I must begin our blog today by reiterating…
how much we love our Victorian cottage, in spite of all the ongoing challenges…
How much we love our yard, it is the perfect size for our trees and flowers and plenty of space for all our vegetables, fruits and herbs…
how much we love our neighborhood, it is one of the loveliest neighborhoods anyone could have the privilege of living in…
how much we love the village of Gloversville, the people, the businesses, the determination to restore and keep its heritage…
how much we love Fulton County and the surrounding counties, they all feel like and are one huge community of caring…
how much we love the Adirondacks… the gentle rolling tree-filled roads, lanes, and byways…
We are so blessed and we just feel the need to share how blessed we are with all of you!
Now to our Saturday… What an exciting Saturday we had… Though the projects needed to set up our kitchen are moving slowly we must still think about what we will do about our kitchen countertops. Should we go with a manmade or natural stone? As part of our deciding process we elected to make a trip to a granite and marble dealer in the Eastern part of the state, actually, just slightly north of where we took Happy for her emergency surgery.
First, let me say, the drive over was marvelous. Just a few week ago when we made the trip with Happy, the trees were stark and barren… still in their sleepy, lethargic, dormancy of winter. But, by this past Saturday those same stark trees had shed their sleepy, lethargic, dormancy and were in the full glory of their Spring foliage. The same stark roads we had travelled just a few weeks ago provided a rich green canopy of shade most of the way to our destination.
Granite… I don’t know about you, but when I think of granite I think of beautiful layers of igneous rock that are polished, hard, and very unlikely to chip. So imagine when we arrived at Granite & Marble Works and met their lovely bubbly Kristine and she led us into their showroom that was row after row of huge slabs of all kinds of stone. We had never seen so many huge slabs of granite in one location.
But, once I saw leathered granite countertops I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The leathered granite has all the features of standard granite countertops, but touching them? “a whole ‘other’ experience”. They are smooth… yet have the most amazing texture. The leathered finish is matte and very elegant. Apparently, the process to make them leathered features moving of diamond-tipped brushes across the surface of the granite to create the leathered effect. However they develop the leathering process it keeps and highlights the natural color of the stone emphasizing the natural beauty and gives the countertops a natural somewhat rustic appearance. That same process of leathering granite slabs makes the stone more stain resistant due to the fact that the processing closes the stone pores. Added bonus? Fingerprints are invisible on leathered countertops.
The minimal shine and beautiful texture of the leathered granite countertops enhances the natural stone color. Will they require care? Yes! But Granite & Marble Works has a special process that will not make it overly taxing.
Black Fantasy Leathered Granite will go perfectly in our primary kitchen. On to the bakery…
