# Forum Home Renovation Kitchens  Stone bench top - Colour HELP!

## chookabt

We have just begun to pull apart our kitchen for an epic reno!  I think we have made a mistake going with the company that we have - A big home decoration supplier who has now turned their hand to kitchens...I am feeling that the process is very rushed and I am not getting a lot of support in my kitchen questions... 
Anyway! 
The theme in my house is black, grey and white.  My thought's for the kitchen are white gloss cupboards, mixed with some glasss overhead cabinents and either a light grey cementium floor tile or the dirty white. However, my issue is the bench top.  I initially fell in love with ceaserstone 'Black Rocks' (pic attached) but I also have a passion for white.  
Our island bench is 2.6m long with waterfall and the run of bench at the back wall of the kitchen is 5m long with the narrow window above it and above that white and glass cupboards.  I don't know if the 'black rocks' looks too intense or if a white will look too white!  
has anyone got any experience in using either?

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## Godzilla73

G'day, 
Black tops look heavy and bulky, they are also hard to keep streak free. I'd go a lighter colour, are you dealing direct with the stone supplier? Caeser stone have a higher end range out now which has some nice colours and patterns. If you're able to change id look at these too.

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## SabreOne

With your colour scheme, have you considered white top, greyish/silver cabinets below the benchtop and white cabinets above? 
I don't subscibe to the traditional theory that all cabinets have to be the same colour, and have had great success in our own homes, and compliments.

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## Cecile

> I am feeling that the process is very rushed and I am not getting a lot of support in my kitchen questions...

  I would be VERY wary of this.  If you feel uneasy now, it may only get worse as you progress through the renovation.  And if you have a ton of questions, you need to have them answered to your satisfaction so you can feel confident you're making all the right decisions. 
Re your colours:  We love a white kitchen for cabinets, as they will show the dirt and be easy to wipe off.  Personally I'm not a fan of black anything, and would likely choose a colour for the benches. 
As you have chosen a black white grey theme for the house, have you considered something outrageous in the kitchen, like a bright red wall?  You can always paint it again!

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## finger

Wow talk about deja vu reading this thread. 
We are halfway through our kitchen reno. Demolition and tiling complete, just waiting on Kitchen install. 
We also chose Black rocks benchtop, 2 pac white gloss cabinets and a light grey floor. The over hanging cabinets with be frosted glass cabinets. We haven't chosen the glass splashback colour yet but were thinking of a bold red or neutral grey. Its a U shaped kitchen. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks it should be finished and will let you know how it goes.

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## Cecile

> glass splashback colour yet but were thinking of a bold red

  The only thing I might caution you is that if you choose a red splashback and get sick of it, you're stuck.  If you paint a feature wall red, you can change it as often as you like (and your budget allows) 
I know a house that has a beautiful blackwood kitchen, with the benches and tiled splashback done in a bold, vibrant red.  It was all the rage in 1980 when it was new, but very dated now.

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## shauck

Careful of the colour you choose, it's like getting a tattoo. We picked a fairly vibrant colour but I think being a green, it was a bit safer.

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## BaysideNana

Just one short comment on the kitchen company you've chosen....if you don't feel comfortable with them and they won't answer questions, it might be a good time to walk! 
Colours are a personal choice, but the rental where I lived while this house was being built, had black benchtops in the kitchen and bathroom (as well as a black tiled floor in the bathroom) and it was a nightmare to keep looking nice.  Now I have Caesarstone Nougat which is a creamy/white with grey stone chips, although the sample I was shown had taupe/coffee coloured stone chips hence the reason I chose this colour.  Next time I will make sure the stone I choose is the 'actual' sheet that will be used.  Anyway, this bench is super easy to maintain, just a wipe over with a barely damp microfibre cloth and it looks great.  Cupboards are white gloss two-pac and floor is 600 polished porcelain tiles in an ivory/vanilla colour.   
It seems everyone has a glass splashback so I wanted something a bit different and bought 600 x 600 chocolate coloured polished porcelain tiles which were much cheaper than a glass splashback, although this wasn't the main reason, the idea was they would be easier to change in a few years if a colour change was needed.  Grout is colour matched and 1mm so hardly noticeable.  The laundry has white gloss cupboards and the same splashback, all up I only needed 10 tiles for both splashbacks.  Another option is even larger tiles eg 600 x 900 or 600 x 1200, although the tile shop did warn me these were much more expensive.  
You said you have a passion for white...why not have one of the white stone benchtops and have black or charcoal or black/??? large format tiles for the splashback, that way you have a mainly white kitchen with benches easier to maintain and still have your chosen colours. I've just remembered a large format tile when I was looking, that had a  black background with an embossed swirl design in a charcoal shade, it  looked amazing.   Then if you wanted to introduce a colour to give it some additional 'wow' why not add a red toaster/kettle/etc.   
Glass tiles are another idea for splashbacks but personally I wouldn't choose mosaics due to lots of grout lines, specially near the cooktop....but that's just my personal choice.   
Hope this helps?  It's hard choosing something that you will still like in 5-10 yrs time isn't it?     :Biggrin:

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## chookabt

Thanks heaps! We won't really have a splash back as it is a long narrow window instead (approx 3.4m long), there will be some small tiling to be done at each end, maybe at the centre if we decide to go with two windows instead of the one.  
We were really 'rushed' through the kitchen process. They had a 'kitchen sale' on and we went in for our design appointment and before I knew it, we had chosen colours and were signing..*sigh*. I think, from memory that their colour selection in terms of doors was quite limited.  Otherwise, I do really like the idea of grey doors and a whiter bench top.   
I am concerned about being 'too white' as we don't have the splash back and instead the window, so there is little opportunity for that feature to really 'pop' in the kitchen.   
Does anybody have any photos of a kitchen with a mix of coloured doors? 
Thanks again!

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## chookabt

I would LOVE to see your photos when it's installed and see how it is all going together!  I love the black rocks in the small tile, but am so afraid of it being in a big slab!    

> Wow talk about deja vu reading this thread. 
> We are halfway through our kitchen reno. Demolition and tiling complete, just waiting on Kitchen install. 
> We also chose Black rocks benchtop, 2 pac white gloss cabinets and a light grey floor. The over hanging cabinets with be frosted glass cabinets. We haven't chosen the glass splashback colour yet but were thinking of a bold red or neutral grey. Its a U shaped kitchen. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks it should be finished and will let you know how it goes.

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## BLWNHR

If you're going with a black bench top why not use actual granite? The cost is similar and it is far more wear, scratch and heat resistant.

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## finger

Its been ages since I last posted but our kitchen is nearly finally done, just a couple of damages panels to be replaced etc. We went for a more mild blue coloured splashback. Sorry for the crap picture

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