switch! I will do a many hour/overnight test on the Giallo next.

See photos.... Thank you traceee!!

Joaniepoanie-They just had the large samples there. I refuse to not be able to get a sample, the second you bring it home it could look different esp. because my floors are already installed and un-mobile. I know what you mean! Lowe's had 4x4' samples, frustrating esp. given the fact granite varies so much.

Here is a link that might be useful: Staining Giallo ornamental vs. kashmir gold

Cherryblossom99, You will be happy with the Giallo Ornamental that is not only beautiful but so far looks like it does not stain easily. Thanks for sharing.

Oh geeze, wow, what a huge difference!! In some of the threads there is advice about properly sealing the Kashmir granites and some have had no problems. I guess it depends on how much you love it vs. the risk at this point. As I said, Giallo Ornamental reminds me of the beaches and coast here in New England for some reason.

I found this old thread from January of a person on the same search as you. There's some great pictures, including one of mine mid-construction (don't look at the mess). I can't emphasize to you how important it is to tear up the internet with your research...google, google everything!

You can see the peach tone in my new cabinets. They have darkened and are warmer and richer in color now - thank goodness! That granite saved my sanity - it's not for everybody, but it suits my home perfectly.

Here is a link that might be useful: old link re: granite choice for light maple cabinets

I am following your thread and love all the pictures you have up of your granite choices with your cabinets. Saving me some leg work!!! My first response up thread was the "light" Giallo Ornamental (as opposed to the dark that I have seen) so I am anxious to see what decision you come to in the end.. I also really love that Kashmire Gold. We have a 15 year sealer on our bathroom granite that seems pretty impermeable so would be interesting to know if it is just a matter of sealer? I like your taste and since I am looking for granite too for a similar color of cabinet I have really enjoyed your thread and also the older link posted above, that was great info! Thanks everyone and good luck Cherry Blossom!!!

lynn2006- I agree, it's really growing on me. I wanted super light with some shimmer, but I have reconsidered. I don't want anything remotely high maintenance. I talked with the granite lady today, she moved my tag from Kashmir Gold to Ornamental. I will pick out my slab this Friday with my husband. She said Kashmir Gold and Kashmir White are the worst offenders. She said the granite I sampled has 1 coat of sealer, when they install they put a 2nd coat. So far my Giallo ornamental is NOT staining even with 1 coat. I am now doing a 4 hour test with olive oil, lemon, raspberry jam, and mustard bbq sauce. The good news is kashmir was a little too plain for me, I wanted some movement, but I feared going darker. So far I am real happy with the Ornamental, I've looked at it 100 different ways. :)

Traceee, it's not worth the risk for me. Right now I have 30 year old laminate where if you get a drop of strawberry juice or fruit punch on it, you can't get the towel fast enough and it will stain. I can't go through that again, I understand all counters don't have magical anti-staining properties, even quartz, I will use a cutting board, wipe up spills and be careful. I will google everything! :)

gr8day - glad I could help you, I am a newbie to all this. I've had newer laminate and old laminate in my life. My mother had blue pearl granite and never had a stain, it turns out blue pearl is .05-.15% stain capability. Whereas Kashmir is .3-.5%. Giallo ornamental is .25-.35%. Anything below .2% won't absorb much at all. I'm willing to take a slight risk with Ornamental.

Will post photos of my current kitchen config. and how horrible it is to use, in a few minutes.

Some of the appliances are only 7 years old or newer like the fridge and portable dishwasher. We're going to sell them to recoup some of the bill. On the plus side, since half my kitchen rolls or moves, I will move the pantry, rolling metal cart, fridge, and microwave into the dining room for use during construction.

We really made the kitchen look fairly good, but nothing could change the function but a gut-job.

Here is a link that might be useful: Current Kitchen Problems

After visiting 2 granite yards, we visited the 2nd yard another time and found our selection that we really like. It turns out it's New Venetian Gold. It's honey colored, cream, ivory, brown, black, grey, and garnet. We had taken home a sample before and thought it was NVG, it was actually St. Cecilia (which was too orange and busy for us). This is the real NVG...it has garnet flecks all over and is gorgeous! There's a wild white/clear quartz vein that runs through it on the bottom right of the slab. I hope you all agree it's the one! And if all the NVG is eradicated in the Earth before our remodel, our 2nd choice will be Giallo Ornamental. :) We didn't get to bring a sample home to compare to the floors, but I think it'll work.

Demo starts next week!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Final granite choice

P.S. the garnet flecks pop a lot more in real life, did I mention granite is not easy to photograph? ;)

Cherryblossom99, I LOVE the New Venetian Gold slab you picked out and feel its perfect for your cabinets! Please keep us updated.

cherryb.,
where did you find those stain capability percentages?? did a search and couldnt find anything...any help would be great.

TIA

Here's one website with a limited range of info. My NVG is .32%, whereas Kashmir is .3-.5%, the higher the # the worse it is at keeping the liquids out.

If your stone isn't there, try googling your name of stone & "water absorption".

Here is a link that might be useful: Stone absorption

I have honey maple cabinets with tropical brown granite tops. Our slab is not the typical tropical brown - lots more gray/green in it, but they have been in 8 years and I am still really happy with it. I am not sure how to post pics here, but I would be happy to email you a pic if you like. kfhleaver@msn.com

CherryBlossom99, I have here two small samples of the New Venetian Gold since I was a cabinet retailer today and I was allowed to bring home several samples of granite counters. So far I am in love with the New Venetian Gold also. I love the two small samples I brought home that are warm with colors that look great with either white, off-white or the cherry doors I have been considering. I am still deciding so I have two doors here also. It is not too busy and it may be what I go with. My tile does not like yellow so that was my worry but it seems to not look bad with my tile I am using on my floors. The best one for my tile was the Giallo Ornamental but I just like the NVG sample I have her a little better.

Did you finally choose the NVG?

lynn2006- I could really see NVG working well with cherry doors. I don't like when granite is really busy, I want some interesting pattern so it doesn't look quartz-y, but it can't be overwhelming.

Both are good choices, it's hard for me too, and I am second guessing myself - as always. I'm pretty sure we're going to go with the NVG unless I have an indecisive moment, but my name's on it and it's 1/2 paid for. It's a hard decision, kinda like everything in kitchen remodeling.

I just wanted to thank you all for your comments. The remodel was completed last week and we ended up going with Giallo ornamental for our honey maple cabinets. It really is a beautiful stone! Durable in staining (from what I've read and tested personally), and just beautiful. Thank you all. Here's a photo of the granite!

Here is a link that might be useful:

We are in the midst of picking our countertop as well and liking the VGL. I found this description of it:

Venetian Gold Light Polished Slab Cream background with pale random gold and light brown highlights. Also known as Giallo Ornamental, Santa Cecilia Light, Ornamental Gold.