Granite comes in various mottled shades that could either work well with your cabinetry or be a total design flop. To avoid an expensive decorating mishap, you’ll want to coordinate not only the two materials but all aspects and features within your kitchen. Because there are endless combinations — for example, wall color, flooring, window treatments and cabinet colors — to synchronize, take a little extra time and explore all your granite options.
In the end, the steps involved coordinating a countertop with your cabinetry and the kitchen’s other existing features will result in a choice that’s a smart-looking investment rather than a costly disaster.
1
Unscrew one of your smaller cabinet doors to bring it to a granite retailer. Also bring along a paint swatch of your desired wall color or picture of your existing kitchen wall color. Snap a few pictures of the entire kitchen capturing the flooring, window treatments, appliances, dining set, decor, artwork and any fabrics, such as chair seat covers, to take with you as well.
2
Scan the granite selection, which can range from off-whites to red, blue, green, gray, brown or black colorations to find a color weight opposite to the door’s color weight for contrast. For example, if your cupboards are dark, look for light-colored granite, but if your cabinetry is light, scout out darker granite shades. Alternatively, for a kitchen with light-colored walls and pale flooring but dark cabinets, dark granite could provide cohesion; it must, however, match quite well, so its natural mottling should contain at least some of the cabinetry’s color.
3
Hold the cabinet door, paint swatch and pictures over the various stone hues. Look for a stone that has some of the door’s color but also complements the flooring, paint color and decor. For the kitchen that has deep gray cabinets and striking red walls, either Imperial White granite, with subtle gray and black flecks, or crisp white Bianco Carrara granite would provide marked contrast while staying neutral enough to blend with any type of floor and decor.
4
Take a few choice granite samples home, if samples are available. If samples aren’t available, ask for pamphlets showing your top granite choices or take some pictures of your favorites using a camera.
5
Cover your old countertops with a white sheet or white paper for a neutral backdrop.
6
Lay the granite samples or pictures over the covered countertops. Examine them in your home’s natural lighting and under your electric lights at night. Pictures may not give a true or realistic look, but they will provide you with a good idea of the color and contrast within the space.
7
Compare all surrounding features of your kitchen to see which granite sample best fits within the space. But when necessary, repaint the walls and change out the fabrics to match the more costly and permanent features, like cabinetry, flooring and granite.