Lexington kitchen in Ornamental Yellow granite

This one started as a remodel in Lexington, South Carolina. Simple on the surface, a little complicated once you get into the details, which is how a lot of the best kitchens go. We installed 3cm ornamental yellow granite across an angled layout with a peninsula, and it pulls the whole room together with warm gray shaker cabinets and a stainless electric range.

Ornamental yellow granite is one of those stones that reads calm from across the room and gets more interesting up close. It's got a soft cream-and-gold background with darker mineral flecks and gentle movement running through it. That warm tone plays well with gray cabinets, it keeps the space from feeling cold. At 3cm the slab carries itself with real weight, so the edges look solid and you don't need a buildup to make them feel substantial. We finished it with a clean eased edge, which is a good match for this kind of transitional kitchen and easy to live with day to day.

The peninsula with the raised bar is where the careful work showed up. A raised bar means a second level and a seam you want to place where it won't catch your eye, plus proper support underneath so the overhang stays solid when somebody leans on it. We templated tight and did our best to carry the veining sensibly through the corner so the L reads like one continuous run. The undermount sink got polished on the inside of the cutout so the reveal stays clean and there's no rough edge to snag a sponge.

Granite earns its keep in a working kitchen. It shrugs off heat, so a hot pan off that electric range won't hurt it. It resists scratches from everyday cooking, and once it's sealed it handles spills without staining. A quick reseal down the road and it keeps doing its job for decades. That's the kind of countertop you set groceries on without thinking twice.

Lexington sees a lot of remodels like this one, older kitchens getting brought up to date without tearing the house apart. Natural granite is still a favorite around the Midlands because every slab is one of a kind and it holds up to real family use. We were glad to be the ones to template, fabricate, and set it.