How to Coordinate Kitchen Counters With Colors

New counters make a huge impact.

Updating your kitchen counters will have a huge impact on the look of your kitchen. In addition, updating your kitchen may increase the value of your home. Deciding on the right counter is important. Counters come in solid surface materials, such as granite, tile, and manufactured stone, as well as other materials like wood and laminate. Your budget will help you determine the material you choose for the counters. Once this decision is made, you need to coordinate the counters with the colors of the cabinets, floors, and walls of the kitchen.

Things You'll Need

• Counter samples

Instructions

1. 

   Granite is a popular choice for counters.

   Obtain counter samples from a home improvement store or kitchen design center. Borrow at least 10 samples. Something that looks great in the store may look awful in the light of your kitchen. Give yourself a lot of options.

2. Line up the samples on your old counter. Make sure to lay the sample flat on the counter. You should be able to eliminate several samples quickly. Remove these samples to consider the others better.

3. Consider the remaining samples next to your cabinets. Eliminate any that are not pleasing with the cabinets.

4. If you still have more than one sample to choose from, lay them on the floor. While the installed counter will not be next to the floor, it should still coordinate. Choose the sample that looks best with the floor.

5. If you still have more than one sample put them back on the counter and consider them with your wall color. Unless you want to repaint, choose the one that looks the best next to the wall. This sample will coordinate with the cabinets, floor, and walls.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the samples overnight so that you can see what they will look like at night as well as in daylight.

• Always have the installer measure for your counters. You do not want to be responsible for calculation errors.

References

• countertop.com: Kitchen counters
• This Old House: Kitchen Countertops
• kitchens.com: Kitchens