Anyone got BLACK kitchen worktops?

[Clarabel22]

I am having a Neptune kitchen fitted, Suffolk cabinets and white with purply grey flecks granite worktop. I am about to pay for it and then cannot make changes without extra costs. I have a few days before I pay.

I fell in love with the kitchen in the showroom which was dove grey cabinets (a sort of warm french grey) with beautiful black matt textured granite worktops. I dismissed this at the time thinking black was too brave for my small kitchen so chose the white based granite worktop which is beautiful. The trouble is I can’t stop dreaming of the black ones and want to change my design to include them. The designer thinks white is better and will keep the space nice and bright. But I am not particularly bothered about this, although don’t want it looking really closed in obviously. Does anyone have advice or tips on having black worktops in the kitchen?

My kitchen is not open plan and not huge. The extension off it will mean no windows but we are having bifolds across extension so still fair amount of light coming in. We also plan to fit lights under cabinets and have led ceiling lights.

In a small space I would keep the lighter worktops. I think the designer is correct. I do have black flecked in a fairly large kitchen in my holiday home where the glare would have been too much with white because the windows are huge. Black in a small space is a bit oppressive and will make the space seem smaller, especially with no windows. I would keep it light.

We have black in a tiny kitchen and it's quite oppressive. I'd go lighter!

Thanks for the comments. It’s not what I want to hear but I think you have saved me from a mistake... :-)

Shiny black are hell to keep clean. It's a lifetime commitment.

I’m having black worktops in our new kitchen . Not solid black but shiny granite with streaks of gold and quartz. It’s only going on a (admittedly huge) island. But it will be in a large open plan space with a lot of light. Are shiny ones awful to clean are they? Fuck. I’m rubbish at cleaning. My current kitchen is all wood

We used to have black granite worktops. They drove me mad because they showed every fingerprint and I was constantly dusting them. Always looked grubby. We have light grey now which are brilliant.

Have to agree with the other comments. I have black granite and they always look smeared and never clean. Im always cleaning them. They were here when we moved in, and they do make the room feel quite dark. I do like them, but they wouldn't be my top choice if I could afford to redo our kitchen.

I have black granite worktops with grey painted cabinets and I hate them. I can't afford or justify replacing the granite (there's a lot of worktop) but if I'd had a choice black would have been right at the bottom. They're oppressive, even in a large kitchen, never look clean, and I just really don't like them at all. Stick with white.

I have dark/black granite and I love it. I have no issues keeping it clean and no problems with fingerprints*. That said I have a large open plan kitchen with loads of windows and natural light.

*Maybe I have lower standards than pp or my husband cleans more than I give him credit for. 😆

I have black but I have an open and sunny jkitchen. However I find it hard to get them to look pristine.

Mine in our holiday house a black but with specks. They are easy to keep clean and they are not remotely glossy. No finger prints I’m ever aware of.

I had black speckled granite worktops fitted about 7 yrs ago and now I hate them. They never look really clean and sparkly anymore and are always smeary. I waste so much time cleaning them. I’m going to change to laminate wood effect soon.
So my advice would be keep to your original plan and go for the light colour.

I have heard about shiny black being a nightmare to keep looking clean. The one I had my heart set on was a velvety matt black granite with a textured finish. Just beautiful :-(

We have black/brown worktops with grey doors and black cabinets. It's quite a big room and we will be tiling almost all of it in white to bounce the light around. We've also got lots of lights built in. The floor will be wood effect tile with browns and greys.

I love my black tops - they are a bitch to keep sparkly though because we have very hard water and you need to scrape the limescale off.

Hmm I did wonder about the limescale.

I have white quartz with a grey vein, it looks just like marble, and I absolutely love it! We came from a kitchen with a black worktop and hated it once we'd had it put on. White hides fingerprints and watermarks really well!

We’ve got black granite with speckles in our kitchen, it looks nice but it shows every finger mark I’m forever cleaning it, I’d have granite again but a much lighter colour.

Mine are black gloss laminate. I hate them and when I get a new kitchen I will be choosing a light colour worktop.

Yes, I agree w pp that they are hell to keep clean, even if they're speckly, if they have a shiny surface. Even water marks them.

Yes.

Black speckled granite. It was supposed to be textured, but then I thought it would be hell to clean and to roll pastry out, so I went for polished.

I use Lakeland Granite cleaner, it's really good.

Had black granite too . Loved the look but it s impossible to
Keep clean - you have to buff and shine and so difficult to clean without streaks. Don't do it

I really dislike black work tops a D matt work tops will show up every bit of water, grease mark, fleck of bread crumbs, finger print etc.

had black granite worktops in the last Belgian rental. Don't bother. Nightmare to keep clean.

I've got black granite with blue flecks in it which catch the light and is gorgeous. No problems at all with cleaning it. I use Waitrose granite cleaner when I remember, otherwise just give it a wipe over with the dishcloth.