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Have chosen Labrador Granite 3692 Formica for the countertop, and a neutral, like the floor tile for the backsplash... only glossy, so easy to clean.
I would like to see pics as well, can you pls send to me?
oops... how do I insert a photo...nothing is happening
Hi Katherine...I have an oak kitchen with Formica (Perlato) in honed finish and I really like it....I have posted a few pictures of my kitchen to give you an idea of how it looks:)My floor colour is very similar to yours & I find it looks good with the floor.
When we purchased our home (new), the builder had already installed
the honey oak cabinets, a cream with taupe flooring and the worst
'granite' countertops I could have imagined.
They are 'middling' - not light, not very dark, with, primarily, greys,
charcoal, a little white, a little pale blue AND .... PINK! ugh
Watch out for this, unless you like pink. It probably didn't reveal itself
so much in the samples, but sheets of it...aarrggghhhhh.
I like 'cheery' kitchens...warm and inviting. I'm so tired of beiges and
taupes, greys, slates and chocolate. The paint on our walls is the same
colour as our carpeting..some sort of 'silver sand', which,
out here in the temperate rainforest, looks taupe most of the time
and PINK when the sun shines.
Anyway, this isn't about me, it's about your laminate ... be careful out there!!
K :)
tjk....oh gosh i wish i knew it, i believe it was made by Wilsonart, i looked at so many online....sorry about that
smiles
janetc
smiles
janetc
Hi Janetc, may I know the brand and name of the second sample that you posted? Thank you.
That last sample looks a lot like the perlato I had. Same sort of colour mix and ratio.
i wish i had seen this one when we purchased our counter top, i do like our jamocha but i really like this one. French i think the one anrol posted would be stunning in your kitchen.
smiles
janetc
Take a look at a laminate called Mayan Granite (Formatop). I think it would give you a bit of contrast with the oak cabinets and it is a nice neutral. (taupes, grays, white a bit of black--no pinky tones) It almost looks like granite. We just decided on this laminate for my niece's kitchen makeover. Here is a pic ---
Try a darker chip like Jamocha instead of Butterrum, one is cool and the other is warm so that might have been why you didn't like it.
Wilsonart has a dark brown one called Milano Mahogany.
Formica has Himilayan Slate you might like.
Formica has Mineral Jet which is a charcoal gray, not as harsh as black.
Thanks for your ideas. I am going to look for some grey/taupe samples to see how those colors will go with my oak.
isey, I'd love to see a pic of your counter with the oak cabs, even though you said that it's mostly black.
janet, I guess since I have a lighter colored counter now, I'm ready for a bit of change and perhaps something darker will update the kitchen.??? I also think that with SS appliances the darker counter would work.
I remember a while back, I think it was tryntodecorate, someone who had oak and hated it but got a formica butterrum counter. I tried that chip but it didn't quite work for me.
Arizona, so you think a lighter counter is a better choice than a dark one? If I had all white appliances, I would go lighter for sure. janet posted some nice ones. I don't mind the counter being the focal point, less attention to those cabs from the 80's! Oh geez, I'm so confused!!
I was hoping to see some pictures of some similar kitchens for countertop ideas.
Thanks, DBD for showing me yours. The counter looks good, it matches the floor well.
So if you are changing everything except cabinets and appliances you can just start from scratch pretty well. How exciting.
The SS appliances will go with anything pretty much so that's a good thing.
I like grays and taupes with oak and which you choose is personal preference really or dependant upon what will look best from other rooms where the kitchen is visible. Try to pick the backsplash, flooring and countertop together with each other in mind. When the flooring or countertop are a shade or two lighter or darker than the other is creates better flow in my opinion, espcially if you have a smaller kitchen and the backsplash can be used to jazz things up a bit. I don't mind darker countertops but I find it does make things look choppy and makes the countertop more of a focal point.
When i was watching Christopher and Steven the other day, someone had wrote in with a question about counter tops for cabinets the same color as yours. Keep in mind thier appliances were white, so i could see thier reasoning, they suggested staying away from a dark counter top and go light in a speckled pattern, in shades close to floor color (balance) they also felt the black would be too much but again they had white appliances. They also suggested a white subway tile for backsplash, the counter they recommended had flicks of a slight green and was light in color. Now that being said we have the Jamocha with our Natural oak cabinets, white appliances and lighter colored floor, so we totally went against what they suggested :D however, if i knew that back then i likely would have taken that idea even though i dont mind the counters we have now, but it just makes sense. Here is some sample pics but i still dont think its the one they suggested, perhaps it may be on their website............i just went back and looked at your pic again and i see your floors are also light in color so your counter would likely look best in something lighter, as you can even see with your old counter top, you have a balance going on,,,
smiles
janetc
We just had ours done in a black with taupe through it. We love it! I know you said that you think it is too harsh but it would look nice with your cabinets and your appliances. Let me know if you want pics!
Here is a picture that shows the oak, present counter and flooring. The floor is a light beige tiled pattern but I will be changing it as well. Backsplash is cream colored and walls will be painted too. I'm starting with my counters but I just can't seem to find something that really strikes me. I guess I'm just very picky.
I was hoping to see some pictures of some similar kitchens for countertop ideas.
Thanks, DBD for showing me yours. The counter looks good, it matches the floor well.
boy the choices in laminate are almost endless. A lot of folks here have gotten the new etchings series that looks like marble ([url]http://formica.com/publish/site/na/us/en/index/laminate/collection/etchings_finish.html[/url]) The finish is great and very forgiving. I had it(perlato colour) in my last house which had the honey oak cabinets and totally loved it. The butterum is a nice one with oak too if memory serves. It comes in enough colours to give you lots of options and Wilsonart also makes a similar laminate. The one I bought had black, grey, taupe in it. The sample I had seemed quite different than when it was installed as I realized it actually had quite a bit of taupe but it was no big deal at all with the oak and still looked good. It also seemed to change colour depending on where you were standing.
I do think you have to consider what the floor etc. are and whether you want to enhance or tone down the oak. I wanted mine toned down and once there was taupe paint on the walls the oak really looked much less yellow/orangy.
If you can, take a door or drawer or whatever you can with you when you look at samples or bring some home. When you get closer to deciding, make sure you see something bigger than those little samples the stores have so there are no surprises. You can often order bigger samples or see large sheets if stores have them in stock for DIY.
Anyway, if it's any help, here is the only shot I have of it. You can't really see much being as I was getting the place ready to sell and the counter was covered with junk but it may give you a sense of how the grey/black/taupe would look.
:laugh: We need to know what colour your flooring is and what design if any.
What colour is the backsplash and walls? Is the kitchen visible from other sight lines in the house? Any photos would be helpful.