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Help Danny Seo Pick a Color for His Countertop

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Blog-surfing, we noticed that Danny Seo's started work on the restoration of the mid-century home he recently purchased in Pennsylvania. He's asking for some advice on his countertops...

 
 
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Freezing Mist

He's using Ice Stone, which is made of crushed recycled glass and concrete. But he hasn't decided on a color.

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Graphite Ridge

Not only is he considering these three -- there are even more colors on the Ice Stone website.

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Pistachio Pear

Which would you choose?

(You can comment here and we'll pass the info on to Danny, or click here to leave a comment on his site.)

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tile, stone & countertops, green ideas

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Comments (33)

Pistachio Pear

posted by Vanessa in New York on January 25th 2008 at 1:05pm
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I'd like to change my answer. If it must be one of these three, then chose the Graphite Ridge. If it were my kitchen I would use stainless steel.

posted by Vanessa in New York on January 25th 2008 at 1:07pm
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Oops... I just checked his website and know realize that he's probably looking for something environmentally sensitive.

*Foot in my mouth*

posted by Vanessa in New York on January 25th 2008 at 1:10pm
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and I spelled "now" as "know"

I'm going back to bed.

posted by Vanessa in New York on January 25th 2008 at 1:10pm
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Freezing Mist.

posted by patrick (the other one) on January 25th 2008 at 1:12pm
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I'm leaning towards Freezing Mist. First of all, I don't like to go too crazy with countertop colors; it limits your decorating options. Secondly, with all of that dark wood, you need something lighter to keep the place from looking too cave-like.

posted by Nougat on January 25th 2008 at 1:16pm
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I'd say Graphite Ridge. Because: I'm not sure I like the idea of grey counter tops, and while I love the Pistachio Pear it would really limit future decor changes.

posted by krisnic on January 25th 2008 at 1:59pm
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i've spoken with the icestone people before and they were having some issues with the graphite color... i think it is hard to get the slabs consistent. i would check on the availability.

but with all the dark wood in the kitchen, i might go with the lighter grey (Freezing Mist). also, i think pistachio pear is less versatile.

posted by meredith on January 25th 2008 at 2:11pm
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green

posted by Joan in SB on January 25th 2008 at 2:20pm
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green also

posted by southender on January 25th 2008 at 2:54pm
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I like gelato but from these three would choose freezing mist.

posted by kristenk on January 25th 2008 at 2:55pm
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I love the green, but I say go practical and do a shade of gray. Get your splash of fun color with some paint instead.

I love the freezing mist personally. It is contrasting to the cabinets, will lighten things up, and is gorgeous.

Good luck!

posted by darciekd on January 25th 2008 at 3:09pm
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Pistachio Pear!

posted by LaDonnaNichole on January 25th 2008 at 3:20pm
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Freezing Mist, but I would get a piece of Pistachio Pear cut and put rubber feet on it; use it for organizing spices, a cutting board (if you can cut on this stuff), appetizer serving tray, etc etc...I just think layering the material in two different colors would look cool.

posted by greer on January 25th 2008 at 3:38pm
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Sapphire Snow! :D
Click here to see my audacious suggestion

While I usually really like neutrals, I think the dark wood demands more color personality than the current shot is showing. The cobalt blue will go with the dark wood, the light green, white, stainless, and the floor color.

posted by cara on January 25th 2008 at 3:41pm
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Um, do you actually need our advice? Judging from the photo, your place looks pretty fabulous. I'd love for my own kitchen to look as good as your "before."

That said, Pistachio Pear.

posted by Lisa Hunter on January 25th 2008 at 4:37pm
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I adore the Pistachio Pear. Or Gelato, another soft, warm color.

The Freezing Mist is a nice neutral, I'm just not a very neutral person.

I fear Graphite Ridge, while lovely, would look veeery dark with all that nice dark wood: two great things that together might be too much. And I'm getting kinda tired of charcoal/black countertops, honestly.

posted by JosieDaisy on January 25th 2008 at 4:57pm
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I did the diy concrete counter top thing. It was a bit of hard work and you can't beat the price. Worst case you bust them up and use the for patio pavers. If I had to pick, I'd pick "Graphite Ridge".

posted by AndyF on January 25th 2008 at 5:30pm
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Pistachio Pear is my vote...it's a nice light neutral with a tint of color. Not only would it be a complementary color to the dark cabinets, but would also coordinate well with the light green colors in the other room, that can be seen in the picture.

posted by Art2Zen on January 25th 2008 at 6:31pm
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I'd say "freezing mist" or "Pistachio Pear" if the change is for you. If you're planning to sell the house in a few years, go with the "graphite ridge". And! For a random wild card, if it was for my own personal choice, I'd pick a bright yellow tile! hehe, randomness usually wins in my home. HAHA! But I can't help but think everyone is saying pistachio because it'll match the color of the rugs in the room beyond the kitchen...

posted by shadowswimming on January 25th 2008 at 9:55pm
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None of the above. We used a similar product in 2004 (formworks concrete countertop made with recycled glass), and chose one with a white base and multicoloured glass chips -- red, blue, green, opaque white, yellow. Very fun, we've gotten lots of compliments. I am sure these guys can do the same thing; they just don't have it on their website.

We used confetti terrazzo:
http://formworks.homestead.com/color.html

I really don't like the 2 greys -- I find even the light one too grim. And while I like the green, I wouldn't use it for a countertop; too much weight to the colour in a kitchen.

posted by mschatelaine on January 25th 2008 at 10:30pm
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Pistachio Pear, whether it's for you, or to re-sell. If you're restoring MCM you know that they had colourful counter often. That will appeal to future MCM enthousiast buyers.

Plus, i thought lime green the moment I saw the photo, without even considering the backgroung. Orange or red or even yellow would be too heavy, too 70s-80s, while the existing white is too stark and contrasty with the cabinets.

Go green dude!

posted by ce_pelle on January 26th 2008 at 4:12am
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Judging from the rest of the decor, he obviously loves that lime green! I would go with the green.

posted by labchick on January 26th 2008 at 5:18am
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I do like what's there now. But I love the gelato color. It goes really well with the rest of the space.

posted by TinaMcGrill on January 26th 2008 at 6:11am
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Definitely pistachio! It would really pop with the warm wood.

posted by wertygirl on January 26th 2008 at 7:28am
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The pistachio will look great with the livingroom. Green always goes great with wood, like leaves.

posted by ohjodi on January 26th 2008 at 8:57am
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Freezing Mist. I like the green BUT it only works because it picks up the green from the rugs in the other room. If you decide to change the rugs they color may not work as well. The graphite is to dark with the already dark cupboards so I would go with the Freezing Mist so you have options for change later. Counter tops last MUCH longer than rugs so think ahead not just what's working now for high end items.

posted by Rabbit on January 26th 2008 at 9:34am
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As others have said, the Graphite is too dark with all that dark wood. I'd go with the Freezing Mist or, better yet, the Pistachio. I don't see why everyone is so afraid of color. This is why you see nothing but boring boring boring kitchens. Personally, I love the Icicle blue and the Winter Sun colors. I think the Winter Sun--a neutral yellow--would also look fabulous in there.

My husband and I are planning on buying a house this year, and it's likely we'll be renovating the kitchen. I really like Ice Stone and will keep it in mind.

posted by Pencils on January 26th 2008 at 12:12pm
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Gelato.

posted by binxie on January 26th 2008 at 1:15pm
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definitely Alpine White. it'll look the most crisp and expensive with the dark rustic wood shelves. any colored ones would look cheap and plastic-y.

then paint the back wall (between counter and shelf, and backs of each shelf) to pick up an orange or green from the other room. also this way, it'll be easy to change colors as often as you like.

posted by r0cky on January 26th 2008 at 3:49pm
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pistachio pear

posted by ajh on January 28th 2008 at 3:46am
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freezing mist

posted by designerny on January 28th 2008 at 4:29am
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Since we can't see the rest of the kitchen, I'd say that from I'm looking at, however tempting it might be to bring more light and life into that kitchen, I think the darker grey seems to have the kind of gravity that would fit into the context of all that dark wood.

My next choice would be the lighter of the two greys, because if part of your whole point is to be more environmentally friendly, deliberately putting something in which might have a better chance of getting ripped out by the next owner might be less optimal.

If you think that the whole pistachio/pear color which we can see in some of the accessories in the next room are so very much ingrained into your entire psyche and will not budge once the fashion for it has evanesced from the zeitgeist, then maybe the pear could be very nice.

One thing I think I would do to add life and color in there, though, regardless of what you do with the counters is to back-paint some glass and install it behind those open shelves. Those shelves look adjustable, so I would shave about an eighth-of-an-inch off the back edge of the shelves to accommodate the thickness of glass, which need not be expensive. And I would paint that pear green on the BACK of the glass with Benjamin Moore "Aura" paint, which would give you all the reflective qualities of glass, and yet it would look like some kind of wonderful art glass, and do wonderful reflections of your dishes, without the relentlessness of actual mirrors. Anyway, then put the shelves back into place once you put the glass pieces up.

posted by Curtis on January 28th 2008 at 7:56am
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