What Color Granite Countertops Go With Light Maple Cabinets?

Choosing the color of your granite countertops when building or remodeling your kitchen can be a confusing task. A wide variety of colors and mixed tones are available, which can give your kitchen an entirely different look when paired with the wood tone of your cabinets. If you are working with light maple cabinets, for instance, many decorators advise choosing a darker pattern of granite to provide visual contrast for the room.

Black and other deep colors, such as slate gray, can offer a good look with light maple cabinets. These dark tones add a good contrast to the overall lightness of the maple and integrate well with stainless steel appliances to give the room a clean, contemporary look. These colors tend to make a room look dark, however, and so may not be a good choice in small kitchens or kitchens that have low levels of natural light.

Spectrum Stone Designs notes that many bold granite colors, such as dark green and shades of red, can easily be paired with neutral-colored maple cabinets. In fact, green is a color commonly found in kitchens with light maple cabinets. This tone offers a dark contrast for the cabinets while still providing some color for the room. Dark green granite offers a calm and homey atmosphere for the room that goes well with family living.

Lighter colored stone is often used for smaller kitchen areas. The light color provides some contrast with the warm wood tones and yet reflects light around the kitchen to give it a more open feel, according to the Marble City Company. This can make a small kitchen look more spacious.

A tan or cream-colored granite can be an attractive choice for use with light maple cabinets, but you should take care that the tan tones within the stone do not clash unattractively with the color of the maple. Because stone can vary widely from piece to piece, the stone you pick may not turn out to be the stone you actually have installed. To avoid clashing, choose color mixtures that lean toward the neutral side of the color spectrum, with muted or grayish tones.

Though neutral tones work best with many room colors and can adapt to changes in decorating schemes, you may prefer a bit more color in your kitchen countertops. Granite with flecks of red or yellow can help to warm up a kitchen area. Conversely, to add a cool and soothing note, try bits of blue or green in the granite pattern. The names given to color patterns vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so take this into account as you shop for your granite countertops.