Looks like this is the place to come with granite questions! You all are great! I am looking at putting in granite but am having a terrible time deciding on the color. The walls are anjou pear (love it!) and the cabinets are creamy white. I looked at Santa Cecilia, gold leaf, and a few others in that range, but they seem too light. Ubatuba is too dark. The silver sea green seems beautiful against my black appliances and the white. What do you think? Will it look too green (doesn't seem to me to be green at all on a small sample). Thanks for any ideas!

Here are some links to a few colors that still have movement, but arent too light, and seem like they'd compliment pear walls.....just my opinion, though!!! Some of them vary so much that these pics are not fully representative, but hope this helps!!!! ( I just spent the last 2 months stressing over granite, too!)

typhoon bordeau http://www.italianstones.com/GRANITE-TyphoonBordeaux.HTM

crema bordeau
http://www.igmcorp.com/pGranite/cremaBordeaux.html
http://www.italianstones.com/GRANITE-CremaBordeaux.HTM

verde fire
http://www.marvamarble.com/GRANITE-VerdeFire.HTM

labrador antique
http://www.italianstones.com/GRANITE-LabradorAntique.HTM

amber fantasy
http://www.customgraniteandmarble.com/products/Granite/amberfantasy.htm

Mamalou and Muscat,

Stone advice.com has a black list of stones.
Labrador Antique is on there, so better choose another.
Here is the complete list:
Stone Fabrication Black List (as of 5/21/07)

Maron Cohiba
Labrador Antique
Delicatus
Sea Foam Green
Golden Ice
Sucuri
Honey Gold
Gold and Silver
Antique Brown
Negro Rosada
ghibli
kash white
kash gold
brown antique (kryptonite in there...snaps finger bits)
rain forest
borduex
corral reef
some rainforst material
all the indian juperanas
delicatus
gahriba beach
coral reaf
Mascarello
purple dunas
juperana golden
Aqua Grantique
Mantegna
Bianco Antico
Tropical Treasure
Amadeus
Geriba Beach
Oro Romano
White Spring
Matrix
Black Forest
Amber Fantasy
gold carrocca
Azul Macuba
Angelica Black
Metallic-it has gneiss, which is a striated metamorphic stone AKIN to granite
jurassic green
Copper silk
GENESIS

Go to that site and do a search on which ever granite you are thinking about. A few hours research will save you some trouble down the road.

Oh, so was Amber Fantasy. Ditch that one as well.

Darned, forgot something.
Be sure to aks for aliases as well, some stones are sold under many different names.

What is a black list for certain granites? I tried to go to that site to see why a granite would be black listed and I couldn't find anything about that. I had labrador antique put in a few months ago. I am wondering why it would be? It is being sold at reputable granite dealers.

As for the decision making.... I feel for you. I hated the whole process. Now I am suffering with the floor choices!
Our labrador antique is beautiful, but I do wish it weren't so dark. My husband wanted it very dark. I have 4 little boys and we are here all day long and it is hard to keep looking nice. When it is polished up it is very rewarding.... it is kind of fun to polish it! Best wishes! Jules

Thank you all for your replies! They are all helpful! It's just a lot to think about and process. Maybe I'll just stay with what I have -- that would be much easier!

Julesmarly,

I apologize. I should have posted a link to the black list. Here it is, although there are more after this list was posted. Read through the entire post or search using a stone name and black list.

SFA Granite Black List
thanks,
Al

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Carpenter Shop,

The "Black List" above originally began as a list of difficult to work with stones. It in no way should be construed (as The Carpenter Shop has done) as a recommendation for suitability for countertops.

Many of the stones on the list are very well-suited as countertop materials, but may be more fragile, expensive, of harder to process than other stones. If you research and select a reliable and qualified fabricator, they can help you choose a material and make sure that it gets installed correctly in your home!

Were that the case, Mark, why was the list removed from the public section this weekend?

If this information was posted to help fabricators make better countertops, why not keep it public?

How is the public served by yanking this info? I have been telling everyone here how good the stoneadvice.com is about being honest about answering questions on granite. I see topics debated over there that have formed my opinions on granite, but also use the info to build the best top I can. Customers don't always follow the black list anyway, but it is a heads up that trouble might be soon knocking on the door.

No doubt it is in the dark room now over there where consumers won't hear about it.

This is bad for consumers, period.