Venetian Gold with Apron Sink

I absolutely love Venetian Gold. It is an affordable granite with fabulous warm earth tones that anyone can decorate with! My client chose to use an undermount stainless apron sink. The cabinets are not quite finished, but you can see the unique design and appeal of the stainless sink in this application. 

The appliances in this kitchen are black and stainless that tie in the black from the stone, and the stainless steel of the sink.

The distessed look of the wood grain on the cabinets also gives this kitchen some unique character and charm.

This customer was careful to lay out their kitchen in such a way that there would be no seams required. We do a beautiful seam, but if this is a concern for you, consider simple layouts that don't require seams.

Venetian Gold 3cm with Apron sink

This is a beautiful Venetian Gold 3cm granite with a waterfall edge. The colors compliment the white cabinets beautifully. We did a 4" backsplash on the walls to keep the backsplash below the outlets, and then a 6" on the island to make it full high and flow from the bottom to the top! 

This house has a cast iron apron sink which also ties in the white cabinetry and white appliances. I love the dark wood floor, light cabinets and medium color stone. Very lovely, and blends very well. This customer will enjoy this for years to come!

Dallas White Granite Flat Polish Edge

Dallas White Granite is fairly new for our area. The requests for it have grown immensely because people are looking more for colors in whites and grays more than creams and golds. This is a great less expensive alternative for a white and gray stone. 

The customers for this kitchen were careful in their cabinet layout. They wanted to make sure that there were no seams in the granite and made the island smaller to make sure that it would not have to be seamed. 

The Dallas White Granite looks great with the white cabinets and the stainless single bowl sink. They picked a flat polish edge which keeps the clean straight line look in this kitchen!

Exodus White Granite

 This was a beautiful kitchen done in Exodus White Granite. This granite has a beautiful blend of whites and grays. It also has a splash of cream and burgundy through it. It looks great with white and brown cabinets. It keeps the room looking fresh and light. The veining through it is dramatic, but not so dramatic that it takes away from other beauty in the room. The client was very pleased with the way this turned out, and so were we!

This is done in a 3cm chiseled edge with a 4" backsplash. It has an undermount 60/40 stainless sink and a cooktop. they also added a small piece in the pantry with the amount that we had left. This was a great use of stone, and a good kitchen layout.

Chiseled Highbar

This was a really fun project! The customer chose a Venetian Gold granite with a large vein of Dallas White Granite going through it. The two tones and the chiseled edge gave this kitchen a rustic appearance. The home was country style with wood window trim. The accent of the stone was incredible! The undermount stainless steel sink also matched nicely with the stainless appliances. Love the variation in the stone!

Simple Yet Sleek Kitchen

Using granite in your kitchen does not have to be expensive. This is a basic color, which adds elegance and design to this vacation condo. The earth tone colors allow you to decorate with a wide range of paints or add a splash of color with towels. Using a burgundy or navy accent in this kitchen would draw a wow factor to an already sleek kitchen style. The white cabinets give a clean feel and the granite ties in the beautiful hard wood flooring. I would recommend doing a full high tile backsplash to add some pizazz, or an antique finish on the cabinet doors.

Granite for your Kitchen!

 A trend I have been noticing is people putting granite or quartz of different colors in the kitchen. For instance, the stone on the outer walls of the kitchen may all be in a solid stone color, and the island in an exotic granite or marble. This is a fun new look, and allows the customer to be very creative! I am just cutting the stone for my showroom, and will be utilizing this fun trend. Using a dark brown Cambria Quartz, and beautiful Lapidus granite for the island. When doing this, you can also use different edge profiles.

The above picture shows a lapidus island, similar to the one I will be putting in the showroom, but the other countertops for this trend would be in a solid dark chocolate quartz to tie in the chocolate of the island.

Stay tuned for pictures of the new showroom stone next week!

Estimating your Granite Job

In order to determine the square footage needed for granite countertops, draw the kitchen and measure the back walls, and front of the counters. Square footage is determined by multiplying (in inches) the length times the width, then divide by 144 to get the sq. ft. When multiplying the width, make sure you add about 2 inches for granite overhang.

Backsplash should be measures the same way. For instance, if you have a 48 inch cabinet and want backsplash on the back wall of 4", you would take (48 x 4) / 144 - 1.3 sq. ft.

You can then take this sq. ft. and multiply it by the square foot price that the shop offers for stone and installation. Other costs would include undermount and topmount sink cutouts, cooktop cutouts, outlet cutouts, and the such.

Exotic Granite Countertops

Golden Lapidus

Jupurana Bordeaux

Tyramasu Granite

Ocean Fantasy

River Bordeaux

As business has picked up, we have completed some beautiful granite countertops! We would like to share some photos of some June jobs completed. Interesting to note is that people are beginning to buy exotic more expensive colors. During the recession, our customers almost all only purchased discounted or basic colors of stones. We have seen a change this year to customers choosing more expensive stone and being more concerned with getting what they want, then getting the least expensive color of granite.


Also, we are doing more whole houses, including tubs, steps, vanities, and fireplaces! Granite in a home is a great way to make it very custom and natural.

Granite vs. Solid Surface

When purchasing countertops it is often difficult to choose between Granite or Solid Surface such as Corian. Let me preface by saying that our shop fabricates and installs both Granite and Solid Surface countertops. Each have their pros and cons. I also should admit that I am pro-granite and as such, my post will most likely come across a little biased.

The main benefit of Solid Surface is that it is seamless. The seams are heated together, and are virtually invisible. Also, the countertops can be re-surfaced as the scratches become prevalent. The main cons of Solid Surface is that it scratches easily, and melts. We have replaced many Solid Surface Countertops that have warped over dishwashers, or under crock pots. We have had better luck with the actual Corian product, rather than a knock off brand.

Granite's main benefit is that it does not scratch or stain, and heat does not affect it. While we recommend using coasters, I have set many hot pans directly on my stone and have never had an ill-effect. I haven't tried it with glass, because I know you must be careful with glass and temperature or it could fracture. The granite stays looking new for much longer than Solid Surface as long as it is taken care of correctly. The main con of Granite is that much of it should be sealed every couple years. However, if Quartz is used, Quartz does not need to be sealed.

Chestnut Zodiaq Quartz desk

If you really like to uniform color and look of Solid Surface, Quartz can offer the same color tones, with all the benefits of granite.

Budget Bathroom Remodel

Sometimes a great way to change the look of the home, for a less expensive price, is to remodel the bathroom. When it comes to the granite, quartz, or marble, most often a remnant can be found to put on the counter top. Choosing a remnant often gives the customer a more expensive stone, for a lower price. Most granite shops sell the remnants at reduced prices.

Some of my customers that are particularly handy will install the counter top themselves. We can template and fabricate the top, we even have the sink adhered to the stone, and the customer can pick up the top and backsplash with some silicone and put the job in themselves saving even a little more.

If you do not want to install the top, we have installers available to install. Also, bathrooms are often smaller and can be fit into an otherwise busy schedule, allowing the customer to not wait as long to get their project completed.

Budget Kitchen Remodel

I love before and after photos, but can't get my guys  to remember to take enough of them :)!

Home remodel is a huge part of our business, and it is my favorite! It is so fun to go into a home and change the kitchen and baths to modernize the home, or just to change it up!

One option when remodeling the kitchen is to simply change the countertops. This kitchen had a white solid surface countertop, and we changed it to a beautiful Juparana Bordeaux Granite countertop. This customer kept her original cabinets, floor, and even her sink! She was able to save thousands and still dramatically change the look and feel of her kitchen! She is very happy with the end result.

This can be done in baths as well, where granite remnants can be used saving money on stone, and re-using sinks and faucets save hundreds of dollars.

This small re-model takes less money, less time, and less stress. We took out her old countertops, installed the new ones, and even hired the plumber to re-hook up the plumbing! The install only took one day, so she was only without the kitchen for 1 day!

Large remodels are also fun, but they take more money, time and planning. If you have a budget, but want to make a dramatic change, countertops are a great way to do this! It also has been shown to increase the value of the home when changing laminate or solid surface counters to Granite, Marble, or Quartz.

Fun Kitchen Ideas