Help with Kitchen Countertop Color for Log Home

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

We are building a new kitchen in our log home in the Southwest US. We have cabinets installed and we are trying to pick a color for countertops. We want to get quartz. Our appliances are stainless steel.

The kitchen is connected to a great room which has a large white kiva style fireplace:

Our log home has tons of natural wood color as you can see.

Our kitchen cabinets are maple, our log walls and ceiling are pine with a natural finish. Our floors are ceramic Saltillo/Terra Cotta style tiles:

A major dilemma is whether to choose a similar color or a contrasting color for the kitchen counters.

One way we are leaning is to Cambria Bristol Blue for a contrasting color:

And for a similar color we like Cambria Berkeley:

We would appreciate people's thoughts/ideas on our kitchen counter color dilemma. Any alternate color ideas are welcome.

Featured Answer

libradesigneye

7 years ago

The blond tones together with the abundant natural light will make your home sunny and bright. The quantity of wood means that pale yellow is a mainstay tone of your home.

How you mix this with other shades to produce a home that you love is part of the planning needed before you make this choice. For instance, in the primary living area, do you see shades of gray, yellow and white? Navy / blues? Red and white and black like a classic Navajo rug would bring? Several options abound, but they want to be thought out and then carried through. Tile backsplash is another area where accent colors can be brought in but not dominate the room.

The blue you propose as an option is not the turquoise of the southwest, but it is a classic cobalt talavera tile shade that evokes the area. If you love and plan to use a cobalt stove, or some talavera tile here or in other areas throughout with the same blue, then maybe, but it is a very specific choice that wants to be carried through.

With the long view, this would only be a good choice if you plan to use similar strong blues throughout the public rooms of the house as your major accent color, and acquire something with some significant cobalt blue in art to use on your fireplace .. add bright navy / cobalt blue serving dishes, linens, etc. If you love this, you can take it further, but you need to be deliberate about it so the result feels custom, and you likely need more professional decorating help now to do that. Not getting blue countertops doesn't dismiss the blue . . you might use talavera in the powder / guest bath, or use it over the cooktop. You might prefer a touch of blue rather than committing to it in a large way here.

The second quartz that blends with all the other elements is safe, but won't result in the final look that really befits the time and attention that you have paid to this home.

The watchword for a stunning kitchen here in the countertop is contrast. The watchword for sophistication is likely - elect a neutral.

For neutral contrast, a solid charcoal would pick up on the grout tones in your floor and set off the sunny yellow and white yet be neutral, so allow you to use a range of color in the future.

Soapstone would be a natural way to accomplish that, although soapstone is typically a bit more green gray and this wants to be a true gray, especially if cobalt is afoot in the décor. Below see a combo of black countertops and blue cobalt splash .

White is not a good choice here, imho, because it is only repeated on the fireplace (which can be repainted or clayed easily) and doesn't provide contrast. I would select the second blending quartz before I strayed to white. White will provide no oomph at all against the blond tones .. and you may soon desire to create more contrast with the wall area you do have.

Alameda Kitchen Remodel · More Info

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Comments (29)

User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
You are the victim of wood overload. And it is all the same tone that fades into each other in one brown blob. And then the floors are the same color too. Paint those maple cabinets, and do a counter that brings in the white of the fireplace. No more wood anywhere!
felizlady
7 years ago
You have grain/pattern/movement in the maple, pine and saltillo tiles. I would suggest simple white quartz counters in the same tone as the fireplace. You can bring color into the kitchen with accessories such as towels, serving pieces, window treatment, art or even canisters. We don't see the adjoining spaces, but if you have rugs and art there, select your kitchen accent color from the things you already have and love.
David Neal thanked felizlady
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PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
7 years ago
I am not a log home lover but I like that all the wood is the same tone IMO a nice green soapstone would be my choice then add what ever color you want for accessories
David Neal thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
PRO
WS Granite Tops
7 years ago
I would use soapstone
David Neal thanked WS Granite Tops
suzyq53
7 years ago
Can you find something very similar to the Cambria you posted, but with some white in it? Love your woody cabin vibe.
David Neal thanked suzyq53
calidesign
7 years ago
I think you need contrast to the wood, but I would go light rather than dark. Either solid white quartz, or maybe one of these from cambria, to tie in with the wood tones, and then use a solid white backsplash.
David Neal thanked calidesign
libradesigneye
7 years ago
Look at the maple kitchen pictures here and contrast all the different tops for the feeling you want .. .
David Neal thanked libradesigneye
skmom
7 years ago
I know you said you wanted quartz counters... someone else recommended soapstone and that would look beautiful. We looked into soapstone too but we couldn't find anything in our area that wasn't greenish. We ended up with steel gray brushed granite. It has some blue undertones and gives me the natural feel I had wanted from soapstone. It mostly looks dark neutral gray.
David Neal thanked skmom
David Neal
Original Author
7 years ago
@felizlady wrote: "We don't see the adjoining spaces, but if you have rugs and art there, select your kitchen accent color from the things you already have and love."

@libradesigneye wrote: "How you mix this with other shades to produce a home that you love is part of the planning needed before you make this choice. For instance, in the primary living area, do you see shades of gray, yellow and white? Navy / blues? Red and white and black like a classic Navajo rug would bring?"

Your both have gotten me to think bigger. I have native-american weavings and pottery that will be decorating the house. The Navajo rugs are in the red Ganado style. And the pottery is from various pueblos in New Mexico. Some very similar examples to what I own are below:
Credit: Mary Small - Jemez Pueblo

Ganado Red - Navajo Rug

Credit: U.S. National Park Service

So now I am thinking about how to incorporate these colors into our kitchen design. Thank you for your suggestions and reminding me to think of the big picture.
User
7 years ago
Then the logical color for the cabinets is a great barn red. Looks great with the wood. And a white counter.
David Neal thanked User
PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
7 years ago
I would go white Quartz all the way and give it a more Scandinavian rustic look..with all neutrals...gorgeous!

or a soft neutral granite or Quartz no dark colors.
Use dark colors like navy,black and red for accessories,pillows and throws
David Neal thanked Home Interiors with Ease
PRO
Aqua Kitchen and Bath Design Center
7 years ago
We agree that Cambria Bristol Blue would create a powerful contrast to the wood. If you want to go light and gentler, Bianco River would be a good choice. However, our choice would definitely be Rain Forest. This quartz seems like a perfect addition to a log cabin and will definitely help create hygge concept and feel to it.
David Neal thanked Aqua Kitchen and Bath Design Center
PRO
Envision
7 years ago
You will have a beautiful cabin. And cabins should have a lot of wood. I suggest either soapstone, more grey with not too much veining or all white to go with your fireplace. However I want to throw something different at you as well. Had this sample and it looks amazing with maple cabinets. Mainly bright white with recycled glass in amber and grey and white tones. It would tie everything together and give the space a little sparkle with all the wood. At the end you just need to see it in your room with your materials and light. Good luck!
David Neal thanked Envision
kjoy1
7 years ago
I love this one that Envision posted
suzyq53
7 years ago
Its very pretty, but not the right vibe for a southwest cabin. Back in the day, hand painted mexican tile would rock it. It still could.
David Neal thanked suzyq53
PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
7 years ago
I agree Kjoy1..love the light Quartz with glass bottle speaks in it! Keep it light
David Neal thanked Home Interiors with Ease
northface99
7 years ago
Agree, keep it light. You could tire of the blue quickly, unless you and your family love, love, love blue and as other have said, plan to use it repeatedly.
David Neal thanked northface99
PRO
Envision
7 years ago
Do I see an island to the right or is this a peninsula? If you have an island you could just do a different counter top on that all together. I still like the Amber quartz I suggested earlier. Maybe perimeter in that and island in a solid grey tone. Or vice versa. Your cabinets are Shaker style full overlay, maybe even frameless, hard to see, which gives your space a little modern/ transitional feel, not to rustic. You don't have to go all typical cabin, southwestern to make this place unique. Just follow what makes you feel good. We will never set a foot in it, but you will.
User
7 years ago
I love all the wood, it's a classic style. You want some visual relief on the countertops. The blue doesn't do well with the wood and isn't cohesive. The third photo shows a busier pattern. I would stay with a deeper colored solid.

Soapstone would look very cohesive and fit the log cabin vibe. As suggested, southwestern homes use Mexican/red toned tile on counters. The red would do very well with the gold tones in the wood.
David Neal thanked User
tedbixby
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Please do not pick the blue one. As it seems any log style home built before 2000 have either green or blue counter tops. Those counter tops look so dated! Much more exciting ideas offered here by the gang.
David Neal thanked tedbixby
David Neal
Original Author
7 years ago
We went to a Cambria distributor this morning and looked at samples of every color in the catalog. We then picked out the four colors that we liked best and looked at full size slabs. We looked at 2 of the white colors that were suggested here but neither caught our fancy. And we still liked Bristol Blue. But found a new color that we really liked: Blackwood.

Cambria describes Blackwood thus, "Flecks of gold, cream and blue glisten across a shroud of black, much like this village that sits atop Scotland’s picturesque Clyde Valley, where two rivers converge below. Dramatic, yet classically neutral."

To our eye the stone looks black but with hints of the colors of our wood and tile. The black is a really good contrast and the hints of our other colors seems to tie it all together.

How does this color palette look to other people's eyes?
PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
7 years ago
Disappointed..if you are going dark than just do black honed granite
David Neal thanked Home Interiors with Ease
leelee
7 years ago
Exactly what I was going to say (without the honed)....absolute black granite will be a good contrast with the wood without locking you in with a definite color like blue.

Black granite is one of the most dense and durable stones and also less expensive than quartz. It doesn't even need sealing.
David Neal thanked leelee
PRO
Home Interiors with Ease
7 years ago
The honed leathered top with give it a mat finish instead of polished and you won't see all the fingerprints and smears from wiping it down..also a more casual look with log interior.
David Neal thanked Home Interiors with Ease
skmom
7 years ago
I think it looks very nice with the gold flecks!
David Neal thanked skmom
PRO
Envision
7 years ago
Here are two photos with similar color cabinets and your Cambria choice.
I am not a big fan of black counters and most people I know regret choosing them later on. Nevertheless I think your choice looks nice.
David Neal thanked Envision
kjoy1
7 years ago
Did you see this log home that was recently featured on houzz...they used a local slate counter. What I like about it the most is the matte finish...
Middlebury Barn Renovation · More Info
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PRO
Envision
7 years ago
I love the matte counters as well. It just gives it that nice organic feel. I personally used a honed Caesar stone in Lagos Blue on my bar top and perimeter and a polished sparkly one for my main Island top. I love my honed top. In know my kitchen is completely different than yours, but you get to see my honed quartz.
David Neal thanked Envision