Ultimately, I really want it to look like the countertops in this kitchen -- the granite has a pretty small pattern and their are veins of a bluish grey that run throughout. I think that it is very on trend with backsplash ideas 2022 but would still last us for years and years before it began looking outdated.

I never imagined that granite colors would be such a hard thing to pick out, but goodness gracious there have to be hundreds and hundreds of different options. Even more, each of these options have their own unique nuances of color and patterns so it makes it nearly impossible to match all of your design elements from floors, to backsplash design and kitchen paint colors. I know that I want a granite like this that has a lot of tans and browns in it in order to match our dark wood floors. But I haven't been able to find one with this same soft color palette. I have found a couple of kitchen countertop ideas that could work in theory, but I think that they are darker than what I would like. I still want the muted shades that this granite has.

From the day that we moved in, I have loved everything about this kitchen except for the granite colors. The place feels very open and spacious, but those dark brown and black countertops really darken it up and make it feel less cheerful and welcoming than I am wanting. Unfortunately granite countertops cost quite a bit of money, so I am weighing how much it really affects the design before I commit to making such a large purchase. That is why I am positing on here. I would love to get outsider perspectives (maybe even from any designers that frequent this site) on if you think we should go ahead and swap out the kitchen countertops or if we should just make do with what we currently have.

I am trying to get past the selection of granite colors that are usually available and embrace how classic and durable this material is for kitchen countertops. I much prefer the look of marble to granite countertops, but marble is such a pain in the butt to actually live with because it stains so easily and you have to be extremely careful with how you clean and maintain it. If my kitchen were just for looks and not to actually be functional, I would probably just bite the bullet and go with marble. But I cook a ton, so I don't want to have to be super vigilant anytime I am prepping on my countertops. I do really like how this shade of granite looks against their off white kitchen cabinet colors. I could definitely do something like this if I could just find the pattern and colorway.

When I first started designing our kitchen, I was so turned off by the granite colors that they had at my store that I didn't think I would use that material for the countertops. I figured that there had to be better options that would still blend okay with our beige and tan kitchen colors. But, alas, it seems like granite is really the only countertop material that can actually blend well without costing an arm and a leg. I love the concept of marble, but the grey palette clashed terribly with the other elements of our kitchen. Some people told me that tile was an option, but I would not even consider it because of maintenance and cleaning. I settle on this pattern, but then got more creative with backsplash ideas for granite countertops to offset it a little bit. Now I actually love how it looks!

My friends thought that I was crazy when I told them that I was going to mix granite colors on my countertops and island. They thought that it would make the kitchen look super mismatched and unfinished. Boy were they wrong though! I love the contrast that the granite kitchen countertops bring to the design, because they really balance out the light and dark cabinetry. I think that a black countertop paired with black cabinets on the island would have been too much, so the lighter tan shade really brings balance to the design. I chose to do this to bring some a little bit more unique to one of the classic trends in kitchen cabinet colors 2022, but I am sure you could recreate the same concept no matter what style your kitchen is.