Hello!
I hope you all had a great weekend! Fall showed up in full force this weekend, and I even turned on the fireplace for the first time. It’s all good.
I’m getting started with a new client kitchen project, and I’m really excited to see how it’s all going to come together. This kitchen is small but mighty, and we’re going to make it beautiful and high end by the time it’s all said and done.
Here are the plans:
- Paint the cabinets
- Build up the cabinet frames to the ceiling and trim with crown moulding
- Add finished panels to the island and exposed end cabinet
- Add new cabinet hardware
- New granite countertops and backsplash
- New stainless steel appliances
- New sink and faucet
- New paint color on the walls
I have been tasked with the cabinets, and was also asked to help with choosing the granite, backsplash and paint color. Since we’re tackling this project at all angles, it makes sense to choose the granite and then a complimentary paint color. That means visiting some gorgeous granite yards full of slabs of stoney goodness.
Suffice to say, I have learned my way around the granite warehouses in the area, and can tell you if you’re in Ohio, Columbus should be called Granite Row. There are several good sized warehouses that are all close to one another, so it’s worth the trip. Here is how the process works, if you’re new to granite purchasing:
- Find a fabricator in your area to measure so you’ll know how many square feet you require when looking at slabs. The granite fabricator purchases the slab from the wholesaler and then gives you the price to cut and install it in your home, based upon their measurements.
- Choose your slab(s) from the granite wholesaler (put them on hold so no one else can steal them away from you). Usually they will offer a two week hold period.
- Once you’ve purchased your slab, the fabricator will be the one you work with to coordinate the installation. Some fabricators will remove your old countertop and even do plumbing work, which is convenient. Definitely a question to ask when shopping around for a fabricator. It’s nice to have a one stop shop.
Let’s get to the good stuff – the slabs! I started out in Cincinnati, at Mont Granite. Great warehouse with a lot of options.
You can’t go to a granite wholesaler without licking ogling the marble slabs, right?
Absolutely stunning. You can see that at this wholesaler, they put letters on the slabs that indicate how expensive they are on a scale from A-Z. “A” being the least expensive and “Z” being the most expensive. So yes, this delicious Calacutta Crema marble was a wee bit spendy.
My client is looking for a granite that is reasonably priced, light in color, with white, gray, black and a touch of brown. Or a granite that looks like marble. That would be nice too.
Pretty, but too much brown, and a bit too much movement.
Some of the slabs are visually stunning – like works of art, really.
Then we came upon this lovely gem. Perfect! Not too crazy, light overall, perfect mix of black, brown, gray and white. And, it’s a “J”, so it’s mid-range in price. It’s called “Butterscotch”, even though it doesn’t look anything like what you would think a granite named “Butterscotch” would look like. We’ll take it!
But then we discovered it was already tagged. BOO! Talk about disappointing. We were on a mission to find another granite like this.
Unable to find what we were looking for in Cincinnati, I made a trek up to Columbus with a girlfriend of mine to seek out something similar. Granite shopping with a girlfriend is WAY more fun than going by yourself. We decided that we should be in the granite naming business after looking at so many slabs.
Take this slab, for example. The pattern is different from many of the slabs that we saw.
Upon closer inspection, it was almost like birds had hopped all over the slab with ink on their claws. So, we dubbed this granite – “Bird Fingerpainting.”
This one looked like your circulatory system…
This slab literally had fossils in it. Fossils. This slab looked like rockets in outer space, so we thought “Space Junk” might be a good name.
Check out this beauty! I have never seen anything like it. It reminded me of cells in biology class. We debated on naming it “Osmosis” or “Embryos”, and thought it could be used in the office of an ob/gyn’s office. 😉
I’m not usually one for crazy granite patterns, but this one was so crazy it was cool. I just love it. It would be so neat as an island or someplace where it could be displayed as a full piece, without cutting it. It’s like one of those ink blotting tests – you can find all sorts of things if you look at it. I see a Snoopy, do you?
This one should be called “Green Lantern”.
This one – “Sea of Anemones”.
This gorgeous piece should go in a beach house. Isn’t it beautiful? The photo doesn’t do the colors justice. It’s absolutely stunning.
How about this beauty? Is she granite or marble? What do you think?
It’s granite! It’s called “White Macubas.” However, don’t be fooled that it will necessarily be cheaper. It’s still pricey since it looks like the marbley goodness that we all want in our homes so badly.
But then, at the last granite warehouse that we visited, we found it. Butterscotch!! Aww, yeah! Put a tag on that slab!
We’re looking at using White Dove as the cabinet color – that will work.
In summary – let me share the places that we visited, with a little bit of commentary. For the purpose of this discussion, some of these companies have locations outside of Ohio, but I’m referencing those in the Cincinnati/Columbus area.
- Mont Granite – https://www.montgranite.com/ – locations in Cincinnati and Columbus. Good selection, and is where we ultimately found the second slab of “Butterscotch.” Didn’t offer granite samples.
- StoneMart – https://www.stonemartmarblegranite.com/ – located in Columbus. By far, the best selection of granite, marble and quartzite. Granite samples of some, but not all slabs.
- OHM – https://www.ohmintl.com/ – located in Columbus (but they have other locations across the country). Smaller selection of granite than some of the other locations, but they had slabs that others did not. I found a couple of slabs that were contenders if I hadn’t found the Butterscotch color I was searching for. And they keep a good inventory of their slabs online as well. A good amount of samples were available to take home, which is nice.
- IGM – https://www.igmcorp.com/ – located in Columbus. Selection wasn’t as good in comparison to the other locations. But, it might be worth a visit if you’re in the area, since they’re all located so close to one another.
- DalTile – https://www.daltile.com/ – located in Cincinnati. Good selection of granite, and I noticed a lot of marble slabs as well. Granite samples available for some of the slabs.
Have you been on the hunt for granite lately? Seeing all of these gorgeous slabs gives me a bit of granite/marble envy, I admit it. How can you not love that beautiful marble? It’s impossible not to touch it – I dare you to try and resist. 😉
9 Comments
Kris @ Driven by Décor
October 7, 2014 at 12:34 pmWhat a beautiful granite and it works beautifully with the White Dove! I think I've been to every single granite place in Cincinnati – Stone Statements is my favorite!
Andrea
October 7, 2014 at 3:35 pmI love the one you chose. Ours came from DalTile. Kind of wish I would have gone with something solid now. My granite makes me dizzy at times.
Lisa @ Shine Your Light
October 9, 2014 at 6:13 pmI cannot wait to go countertop shopping for myself. That might be my most favorite day in the history of days. The Butterscotch is really pretty…..and I totally agree with you on some granites being works of art. I don't know if I'd want them in my home but works of art and so interesting, yes!!!! That osmosis one – crazy!!
Amy Hunsche Hoinke
October 10, 2014 at 12:39 pmWow, beautiful granite! I love them and may have to venture out.
It is also great to see everyone sharing great places in and around Cincinnati!
Amy Hunsche Hoinke
October 10, 2014 at 12:52 pmI also have a great and easy tip for extending cabinets to ceiling. Ours were already 42" but did not extend to our 12 ' ceilings. I added the Rubbermaid laminate storage cubes, placed on top of cabinets, finished them off with moulding and crown moulding. On the outside sides, I covered with a sheet of beadboard. I also used wallpaper in back of cubbies and placed rope lights that can't be seen. It is a wonderful idea for stock cabinets and I can change out wallpaper. Good luck.
tony wu
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Maria John
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John Mathew
December 11, 2015 at 4:43 amWonderful idea and looking good, you can even try Granite Countertops, its really well and neat looking.
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