Granite worktop : what have you got/ what do you think of these?

[Anotherbook]

We are in the process of having a new kitchen fitted IKEA white gloss modern.

We are having limestone floor and a granite worktop and are struggling to come up with which granite to have.We thought possibly grey mottled or a mottled black.

Any thoughts.

Do want granite though.

[Madlentileater]

Have you considered slate?
it's lovely, cheaper, and can be sourced in the UK (assuming that's where you are)
I love it!

[LyraSilvertongue]

I think grey would look nicer with the red units.

[Anotherbook]

I like slate but do want granite though!

It is the white gloss IKEA one - sorry link shows the red gloss.

We had thought the grey but not sure if it is modern enough to suit the style of the kitchen and then thought maybe black but this seems to be everywhere with the white gloss at the moment so maybe this will date quicker.

Can't afford to make a mistake hence the dithering.

[LyraSilvertongue]

Not sure I'd go for black with the white units. Black granite seems a bit passe to me.

[Madlentileater]

also, if granite chips, doesn't it show, unless polished?
we have a few chips in our slate and not very noticeable.

[Madlentileater]

also, if granite chips, doesn't it show, unless polished?
we have a few chips in our slate and not very noticeable.

[Anotherbook]

That was my thinking too about the black LyraSilvertongue.
However I have seen it in a friend's house and it does look effective.

Any other ideas?

[MatNanPlus]

I have a similar black and am always thinking there are crumbs left on it, wouldn't choose it again.

[nowwearefour]

i have black and i love it. wouldnt choose any other colour.

[Turniphead1]

Rather than granite I would advise you consider stone composite. It is the same price and essentially the same product (except slightly harder wearing) - but the main benefit is that you get a massive range of colours, going from the natural beiges etc right through to primary.

I am an interior designer and would very rarely specify granite any longer for kitchen worktops (other than Kashmir White which remains a favourite). Lyra is right - if you care about such things , black granite has been passe for the last 5 odd years. The stone composite I use most for clients is Quarella - quarella website. In London the supplier I use is Rossi stone but it is widely avaialable. Silestone is another make.

[OneLieIn]

I have a nice creamy/light brown granite which works well and looks good. I wouldn't go black if I was you.

I bow down to everyone else's interior design expertise, mine is more luck than judgement.

[weblette]

We've just had a Zodiaq worksurface fitted to our kitchen. Price is about the same as granite but it doesn't mark or need any sort of treating - great for domestic slatterns like me.....

[Turniphead1]

Oh - and in my own kitchen I recently used Quarella " Blanco Arco Iris" you can see it here link but in real life the coloured chunks are a lot more - and really noticeable. It looks like tutti frutti and is fab! You can then pick any one of the primary colours therein for a splash back and really make something amazing out of a high gloss kitchen. My units are a mix of white and grey high gloss.

[Anotherbook]

Yes I can see why a glossy black could become a obsession to keep clean.

We liked the mottled grey because it wouldn't have this problem and thought it was a bit different but looking through lots of magazines I've only seen it in a couple of kitchens which were more traditional in style.

[Megglevache]

Wow it wil look amazing. Do you like cleaning? It will have to be buffed quite a bit- get lots of e cloths!

[Anotherbook]

Weblette, I like the light colour of your worktop.I want to keep the kitchen as light as possible although it is a large room as we have knocked through to the dining room to create a big family room with folding doors to the garden so we can spend lots of time here.

Turniphead I'm not sure how easy it would for me to get hold of stone composite and get it fitted out in the sticks.

Kitchen is already being put in so worktop will be measured in the next couple of days and I had found a local recommended supplier of granite who was very reasonable.I do think fashion has probably already moved on from granite but was attracted by it being a natural material.Would 'Kashmir white' go with the white gloss? Your worktop looks great though - would go really well with the modern look we are aiming for.

[LyraSilvertongue]

Thanks for that Turniphead, I didn't know such a thing existed. I like the idea of something that looks like limestone but is durable. We're hopefully getting a new kitchen soon.

[Turniphead1]

anotherbook you would be able to get stone composite anywhere I'd say, but not if you are under time pressure. Zodiaq is another good example.

But Kashmir white is lovely and would go with white high gloss. It tends to have some plummy bits in which wouold be good with your slate floors. Ask your guy to bring a sample when he comes out heres a link

[Anotherbook]

Thanks everyone.Would you have tiles or carry the granite up as a splashback.

[Turniphead1]

I wouldn't continue the granite the whole way up but do a 200mm upstand (your supplier will know what that is) and then behind the run containing your hob you may want to think of a glass splashback. They look fab and are easy to clean. The probelm with tiles (esp mosaic used it that setting) is that the grout gets discoloured from grease splashes (even if you seal the grout).

Check out London Glass Co. search products for splashbacks - plenty of other co.s do glass spalshbacks all over the country.

[wombleprincess]

have black on white ikea looks great, go for mottled though as we have pure black and it shows up everything! would personally go for an upstand and then either glass or just walls.

[fourlittlefeet]

isn't granite a pain with cleaners/lemon juice/vinegar/wine? or is that just marble?

[Anotherbook]

Turniphead we think we are going for the kashmir white.Dh got a sample today and it looks lovely - shimmery in the sun when it comes out between the rain.

The supplier does do stone composite dh said and they said white composite looks good with the white gloss but we do like the granite so will probably go with this.We are having a lightish limestone floor as well going through into the family area and hall.

At the moment the colour is in the accessories/rug which are plum but are easily changed if we want and not so expensive as changing a kitchen.

Hob is in the central island so will probably only need a small granite upstand on the side run of units under the window which has the sink in it also.

Thanks again everyone for your opinions and input.

[AnybodyHomeMcFly]

White sounds great - I was in John Lewis at the weekend and they had white granite in their kitchen set ups - v effective and cool.

[fymandbean]

we had Emerald Pearl at the bottom of this page.

Looks great (and it isn't green, but a mottled dark grey/black)

PS the company are good as well!