Thursday, January 26, 2012

Somebody get the smelling salts

I have just fainted from the awesomeness of my new 'Phantom Green' granite.  Like, it is absolutely incredible.  Nobody has granite like this, at least no one I know, so I am just about the coolest kid on this playground.
It's almost embarrassing how much I love it.
The veining is...a miracle of nature.
When these first couple pieces went in, I made a fool of myself with the installers there, taking pictures, jumping around, stroking it, oohing and aaaaahing. 
I love how every bit is different, yet the same.  This piece by the microwave area even has a shiny bit in the front that is so interesting, like a big crystal that got cut in half.
We chose a 'sueded' finish because I definitely didn't want polished.  Sueded (or leathered) granite has more texture and movement than other finishes.  While matte, there is still a good amount of reflection, and it's not as dull and smooth as a honed finish.
I couldn't get the faucet spout to stick in the hole with all the gobeldy gook on the end, so you get the sink, handles, and sprayer.  This sink is 10 inches deep!  It is the Kraus KBU14 30" stainless sink from here and I love it.  I was able to score an additional 15% off, so I paid just $170 for this 16 gauge sink.  At the granite installers suggestion, I went with a positive reveal of the sink and it looks flawless. 
For the granite edge, we wanted it to be eased and mostly straight, but with a slight rounding of the corners. 
Like all projects, we had some problems.  We ran into some issues with our uneven walls, specifically by the door....
And on that same wall, but the opposite end....
This piece is almost 1/2 inch away from the wall, so we will have to be careful when tiling.  Oh well, such is life in a 70-year-old house. 
If you are looking for this granite, it goes by a couple names....Phantom Green, and Aqua Grantique.  I couldn't be happier with our choice! 

We have 42 square feet of granite in the kitchen, it set us back $3590 total.  And I'd pay it again!  Well, not twice, but you know what I mean.

SO...
The new gas line is being installed AS WE SPEAK and range should be up and running in about an hour - holla to a home cooked meal!  And here is Lucius in the sink, because it's soooo funny and I would always find him here.  Too bad he lost his favorite hangout spot now that it's installed.  

43 comments:

  1. So gorgeous! It's hard to believe it's the same kitchen. You will definitely have to do a before and after post :)

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  2. I love it! The granite looks beautiful. I'm loving your bit by bit kitchen reveal. :)

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  3. OMG I LOVE it! Looks like soapstone (my weakness). Great choice! I'd be dancing around taking pics too :-)

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  4. Oh. My. Gosh. I love those green counters! I would never think green, but these are beautiful!

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  5. Yes! Yes! YES!
    I need a cigarette after seeing this post. And? I don't even smoke!

    Very pretty!

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  6. When I think your kitchen can't get any better... it does!

    Is it really green? It doesn't look very green on my monitor - it looks black with a slight hint of green. The veining is perfect.

    And your cat! My cat, Tala, is the exact same way. Anything NEW that comes into the house... Tala must sit on. It's like a sickness.

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  7. Love the granite! Can't wait to see the finished product.

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  8. holy crap those are awesome!!!!!!!! LOVE the finish!

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  9. So pretty, so lucious..what time is dinner?

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  10. Very, very nice! I've never seen that type of granite before either. It looks a little more uniform, for sure!

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  11. It's actually not green, totally black with a little bit of greenish and white veining. They call it Phantom Green because of the greenish tint the veining has.

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  12. OH, I like that granite a LOT! I have always liked light cabinets with dark counters. Very pretty.

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  13. looks fantastic! looks like you went sans-air gap. i think that's a good choice. it's so so so pretty!

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  14. It looks gorgeous! You'd think they would've caught the gap when they were measuring... they actually cut ours into the wall in a couple places so there'd be no gap. I'm not sure tile alone will cover 1/2", but maybe if you do a backer board as well?

    I love the finish!!

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  15. Sara it's BEAUTIFUL!!!! I'm so jealous. My dishwasher died and while I was hoping it would push the hubby into starting the kitchen reno - no such luck :( I'll live vicariously through your reno - which is AWESOME...

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  16. love the counters! you are so so close to being done!!!

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  17. Woo Hoo. I can totally picture you dancing around and kissing the counters in front of the installers. I have never even heard of a sueded finish. I love the texture.

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  18. Sara, I am DYING at how gorgeous it is... so I can only imagine how you must be feeling at this moment! You guys are ALMOST there!! :) YAY! We're getting to that point as well in our bathroom renovation and I couldn't be happier!

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  19. Gorgeous. I love how your kitchen is coming together. Is the granite really green or is that just the name. It looks black in the photos.

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  20. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say your counters are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. BAM.

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  21. Dude, I need to get our kitchen on your timeline! The granite is unbelievably beautiful, and that's not a bad price at all! You're going to have a total dream kitchen here pretty quick.

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  22. We had the same issue with the not straight walls (and our house is only 20 years old!). The tile backsplash definitely helped but there was still a small gap where it was the worst. However, since our countertops are white silestone and the backsplash is white subway tile, we were able to caulk it and call it a day. Maybe you can find some sort of silicone/ caulk that will pick up the color of your countertops and help disguise it? Looks great!!! Living through a kitchen remodel is tough, but SO worth it in the end.

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  23. This is beautiful! The veining really is perfection. So unique! The sink is really something out of my dreams!

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  24. That is a beautiful granite , I hate speckle granite , this is such a classy timeless choice . So jealous of your kitchen right now !!!

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  25. It looks SO GOOD! I love it all.

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  26. It's gorgeous! I love the sueded finish and the geode-looking bits are brilliant. You must be so excited to be so close to the end!

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  27. Wow! The kitchen is looking fantastic! The counters are lovely, too. And, congratulations on your pregnancy! A boy! Can't wait to see what plans you cook up for the bun in the oven.

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  28. Sara - looks amazing!! Congrats on your awesome counters. You are going to love those forever. That's a great price as well. We have honed absolute black granite and I also made a fool of myself when the installers came!!!

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  29. Definitely worth "oohing" and "aahing" over!! You are the coolest kid on the playground for sure! :)

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  30. Gaahhh! That's some gorgeous granite! I am so excited for you!

    Love that pic of Lucius. :)

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  31. Oh wow! That granite is perfection and I have never seen anything like it. Looks like soapstone which I think looks amazing.

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  32. Ahh I fell so behind on my blog reading this winter that I had no idea you were pregnant! I'm only a couple of weeks ahead of you and feeling your acne pain. Congrats!!

    ps- kitchen looks great too :)

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  33. Very pretty! Love those cabinets too. Like, a lot. : )

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  34. I love it! You are making me reconsider my counter top options -- was thinking white but now...wowza.

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  35. Looks amazing! I would be feeling it up too.

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  36. Hopefully you still get notifications on your old posts :) I know it's been a few years since you lived in this house, but were you happy with the granite after having lived with it for a while? We are moving soon, and our current kitchen has soapstone, which we chose and love the look of, but oiling it is annoying to keep up with, so I got lazy and stopped doing it. This has the look of soapstone without (I assume) all of the upkeep, so I'm curious if there were any negatives or maintenance issues for you? I'm really interested for my next kitchen!

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    1. Hi Emily, as you can see, I didn’t get notified! So sorry! We liked it, but there was an issue with metal making little silvery marks on the counter. I’m not sure if it was the leathered finish, or what. Our stone guy didn’t seem to care, so we just lived with it. Interested to hear what you ended up buying!

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  37. We actually just moved back into our reno’d Kitchen yesterday! We went a different direction and went with super white granite. Some places call it quartzite. It’s really beautiful!

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    1. Awesome! We put a white quartz counter in our basement, It is beautiful. I’m so glad you found a product you love!

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Thanks so much for reading....your comments mean a lot to me!
Sara