Most of the clients we work with are trying to bring their late 1990's- early 200o's Tuscan kitchen into the white/gray/cream updated kitchen of the moment. Many of them are also looking to update their backsplash, but keep the granite. One of my favorite color experts, Maria Kilim has coined the phrase, "Bossy Granite" and rightly so. She says there should really only be ONE busy pattern in a kitchen. If you've got granite with multiple colors and movement- That's your ONE pattern. And it's the BOSS. The Boss of your color palette for your kitchen.
If your are updating your backsplash, you've really only got one option when working with Bossy Granite- a solid color tile. My preference is white or cream subway tile. It's classic, timeless and it let's the granite be the boss without a fight.
Solid color tile is the ONLY option for most people trying to update their kitchens with bossy-busy granite.
While we are talking about backsplashes. If your granite was installed with the 5" granite backsplash on the wall-that's it. You don't need another backsplash. That is your backsplash. It looks wrong to install a back splash on top of that. I should know- I did it in our last house. As a matter of fact- I broke all my own rules before I had any rules. How do you think I learned them????
When NOT to install a tile backsplash. And HOW not to select tile for your granite
Dana's Rules for working with granite in a kitchen update
- If your granite has orange, yellow or brown- your cabinet color should have a touch of cream like SW Creamy or SW Navajo White.
- If your granite is black- you are good to go for a classic black and white kitchen. My favorite whites are SW Alabaster, SW Pure White, and Porter Delicate White. You could also use your white trim color.
- If your granite has a touch of gray- you can usually pull off "greige". My favorite is SW Accessible Beige.
- If you have Bossy Granite- use a solid color subway tile for your backsplash. You can use a solid color patterned tile like Arabesque, but those tend to get pricey.
- Your best flooring choice for Bossy Granite will always be a wood floor.
This arabesque tile works beautifully with these granite counters.
I love the arabesque tile in this kitchen designed by Karen Viscito.
Sometimes just a color change can make your whole kitchen feel updated without changing anything else.
BEFORE painting
AFTER painting. Same countertop-same tile
Tuscan kitchen BEFORE
AFTER- updated Tuscan kitchen with painted cabinets
Once you've updated your kitchen with freshly painted cabinets and a new solid color backsplash you can start saving your money for the NEXT BIG THING-- Quartz Countertops. Read what Kristie Barnett- The Decorologist has to say about Quartz Countertops.
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I totally agree Dana. Busy countertops, backsplashes and tile floors are like siblings who bicker. I can hear one of them say “You’re not tge boss of me”. But they will keep trying to be. It’s so true that only one surface can be the boss and they all need to “play nice” together.
Exactly!!! You get it 🙂
This post s really informative! I inherited a busy granite countertop with plenty of orange from the previous owners of my house. The cabinets are already a warm white and the backsplash a fairly solid brown colour. The walls, however, are a cool grey/blue! It makes the cabinets look yellow and the room look terrible overall. My gut instinct is to paint the walls a creamy white (like SW Creamy) but do I have any other options in the greige/taupe/beige world? I’d love to replace the countertop but it’s not in the budget at the moment!
You might be able to work with a color like SW Accessible Beige. It is a great bridge between beige and gray. If you want to send me a photo I’d be happy to take a look. Thanks for your comment.
We can’t take the dark ugly granite countertops and back splash in a house we are looking into buying. We’ve always wanted carerra marble. Does it stain easily though? I see it in some of your design pictures. The cabinets are a cream off white color. Do you think it would look ok with carerra marble countertops. If so what kind of backsplash would you recommend? Wish I could attach a picture so you could see it.
Thank you!
Cream and white play nicely together as long as it doesn’t have brown glazing in the details. You could Carerra marble in a honed finish. Be careful with wine and citrus which can etch the marble. I’d do a creamy/white solid color ceramic tile. It will be beautiful. Thanks for reading. 🙂
Love the rules for managing Bossy Granite. I bought a house with a small dotted granite tile countertop with brown, beige, slate grey, pink and red tones, which goes nicely with the Bossy Floor in a nature slate tile. I’m going through the process of getting the cabinets, backsplash and walls all painted white because I can’t take the noise anymore. Neither the granite nor slate tile floors will come up without doing damage, so I have to live with them for a while.
I’m so glad you found it helpful. Best of luck with your project!
We have existing white appliances and a bossy granite with shades of warmth with speckles of black. We are going to paint our cabinets white. What color white would you recommend? We were looking at SB pure white and thinking of a white backsplash. Unfortunately we were told we should go with ceramic floors since our wood floors nearby are about four years old and the colors would be a little off if we try to finish it with matching wood.
Just based on the information above, I would do a warm white like SW Navajo white. A bright white will be too stark against the warm countertops and tile. Best of luck!
This post (and your post on updating a Tuscan kitchen) have been a godsend! We don’t have the money for a full kitchen redo and it’s very inspiring to see that we can work with the bossy “faux granite” awhile longer. We have laminate that looks very much like the granite in the first photo above. Do you have any idea what color white/cream paint was used in the first photo (or any suggestions you can point us to)?
Thanks so much! So glad you found it helpful! Those cabinets are painted Sherwin Williams Creamy. Good luck with your kitchen. 🙂
I am moving into a new home with pink granite ( some specks of Black) and light wood/tan cabinets with white tile. I would like to paint the cabinets for a quick fix until we can afford wood floors. What color would you recommend for cabinets, would white be too close to the tile color?
What color is your floor? If the white tile and the pink countertops are working together, I’d paint the cabinets white too. Otherwise, I’d replace either the tile or the countertop. Best of luck to you on this project!!
The tile floor is white. It is large squares. I am hoping to redo the kitchen in a few years and gut everything. I was wondering what a quick fix could be so it would look more modern without spending a lot of money in the mean time. Would grey cabinets work?
I think a white cabinet is your best option.:)