So, what type of counter to do? I love love love love love love love (enough?) carrara marble countertops with white cabinets. I just can't get enough:
All photos via my Pinterest
BUT. I keep on hearing that they are difficult to care for, stain easily (who wants to worry about every single drip of red wine?), and can be greatly affected by every day items like vinegar and citrus. I am type-a in most areas, including cleanliness, so staining would eat away at me. I would lose it if I invested in carrara marble countertops just to end up with:
or
In no time I would end up like this:
So...I have tried to find some inspiration photos with darker countertops, or those that look like they might be a lighter version of granite or another stone. Any tips, tricks, or suggestions are welcome!
These ones are light but seem to have a bit of warmth to them:
Photos via my Pinterest
11 comments:
i too love carrara marble, esp. honed carrara... your questions reminded me of this blog post, maybe you'll find it helpful: http://www.4men1lady.com/2011/08/marble-look-alikes.html
i haven't seen any of the types she mentions in person, but i think i will be look at them as i research counter options. i also love the look of soapstone counters with white cabinets, but i've heard that soapstone is also expensive and can be difficult to find.
I loooove white marble with white painted cabs. I have recently seen some amazing solid surface interpretations of carrara marble (and this is coming from the gal who's usually not a fan of things pretending to be stone!) - solid surface is way more stain resistant than porous marble. Good luck lady!!!
These pretty much sum up my dream kitchens! amazing white! :)
You should look into quartz... you can get one that looks a lot like marble but it's much easier to live with. We used it in my parents white kitchen and it turned out lovely!
what about concrete counter tops? I've heard you can DIY them, stain them any tone you'd like... but if you keep them basic gray, that might bring in the gray tones you had in your first round up of pictures? good luck with the decisions!
Booooo, I'm really sad to hear that my favorite counter tops too, Carrara, stain really badly. I never knew that. Do you think it really is true? I wonder if you were to get a certain gloss on them it could help avoid that. But, I'm totally with you, I don't want to worry about ruining my countertops every time red wine splashes on them....which would probably be frequently!
I love the wood countertop! Definitely look into a quartz countertop! Your dream kitchens = my dream kitchens. I cant wait to see more inspiration images from your blog!
What a great selection of photos! We just put in marble countertops, although originally I was looking into quartzite Luca di Luna (post is here: http://wickednweird.blogspot.com/2010/09/kitchen-update-countertops.html). I am actually really happy with them so far - we got an 'antiqued' finish on them instead of something glossy so that they will wear a little better and little marks won't show, and so far so good. But that quartzite is gorgeous too - I just couldn't find it in Toronto! As for dark, my folks have a dark granite and I find that spills and watermarks show up much more on the dark surface, although they sure look sexy in these photos!
I am also a huge fan of the Carrera marble but there are risks if you're not too careful. And you also have to maintain it every couple years. Instead, you could consider a different surface for the counters (I have and love Ceasarstone)and use a fabulous marble on your backsplash...
I think if I were to go for a counter top, I'd probably chose the easiest to care for -- something like quartz. Who wants one more thing to add to the list of stuff that needs upkeep. Black is always nice. But as someone said, maybe you can find something that mimics the look of marble? I'll be eager to follow along with this project.
Camille
the white tear drop lights in the gray subway tile kitchen--where do you find these??
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