This is the other granite we already had decided on...

With the high price of granite, I don't want to make the wrong decision...

Another picture...a little hard to see without seeing the whole slabs, but it has the overall appearance of soapstone which I love. It's not super shiny and it def isn't something you see all the time. Both of the granites in question are considered to be in the "exotic" range which to me only means "expensive". Not quite as expensive as the blue Lemurian though...LOL!

If you're asking which one we like better, I vote for the green one, no contest. It does have the soapstone look and I think it would be stunning with cherry cabinets.

As for second-guessing the decision, my advice would be to try not to worry about that. It's your granite and it's a rather permanent decision. Sure you might get some eye rolling if you are still reconsidering, but that is preferable to feeling like you didn't make the right choice.

Go with the green--just my opinion.

Love the green!

The green granite and cherry cabs sound like they would be just beautiful together.

They are both great. But the green one looks like it belongs with your other choices. Not that the other wouldn't look nice, but theres something about the green that has a harmony with your choices.

green.

I vote dark green Costa Smeralda !
I have soapstone with cherry "coffee" bases, the less busy the better. It will look great with cherry.see article. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: article

Oh yes, the green!

You sound just like me. I think I made at least 5 trips to the granite yards over an hour away.

Lemurian Blue. Once you've seen it, how can you not buy it? The bs will have to be very quiet, but I'd choose it in a heartbeat, and I don't even like granite.

Green.. Really gorgeous.

Is the LB similar to Volga Blue (or possibly another name for it)? I had VB in my last kitchen and really loved the look of it but I did have a definite disappointment - the gorgeous cobalt blue chunks were difficult to see when the stone was horizontal (which countertops obviously are). The blue chunks showed way, way better when we picked the slabs while they were 'standing up' with the good warehouse lighting. We had to have the under cab lights on, sun shining in the windows and THEN we might see some blue without having to search and point them out. We used VB for the full backsplash and you COULD see the blue much easier on that since it was vertical. Hope this makes sense!

Thanks to all the "green" lovers...I am really there too!

EAM44...Well, this should please you...and as it pleases me as well I'll share...my granite guru has two 1/2 slabs of this beautiful amazing semiprecious granite...I am going to be putting this in my half bath downstairs in the half bath in a 30 inch vanity. Ive been there at the granite yard five times, each time...had to pried way from the Lemurian Blue so he offered me a once in a lifetime buy on this. I will be posting pictures if your interested...

3mutts, yes, you are on the money. This is more precious than Volga blue, it's from a new quarry, has a lot of Laborite in it, however, I thought the same thing about seeing the cobalt as you experienced with the VB. We would have to have the house lit up like a Christmas tree, plus perfect LED lights and stand on our heads if we wanted the blue to show up all the time. It is a beautiful granite, but we didn't want to work so hard to enjoy it. I so understand what you are saying!!! This one shows great at the yard, not so much in the kitchen!

Update on the granite..went to see my final choices. my granite yard just got this in...slabs of Blue Astral Big flower version.it's an ungodly expensive price...
2.5 times the cost of my chosen slab of Dark Green Costa Esmeradla..this is my chosen slab.

I thought I had my mind made up, now I am feeling the twinges of doubt again. DH is 100 percent on board with the Dark Green Costa even though he wasn't a fan of marble/soapstone like granite when we started this venture. I feel like I'm just going on a sidetrack here as my home is a small cape cod and would def be a better host to the Dark green.

Oh and and no I can't afford these slabs of Blue Austral...I'd have to rob Peter to pay Paul. Oh and roll pennies, get a third job...why am I feeling like this???

If I hadn't been called down to the granite yard yesterday I'd be a ok.

PS>I am getting a small piece of Blue Austral from this same quarry that had been mined many years prior that can't be found any longer that has the tiny flowers for my half bath and I'm thrilled with that.

This is the blue Astral...girls at the yard asked me why I was taking a picture to torture myself?? well, it was right beside my piece...LOL

I love the dark green costa. Best of luck, granite selection is so difficult. We purchased 3 slabs of Paricema White now I'm thinking honed Jet Mist. I also really wanted soapstone but was scared away because of the softness.

I am a huge lover of 'bling' and the blue is gorgeous.... and you are getting some for the bathroom so you're not missing out.

The Costa slab is STUNNING. Even if they were the same price, and even with my love of 'bling' I would still go with the green, especially with cherry cabs. It's so, so gorgeous. Go for it - I seriously don't think you'll regret it, but only you really know! Good luck!

Stay strong. The green is the right choice, which you already know! I totally love the green slab. It has the same softness that you see in soapstone but without the fragility. It's a perfect choice!

The flashy blue is oooooh and ahhhhh, but honestly I don't think it would look good in a kitchen, particularly not with the Cape Cod style.

I agree that finding another use for the blue is key. That way you can still have some bling for fun.

All that said, if you can't sleep at night for deep want of the blue, then maybe you ought to reconsider. But it doesn't sound like that. It sounds like normal indecision on what is exciting vs what will really work in the long haul.

berlingirl: I like your slab better than the one 2x the price! It is gorgeous! And to me looks more like soapstone than the blue. Do not look back! Go forward with peace of mind! Costa Esmeralda is the best choice for you. And not to mention that weird spot in the middle of the blue- is that a reflection or is that part of the natural stone? Not loving that.

See? I'm with Laura.

That reflection on the stone is natural. It is in fact one giant crystal which is why it reflects as one plane. Those same minerals also reflect the blue color (labradorite). It is highly interesting but gosh it is busy for a whole countertop.

Love the Costa! We went to about 10 stone yards before we found our slabs of Seafoam green. If we had found such stunning slabs of Costa, the search would have been over so much sooner. The ones around here were much lighter and had more blue in them, sort of a light, soft aqua color. Would look spectacular in a bathroom, but it wasn't what we were looking for in the kitchen.

I think the green will look fabulous with your cabinets, and you get a little piece of the other granite somewhere else. Please post again when it's installed.

This is the Blue Astral that I'll be using in my half bath. It is almost translucent when polished. Just incredible. Never have seen anything like it and the yard says it's very rare and they will probably not ever see any like it again. It's not like the Big flower I posted above. It's from the same quarry, but was mined years before the the big flowers.

mcocean- googled your white and it looks like a great stone with movement. What are your plans?

hobokekitch- your right it is blingy and the green is amazing. Plus I actually like the other blue astral a bit better.

Karin mt- blue is a semiprecious stone and agree that my kitchen will be better off with a green that will work better with the wood and the style of the house. I too loved the bling factor!!

Laura15- I know, you look back, you go back. It's a saying for a reason!

AnnaC54- yes, I can't believe how many trips I've made back and forth to the yard there. Not much around here. So it's 1 1/2 hours in each direction. I know every inch of the place. It's unique, the guy who owns it travels around the world for his pieces and he has about 4000 on site. Crazy inventory for an out of the way yard in a rural state. Please post a picture of your Seafoam. would love to see.

I will post my results also!

Picture from the yards office of their blue astral counter top and how it is translucent.

That is beautiful stone, and you are so clever to have found a way to get it into your house. Well done. You must have great granite karma to have found so many outstanding options! Keep posting pics.

Berlingirl, my Seafoam green is shown toward the end of the "outlets in the backsplash" thread. You've probably seen it before.

Here is a link that might be useful: Outlets thread

Thanks EAM44, not feeling clever...the granite guy was here yesterday and said that installing the small piece in the 1/2 bath for the vanity is not ideal as it is only 21 inches and the backsplash will have to go behind it and not on top of it which is how he likes to see things done. He did say he would make it work.

Thanks ou AnnaC54, your Seafoam green is beautiful!!!