apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

My galley kitchen has granite on the island and counter surfaces and a tile backsplash. Would it be possible to replace the tile with granite? Would it be reasonable to expect the granite place to do the installation as well, or would I need to find an independent installer?

I've seen a few other units in my building where the granite continued all the way up to the bottom of the counters and I thought it would be a nice upgrade, if it could be done at a reasonable cost.

any contractor/fixer-upper person can easily replace your tile with granite. the hard part is matching the granite if you don't have any more. maybe you can find out the source from whoever did the finishes in your building? whatever home depot charges for material and installation is probably what you could expect to pay. i'm guessing between $50 & $60 s.f.

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Kathryn, places that sell granite should also be able to install it. Prices will vary depending on how complicated your needs are--you may want to have some stone contractors come in and look at the job to give you an estimate. Art's right that matching can be an issue, but the types of granite used by developers are usually abundant and not anything rare. Again, a place that specializes in stone is more likely to be able to get a match for you than Home Depot, if matching becomes a problem.

Oddly enough, we're planning the opposite change in our kitchen right now--removing black granite trim from our backsplash and replacing it with lighter tile. (Our kitchen is dark and the black granite just makes it worse.) If you end up having real trouble matching your stone, or if it ends up being too expensive to do right now, other modern-feeling backsplash treatments include stainless steel, sheet copper (uh, probably not cheaper than stone, though), cork tiles, glass tiles, and those groovy resin sheets that were featured here the other day.

I am putting up a row of french doors in my living/dining room. 1 single door will house a media room, 1 pair will be a closet, and the final single door will be at the hallway - all on the same wall plane. Since all will be french doors with clear glass, does anyone have suggestions with covering the inside of the french door glass in order not to see the media or clothes hanging inside the closet, but keeping the hallway door clear. When the doors are closed , I don't want them to look too different.

Any suggestions - fabric, paint or anything else?

To Kathryns Backsplash comment:
Getting a stone to match a "developers" counter, shouldn't be too difficult- just bring an image to a Stone Merchant (International Marble on Grand/Sacramento, in Chicago has great prices). To add to "dianas" comment- lots of various textures/patterns one can add to Stainless Steel- also, mirror, smoked mirror, and panels of Sandblasted glass, add a lighter look.

To Jens query: why not remove the glass and replace it w/ sandblasted glass? Or- check out a product called "Lumisity": used at Sugar in Chicago/Brasserie in NYC- it's a film"/that is "frosted" /yet, when viewed at 90degrees>becomes clear.
Not cheap....$35.00 ft2...
One last suggestion: using a beautiful lace pattern as a stencil: spray over the lace with a light coating of white paint, on the "second" surface of course....

Jen-
there are a couple solutions for the door problem--

1. a spray solution that can be found at arts & crafts stores that will make the glass appear sandblasted

2. a window film that can be cut to size and applied to each pane will also work. i'd check around online for that one.

hope this helps!

jen
i once used waxed paper to cover the lower half of windows when i lived on the first floor for privacy. the texture is nice. or you could try a fabric that coordinates with the rest of the room. try something easily reversible before going a little more permanent to be sure you're getting what you want!

Jen-
"Since all will be french doors with clear glass, does anyone have suggestions with covering the inside of the french door glass in order not to see the media or clothes hanging inside the closet"
I've used the "Sandblast-in-a-can"..dont reccd. it- too difficult to gt a consistent /uniform look.
I've used thick/heavy weight "vellum" and/or Mylar from Pearl Art Supply- to create what "j" used before w/ waxpaper/siliconed around the perimeter.Spray mount adhesive will blotch/yellow/age.