Counter color

So it turns out that white cabinets give you more flexibility on counter color than with natural maple. At least it seems that way. Here is our current kitchen with Mint Green granite.

And here is a drawing of what the new kitchen will look like:

The more I look at things, the more I want a green stone again, even if it's not the most environmentally-friendly choice. Some say that quartz is better because it uses stone that is already mined; others say a mined product is a mined product.

In any case, I want something that makes my heart hum with beauty when I chop vegetables on it. I am making a lot of choices based on what is "Green" and what is healthiest, least toxic for my body. Here, I'm looking for the Ahhh factor. I want to infuse the everyday with something that visually reminds me of peace and higher purpose.

I love the Mint Green, but I think this time I want less speckle and more movement, more flow. And I want something that will give me the chance for at least some fun in a backsplash without feeling too competitive. Notice that you'll see the backsplash a lot from the stools at the island as well as from the dining table and family room behind that, in the addition looking into the kitchen.

It's stuck in my mind for months that my friend Paula said before we redid our current kitchen, "You want something that reflects light," not a repeat of the black counters that we inherited with this house, which I didn't mind. A lot of people do black with maple, but that's not the look we're going for. The house will have lots of green accents (and some purple here and there, like bathroom towels. No, they are not organic, but they are the color I want!)

So we're going light again with the counters, and I am leaning toward a green quartzite called Monte Bello or Mother of Pearl. Here it is next to a maple shelf and two green tiles just for a point of reference. One tile is the dark green we've chosen for the main level bathroom floor. The other is a Motawi crackle I just love but is something upwards of $40 per square foot. So instead of ordering it, I just carry it around with me to remind me what makes me swoon.

 After I showed interest in the Monte Bello, the sales rep at R. Bratti emailed the next day to say she'd gotten in a new quartzite called Sea Pearl, but I found it a little too blue/grey/cool.

 If we wanted to go quite light, Taj Mahal here is another option with small swirls of greenish brown:

Over at Architectural Ceramics the other day, we hadn't yet looked at these slabs and were trying to see what kind of tile would look good in the way of backsplash with a cream counter

 We became fond of the Trikeenan Boneyard Brick, which is a pretty cool recycled project. I love the texture, and the Tweed is a fun color.

I like it better than the Trikeenan Modulus in Bamboo pictured below.

We also wanted to see what might work with a green counter. The Costa Esmeralda is too blue, but it helped a little. Here are the white and offwhite Boneyard Brick stock colors (have to look up their names)

Here is a warmer Verde Laguna approximating the counter

Next step is to get a vote from the guy who is paying for all of this, and if he can conjure up a crush on the Monte Bello like the one I have, then we need to get him there in person and get a quote from the rep. Then, if those exercises go well, we can get a sample and take it back for some tile matching.

If this was the only thing I had to decide on this week, it would be a lot of fun.