My Favorite Entry Level Granites (& Some Kitchen Progress!)

Hey guys! I wish that my absence from the blog over the past week could be explained by some fabulous summer getaway (Bora Bora?!) but the real reason is as unglamorous as it gets. I’ve been buried in a haze of paint and cleaning products getting our old house fixed up so it’s ready to hit the market next week. It already looks sooo much better than it did when our renters left last week and the best part of our home’s makeover just started – a quickie kitchen remodel. We’re refacing our cabinets, changing out some of the appliances, and replacing the heinous countertops with granite. All in five days. We’re two days in and there’s already a huge improvement. The old battered thermofoil cabinet doors and drawers are outta here,

 

and the new maple cabinet doors and trim around the top and bottom of the cabinetry are starting to be installed. And if all goes according to plan, on Thursday we’ll be saying goodbye to our ever-so-lovely mint green Formica countertops…

 

They’re being replaced with granite, which I picked out on my last visit to Cincinnati back in early May. Since this isn’t a “dream kitchen” remodel (it’s more of a “let’s make this kitchen a lot prettier so we can sell our house quicker” remodel), we are working on a budget and sticking with an entry level granite to keep the cost in check. It’s pretty crazy how much the price can go up when you jump up just a tier or two on your granite.

And while of course I would have loved to have walked straight to some drool-worthy slabs of carrara marble and slapped a “mine” label on them, sticking with an entry level granite turned out to be more doable than I had thought. After visiting a few granite yards, I narrowed my tier one granite choices down to three favorites that I think would all be great choices for a kitchen remodel on a budget. The first of my favorites is New Caledonia (also known as Oyster Pearl) – it’s great for neutral-loving peeps like me since it includes shades of white, black, brown, and gray.

Another great option is New Venetian Gold, which is one of the most popular granites out there.

So which granite is getting installed in my kitchen on Thursday? Black Pearl was the winner! I think it’s going to work best with the simple, clean lines of our kitchen and the adjoining family room. And I’ve always loved this amazing kitchen on Dear Lillie where Jennifer’s parents used Black Pearl granite with white cabinets – isn’t it gorgeous?!