For quite some time now, granite counters have been the go-to upgrade and they'd become table stakes for any kitchen of a certain quality. And perhaps around 2006, the home I now live in got it's. The woman who owned my home loved the color blue. Oh how she loved the color blue. I mean... LOVED it!

I will spare you the details of the great blue exorcism of 2016. Suffice to say, one thing that remains is the Hawaiian Blue granite counter tops. To be honest, they aren't overwhelmingly blue, but they are dark. And in a house smothered by 32" eves, and 100+ year old mature oak trees (I have 2 acres and I don't own a lawnmower), I'm running a lot of lights in the daytime year round.

A few items which I am thinking about is replacing the floating hardwood floors with REAL (nailed and sanded) oak floors, leaving them white oak, and changing the granite counters to a MUCH lighter coloration.

So I'm wondering, is it MAD to think of changing our granite with granite to change the color? Does the existing (a lot) granite have any value? Thoughts?

I've added granite to a couple of different places, but never changed existing granite. If the blue isn't too deep, what about lightening the room in other ways? Paint cabinets white? Strategically move light fixtures? Take down one or two trees that might make a huge difference?

Over 17 years ago we moved into a house with ugly granite countertops in the kitchen. Black with flecks of brown in it that didn't go with any of the other colors the previous owners picked. Changing it out was our number one priority.

Well, we repainted the walls and ceiling to a color we like and put down wood-look LVP flooring throughout the house. After 17 years we've come to the conclusion that rather than spend the money to replace the countertops we'll just sell the house with it in a couple of years.

Ugly black is one thing, but Hawaiian Blue? You gotta post a picture of that!

Nope, your house, your money. However, I would not just rip them out. I'd salvage them and try to sell it. However, removing granite is a PITA!! It's just very heavy to move. I helped my dad years ago take some out of a friend of my mom's house.

Are you considering Quartz?

//Retired custom cabinet maker here.....If going to a lighter color (like white oak) real wood floor be careful to make sure that you get what you paid for.. Saw several homes that payed for white oak floors and or stair treads but actually received red oak or possibly a mixture of both but that the customer accepted the wood at a drastic cost savings or had the wood removed and replaced with what they payed for... Some people cannot tell the difference between different woods...... Painting cabinets /walls /changing lighting fixtures and type of lighting can also drasticly change the looks of a kitchen to make the room look much larger.,............... But at the end of the day you and yours have to live with it... And possibly could have a effect of ease or hinderence of a sale at a later date................................... drill sgt.

You know it’s glued down to the cabinets or an underlying piece of plywood.

As someone else mentioned I’d try and see if you can sell it, after removal

Granite is already passe

Quartz is the hot thing for countertops, we got ours in a white and love it. I never liked granite for how “busy” a lot of the patterns were and having to seal it.

With quartz, you pick the pattern or lack of pattern and your colors since it is manufactured and you never have to seal it.

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Originally posted by Tailhook 84:

Ugly black is one thing, but Hawaiian Blue? You gotta post a picture of that!

Yup, I was thinking the same.

quote:

I never liked granite for how “busy” a lot of the patterns were

And now, I've learned, we call that "movement". I may have gotten myself into a bit of warmish water repeating that phrase over and over, sometimes not even in relation to tile but wood, trim, whatever.....

I love the random inconsistencies of granite. Nature!

One of my buddies uses overlays to change the look of stone countertops, and has had good luck over the years with it.

link to an overview of the idea

I never got numbers but he said it was not as expensive a process as removing and replacing the entire countertop. That was years ago and might be location-dependent - he did this in CA, WA, and FL. But if the idea appeals and there are sources nearby, might be worth getting a quote.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Granite is already passe

Quartz is the hot thing for countertops, we got ours in a white and love it. I never liked granite for how “busy” a lot of the patterns were and having to seal it.

With quartz, you pick the pattern or lack of pattern and your colors since it is manufactured and you never have to seal it.

You also don't have to maintain the Quartz..

Good luck selling blue granite countertops. I'm having a hard time even imagining what they look like...

As others have mentioned, quartz has surpassed granite as the material of choice for kitchen counters.

Otherwise, people change their countertops all of the time. Definitely not mad to change them if you don't like them.

quartz,

Our pattern is calacatta gold, it remains on trend for the time being with the new kitchen refurbs.

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Originally posted by YellowJacket:
...I'm having a hard time even imagining what they look like...

Not as bad as one might guess, but dark and hard to tell when clean or dirty, which is a PITA because when you finish cleaning up and put thinks away, you see a spot of something on it.

Not terribly blue, more greys and silvers and blacks. There's a sense of blue in it. Pictures don't do it justice. There's a lot goin' on there. I prefer light tan/brown with flowing pattern and some colored bits in it (little burgundy spots). I love that pattern. I've seen it in a few homes.

I don't dislike it, but that's me. Honestly though, I see a lot of other things that make that room dark.

Those are grey and look quite nice, are you color blind?


My wife is color blind and I let her pick out tan-ish colored granite in our grey themed kitchen. I didn't know she was color blind at the time and neither did she. I added some trim pieces here and there to blend it in

Ha! We went from a blue laminate to a lighter brighter granite a while back. Pics inbound.

Haha! Yeah, there’s just a hint of blue really. More grey. They are just called Hawaiian Blue. I didn’t name it.

saving granite is next to impossible as most of it is glued down with silicone, selling it would be a long shot at best, if you are going to put real white oak floors down I would suggest ripping the cabinets out as well the latest trend around here is shaker style doors in rift white oak. I would also remove that head banger upper cabinet over the peninsula. put all new soft close hardware in using all the space and opening it up. send me some numbers on the your kitchen and I will design a new one for you .