Choosing Granite for My New Kitchen Countertops

One of the hardest decisions in this whole kitchen renovation has been the granite.  I always knew I wanted white cabinets with a stained wood island but I couldn’t picture what the counter tops would be like.  Actually, that’s not true…I could picture marble in there but for our family and lifestyle (messy boys), I knew granite would be more practical and less expensive.

In some of my Houzz and Pinterest inspiration photos, I came across a granite called, White Springs.  It blended beautifully with the White Dove painted cabinets as well as wood floors.  Our granite supplier had a few slabs and I loved the colors in them – white background with a taupe/tan, black, and brown.

We needed 2 slabs but I wasn’t thrilled with markings in one of the slabs the supplier had so he called me when some new ones came in.  When my contractor and I went to look at the new slabs, the colors were very different and I just couldn’t picture it working.  We decided to take a look at the originals to see if we could make them work with the templates we had done.

Unfortunately, there were several splotchy areas I didn’t like so the only piece that would work for the island was this one.  I was hesitant at first (should have been a sign right there) because the black marks looked a little snake-like and also kind of like bird footprints to me.  Because I tend to be a little indecisive at times, I tried to be more bold by talking myself into embracing the black marks for their artistic quality.

I wished the island looked more like this piece for the bar/entertainment area but overall I thought I was happy with the layout.  The next morning I started feeling hesitant and texted one of my best friends.  I asked her to come with me to look at the granite again.  She agreed that the granite wasn’t what I would normally pick and advised me to go really bold with the island lighting to draw the attention away from the black marks.  Once again, I felt okay with my decision but over the weekend I started having doubts again.  First thing Monday morning I cancelled the granite order right before they were due to start cutting.  I just didn’t want to spend the rest of my life staring at something I didn’t love.

So to make a long story short…(much too late for that I guess)…I started shopping again!

I wanted to go with the general look of the White Springs but a little more subtle like this White Giallo Ornamentale.  (The original Giallo Ornamental sample I had at the top of this page was very brown and basically nothing like this in color…

Close up of a White Giallo Ornamental with my samples.
My cabinets are White Dove, the walls are Manchester Tan
and the piece of cherry is the island color.

 White Giallo Ornamental

White Giallo Ornamental

 White Giallo Ornamental shown with the White Springs sample piece.

Giallo Ornamental in better lighting.

Then I found an Ivory Ice at another supplier.  Very close in color to what I have been looking for…

 Close up of Ivory Ice

 Ivory Ice Granite
The black marks are more subtle than the White Springs bird/snake marks.

Ivory Ice

Then at yet another supplier, I found this White Ice slab…

 White Ice side view
It appears very gray but seemed more white in person.

 White Ice with my kitchen samples.

 White Ice Granite

White Ice

So, I plan to go with one of the 3 granite choices above:

1.  White Giallo Ornamentale
2.  Ivory Ice
3.  White Ice

Now I have to push myself to make a decision or else I’ll mess up the schedule…ugh.  After all, we’ve already made some major progress, and I’d like to keep moving along!  Time to go back and look at all my kitchen inspiration photos!

If you are following along with my renovation progress, here is the next completed project.

Or, you can skip directly ahead to see which granite we chose!

Which granite is your favorite?

 

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9 Comments

  1. I'm with you on the black markings in the first granite – that would bug me too. And I get how hard this is because every slab is so different so even if you like a particular granite, the markings and movement in each one is different. Colorwise I think they all look great with your cabinetry, so keep going until you find one that you are in love with!!

  2. Oh man, that would drive me crazy. I'd be looking for granite that mimics calcutta marble as well. I like the White Ice so far. Hard choices and such a committment I know. So glad you cancelled the first one if you had all those doubts-good decision. Best of luck and hope you can sleep at night soon! xo Nancy

  3. Lots of choices and they seem so similar. I have the White Giallo Ornamentale in my kitchen and I love it. It took my eye a little time to adjust to the pattern and variety of colors but now after 3 months of living with it, I just love it. My wall color is a soft sage green and dove white kitchen cabinets. Very pretty together. Good luck with your decision and go with your gut. You will know which one if the right one!

  4. I like the White Giallo Ornamentale. It seems much more subtle but has all of your other colors. The Ivory Ice and the White Ice both seem too cold and too busy to me. I know that photos can't possibly show the true colors, so my choice may be jaded by that. You might just have to go with your "gut." But I do think it's great that you are looking at many choices before making a decision.

  5. Granite is so hard because it can be very busy, have you been to flemington Marble to look they were so helpful finding me the right stone! I just did gray leathered granite outside it mimics soapstone and looks great with white. If you want to pop by and see it just hollar!

  6. As with all the colors you chose for your home, the White Ice Granite seems to be a suitable and smart choice; it would lighten your kitchen and give it a cleaner look. I’m also glad you didn’t get the granite with the huge black splotches, since they may not have matched with the rest of your kitchen’s them. Good luck!Agustin Holiday @ Cutting Edge Stone

  7. Its really great post you have shared, which is informative and knowledgeable. I appreciate your great work. Keep me more updates. Kitchen remodeling Austin

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