I would pick a warmer neutral with veins of blue/grey and warm brown all together.

Cate, I'm thinking you mean the Taj Mahal? I added pic descriptions above for clarity. Thank you for your feedback!

I'm a fan of Taj and that slab is beautiful. I do like the colors in the Blue but I don’t like the large veins.

Kendra makes a good point about how it should be fabricated.

What is a “rustic amber island?”

Shasta, it is a "rustic" hickory with amber stain, so medium coloring with knots, light distressing.

As you know hickory has a lot of color variation. I think it’s especially important to have a hickory cabinet door with amber stain when you are looking at countertops. Both slabs are beautiful on their own but there is no way to tell what will work without that door.

Maybe you're ahead of yourself?

Show the existing space, show the remodel plan. Show the surrounding areas. The one with the feet, inches and appliance locations. Yup the boring flat on paper plan in two dimensions only

That. is. the. single. most. important .aspect of a remodel.

After that? Yes finishes, the creamy of cabinets, the flooring, all of it.

Frankly, when I think of a rustic setting, and as many woods as you will have? I think soapstone, organic, warm to touch and great with creamy anything and wood.

However? Plan and function are first.

Hickory has bossy knots. And the Taj might work better with them than that absolutely gorgeous Blue! Yes, you need to have an actual piece of cabinetry with its stain when you make your choice. I think there might be too many elements in your kitchen—-pine ceiling, trim, LVP floor, hickory cabinets—-to add another pattern. Jan Moyer’s suggestion of soapstone might be lovely….

Jan, no, i am not a little ahead of myself, thank you. Here is ”the. single. most. important .aspect“ you requested:

Here is the current kitchen:

On my phone ( ugh)

but I’ d look at changing some of those lower door base cabs to drawers!

So much easier acces for pots pans you name it! Beats any pullout by a mile.

The only good place for lower doors?

The sink:)

And back to the original question, countertops? Lower cabs have drawers/mixer stand, etc

For me? Neither above, really. I would do soapstone. : )

You don't need this many stars in a kitchen

Ceiling.......knots, rustic, the hickory especially which may well have a fairly busy look etc. All aligning nicely with the rustic nature of the rest and the locale.

Tops are but one element in the kitchen.

I have to say that I think the current kitchen is beautiful! I would just change the countertops and take away the curtain, wooden valance, and wallpaper above the window.

Taj Mahal is way too elegant a stone to fit into the existing envelope of your home.

I agree that a more casual stone like soapstone or honed Uba Tuba might be a better choice. Your cabinet door selection selection is also not appropriate for your home.

You selected items you LIKE, not items that WORK in your home.

I wouldn't spend good money on changing perfectly good cabinets, but I'd boost the countertops & appliances.

Either slab would look good. I think first love the stone, then start thinking of its internal qualities (is it too busy or not busy enough, is the pattern too big or too small, what about the colors, etc) and how they will look in your space. Since you have a lot of wood and the ceiling is wood, you might consider offsetting the warms with something cooler, like pale blue-gray backsplash with the Ijen Blue Quartzite, not sure what would work for the Taj Mahal. I think your white cabinets will accomplish some of the toning down of the wood and will brighten the kitchen, although I can see J. Mig's point about the current kitchen looking pretty good with a few minor changes (floor for me in addition to the things mentioned). Good luck!

Here’s Taj Mahal with a rustic kitchen.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/hc24-remodel-rustic-kitchen-phvw-vp~184389914

Take a look at Jet Mist honed. It is perfect with the variety of woods you are planning. Very nice look at lower cost. Sometimes called Virginia Mist. Shop around the slabs vary from gray tones to deep charcoal almost black. Beautiful stone.

BeverlyFLADeziner, quite a few of the pictures you shared actually appear to show "Taj Mahal-like" countertops in the rendering and is a look I was hoping to achieve.

Flo, The soapstone/mist honed material is definitely worth considering, but again, I feel the space is so dark, and I've had "black" counters in the past and HATED them. I do like the subtle interest in the renderings you've shared, and I'm hoping the brighter perimeter cabinetry will increase light in the space.

J.Ming, the current cupboards are "fine" but the configuration for the kitchen is changing to accommodate new appliances and we've always said when that time came, we wanted to add an island and get rid of the annoying cuboards (the doors have the "extension" on one side so you have to open the doors "in order" to access the correct side). The flooring cannot be placed in the house until all of the footprint modifications have been completed as it will be a floating floor.

Shasta, thank you for the Taj in a rustic kitchen. I know the cabinets are wood throughout, but I think it demonstrates the understated aspects of Taj!

Those counters are NOT Taj Mahl and as you can see they were not installed on White cabinets.

The cabinets were olive green or medium to dark wood. That makes a huge difference with all the wood you have in your kitchen.

are you doing the same stone for the backsplash?

Great lighting plan is your answer to bringing light. But your choices and what you can find locally.

Taj. The blue seems like ud get tired of.though marble/quartz prob never go out of style.

Taj. The blue seems like ud get tired of.though marble/quartz prob never go out of style.

Taj. The blue seems like ud get tired of.though marble/quartz prob never go out of style.

Has anyone cautioned the OP who plans to mix LVP wood look floors with real wood cabinets? This is a huge no no IMO. I’d post the exact sample of the floor you are considering paired with the exact cabinet finishes you are leaning towards and then and only then will you get a best countertop recommendation.

I think your floor plan could be a bit better.

All lowers should be drawers for a start.

If that's a prep sink on the island, where will you put the unwashed produce before it goes in the sink?

Pull out drawers on either side of the stove look like a good idea but they're really not. Wider drawers on either side with the dividers inside that you need would work better.

If that's seating at the island, it doesn't look deep enough. Seating overhang should be a minimum of 15" deep.

I'm the outlier as I prefer the Ijen Blue. To me Taj while beautiful is so overdone already.

cpartist, I agree with it being extremely common/trendy right now, but I do like it's understated simplicity, especially with the different species of wood. I think it would bring a cohesiveness and simplicity to the space.

It was common 8 years ago when I did my kitchen. I think it’s just classic.

cpartist, I agree with it being extremely common/trendy right now, but I do like it's understated simplicity, especially with the different species of wood. I think it would bring a cohesiveness and simplicity to the space.

I tend to like more pizzazz but it's your kitchen and that's what is important.

However, I stand by my comments about improving the layout.

Do what you love. That is key while considering all the pros and cons.

cpartist, I am confused about the prep sink comment about "where the unwashed produce go?".

The lower cabinets have rollout drawers. I prefer that personally for some items. I have had both options and I incorporated pullout cabinet drawers vs drawers into the kitchen based on what I plan to utilize in that space.

The countertop seating overhang will be 15". May not be reflected on the rendering.

Thank you.

Your prep sink is on the edge of the island. Normally when we take produce out of the fridge, we place it on one side of the sink, then rinse and then move it to the "clean side" of the sink. You only have room on one side of the sink to place stuff.

As for the lowers having rollouts, what items do you think won't fit in drawers? Below are my drawers. All are 3 drawer cabinets.

First pic is my ice cream maker in my lower drawer with some baking items. Fits just fine.

This photo is my Cuisenart, my blender, etc also in my bottom drawer.

Why would you lose storage inches to put a roll out drawer behind a door, when you could have one nice big drawer, while at the same time avoid!! giving a brand new kitchen a dated appearance with too many door faces?

Both the plan and the elevation are difficult to see well. Post as fully blown up jpegs would be better

I prefer the Ijen Blue Quartzite. Taj is nice, but so neutral, that it can create a sea of brown and cream, with no way to escape! The blue one is not overtly so, just subtle enough to add color and contrast, without being over the top. Especially if you are thinking hickory, the more dramatic blue will help pull in the rustic hickory. Taj doesn’t do well with rustic elements in my opinion. Lastly, remember when looking at slabs, you’re looking and 60sf, straight up in your face, vertically. So the drama is enhanced. Once its installed, you will be looking at usually 24" deep pieces, horizontally. So it tones way down from how you see it in the showroom

Cate, we will do a tile backsplash at a later date.