Yep, that is what Jeff asked the Granite sales agent. Classic!
The experience at the Granite Yard was crazy, but awesome! We visited Meta Marble and Granite in the lower SODO area. It was a large warehouse with hundreds of granite slabs. This was super helpful to transform our perspective of a little 12"x12" granite sample into a monster 10'x6' (that's feet, people) slab. We could see the movement, or flow of each granite style. The sample we thought we liked before entering the granite yard proved not to be what we finally chose - again we're so happy we had this opportunity to see the slabs in person and in full size.
Our granite aide, Brandy, was a bundle of energy. She knew so much about the process, the stones, everything. She was also moving a mile a minute. Jeff did a good job slowing her down a bit and used humor to get Brandy to support us. Before long, the little bobcat vehicles with huge claws drug out 3 slabs. Two were in the style of our initial sample - Tropic Gem. A third was one we had never considered before - Uba Tuba, a sleek black granite with flecks of grey and gold intertwined. Very quickly, we fell for this new selection.
What sealed the deal was the honed finish option. Most granite is polished, super shiny, almost glass-like. With Brandy's help, we learned the maintenance and daily upkeep of that crystal-like finish would be troublesome. A honed finish, such as silk or leather, has a softer, warmer texture that demands less upkeep. And yes, it works very well for rolling out pizza dough...
Here's what Tropic Gem looked like (honed - silk). On a larger scale, this slab wasn't the one for us.
HI There Cathe, We are in the process of building a kitchen, and have spent 7 happy years with polished black granite. However, we are moving house and building a new kitchen, and we are considering the leather finish. How did you get on with the leather finish? Has it been easy to clean? Has it been good for rolling dough and making cookies etc as was promised to you? Thanks very much for your feedback!
ReplyDeleteCRaig
Hi Craig.
ReplyDeleteA new kitchen project - how exciting! As for the leather finish, we HIGHLY recommend it. From a cooking/pizza prep standpoint, it has met all of our expectations. The finish is still smooth enough to allow for proper stretching and molding of both pizza dough, cookies and pie crusts. Clean up is super easy. The finish isn't overly porous where stuff might get caught in it. I find is quite easy to clean. The best part is no fingerprints or smudging that traditional of a honed finish (the kind that looks like glass or still water). We've hosted many dinner parties and each time the surface has held up well to glasses w/o coasters, lots of dishware on the counter top, etc. If you're still in the design phase, we definitely recommend visiting a Granite showroom to see the Leather product in person.
Best of luck with the new house & kitchen!