Countertop Advice

Black is beautiful, but it shows every finger print. Just thought that it might help if you have children. I spend at least 20 min a day shinning mine. No fun- but pretty. LOL.

Sounds like you have my kitchen. Granite is a great choice just make sure it's not in tile form where you have grout lines on your counter. You want a solid surface. The grout will collect "stuff" other wise. We also have a stainless steel sink but make sure you shop for the ones that have "buffer" for sound. If your used to a ceramic sink you'll not be too fond of the "clank" that a stainless one can make when you drop a spoon into it. Don't go too cheap in this department but you also don't have to go super expensive. And they will scratch if your not careful. Also, make sure you have your sink picked out and purchased and available (like in your garage) BEFORE you have the counter top guys come and measure. They will need your sink's measurements too because not all sinks are the same.

My last piece of advice is to not get the Kitchen Aid Architect Series II down draft stove top. The stove part is nice but the down draft barely sucks. I have "direct" the steam and stuff towards it with lids and sometimes I have to take the vent cover off to try to get more suction. And again, you will need to have your stove top picked out and the measurements handy for the countertop guys when they come to measure.

Have fun with your new kitchen!!!
Jen
http://www.mommysjoy.com

I second the comment about black or very dark granite. It looks great at first but it does show fingerprints, waterspots and scratches. We remodeled most of our house a couple of years ago and the only thing I wish that I had done differently was to go with a lighter color granite. I do love my granite (just wished I had chosen a different color) and my undermont stainless sink.

Good luck on the process. Remember it will probably take the contractor at least twice as long as to complete the job as they originally estimate and the same goes with cost. It isn't that they under estimate but you will probably come up with additional things that you want to have done. When you are in the middle of all of the mess, remind yourself that this will be worth it in the end.

I just love mine, but we were still choosing the granite up until the night before installation. I would love one and then go back and not so much. that was the hard part.
They did all of the cutting on site and one piece was 1 inch too small and they installed it anyway. I had to call them back to re-install. Fortunately, they could add a piece. Rather than the stainless steel sink, we put in a granite sink. They are powdered granite mixed with a resin. I have a charcoal grey one and I love it. Home Depot and Lowes have them.
The formica counter sat on the wood cabinet which had not been stained so there was a 1 inch bare wood line which was visible after the installation. We had to get some wood stain and fix that. If you don't want the counters to be higher after installation, you might want to see about having your installer remove that much of the cabinet base which also mitigates the need for staining.
Make sure he leaves the cutouts for the sink and the stove. you paid for them. Then take them to a place for polishing. My installer took them "to polish" and I never got them back.
No problems with the downdraft.

Whatever color you pick has to coordinate with walls of rooms to which it opens. In our case, family room and breakfast room so keep that in mind.
I am glad we did it. Still looks great 3 years later. Clean often, all crud on ours is invisible. You know it is there when you run your hand over it. We have Typhoon Green.
K.