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.

We had Black granite for 10+ years.
Have now changed to white/grey
Much prefer it. Always looks clean, the Black was a bit meh.

I have black granite with farrow and ball shaded white cabinets. It looks lovely when it has just been cleaned - for about 5 minutes and then the specks and crumbs reappear like magic.
Grey cabinets and white counters are a much better plan (although the dirt will still be there....)

Black honed granite ( ie Matt black) is on trend as is white /pale colour ( shiny ).

Lived with black granite for 8 years in a rental property. Showed up every bloody crumb.

I was so delighted to buy white carrara quartz for my new kitchen. So much nicer!

We visited friends last weekend in their newly refurbished house. They have a medium sized kitchen with a lovely shaker kitchen and beautiful white granite worktops. It looked amazing, so bright, clean and stylish.

Black worktops tend to dominate everything in a kitchen, even if there are lovely cabinets and other details, the worktops are what catches your eye.

Ive black granite worktops and they are gorgeous, the depth of sheen is very elegant and expensive looking. I've no issue with smears or anything, I just use method daily granite cleaner, quick spritz and a wipe and jobs done.

I don't know how folks get limescale on them. Water would need to be sitting for a long while for that to happen if you think about it.

The units are cream though, and the walls a light colour too, and it's quite a large kitchen, so it doesn't make it dark and dreary, but of course lighter worktops make a kitchen look lighter.

On balance I'd go for black again and would thoroughly recommend it.

I have black granite with blue inclusions and speckles in a Neptune kitchen in a hard water area, and I am lazy with housework. Method granite cleaner works really well, that and a bit of kitchen towel makes the granite look like new. I don't find it hard work, it is beautiful and it doesn't show marks - had lighter grey in a previous kitchen and it showed oil marks and tumeric really badly. Only concern I would have for you, OP, is that my kitchen is also quite large and light, and I agree that it might close a smaller darker kitchen in a bit. Which was why we had light grey in the old house, which had a smaller kitchen, but then there was the staining issue ...

Those who struggle to clean their worktops obviously don’t have textured granite. You don’t get fingerprints or smears on a textured surface. I have black worktops with dark grey cupboards and a black floor, and I love it. Even the walls are grey. Scandi Noir is a huge trend and I wish I’d been slightly braver and gone for black cupboards instead of grey!

Mines not textured and i genuinely don't have issues cleaning it snd I'm no clean freak.

I think the issue is folks use the wrong stuff. As said, method daily granite cleaner works a treat. I simply spritz and wipe it off with a dry microfibre cloth and that's it. Takes seconds.

I think also the longer you use it, the more it protects it, so builds up a natural barrier also.

Yep used to do all that Bluntness100 but it doesn't stop finger marks and water spills.

Yes, I didn't struggle to clean mine - I just got fed up with having to do it so often. I had Black Galaxy and I kept thinking the flecks were crumbs.

I genuinely don't have an issue with finger marks, water spills are something else though, you have to clean them up whatever colour your granite is.

I have black and brown granite and don’t find it hard to clean at all. Although I’ve very low standards.

I have black sparkly granite and hate it. I compromised- DH wanted it- (I think the black idea was a man thing) . It's a small north facing kitchen, dark, and we have pale maple units. It cost thousands as we carried it into the small utility room too.

We have hard water, so the draining area is always covered in limescale and needs constantly cleaning. I would never have it again and also now I feel it's quite dated- we did it around 16 years ago.

Love mine - they're black quartz effect and the sparkly bits just make me smile.