We decided on it because we did not want a shiny surface and liked the fact that it was used historically. Of the historic options, we felt that we had the choice of tile, soapstone, marble or wood. My husband is the main cook and he requested solid surface over tile.

I liked marble but worried about etching. We both liked the soapstone but not the price! We reduced the cost by using maple butcher block on one 6 foot prep counter and douglas fir on our hutch. Lately I have been fantasizing about switching the prep counter butcher block to a marble or a really dramatic soapstone, but I think I we should pay off the kitchen before making any more changes!

We did get runnels and really like how they look. They aren't really all that functional in that we tend to put a towel down for dishes and they dry better that way, but they also don't get in the way.

Ours is a harder stone (Puerto Alegra) that has small white veins. The backsplash was originally going to be green tile with a black and colored accent tile and we felt that the counter shouldn't compete. Now that we switched to white tile for the backsplash I kind of wish that our soapstone had more dramatic veining.

We did not want 'shiny' and thought granite had been way overdone around here. DH's only input to the kitchen was his desire that it look original to the house and respect the time period.

Now, soapstone is neither historically correct nor a locally quarried material, but it shows off the rest of the kitchen without calling attention to itself. I'm afraid historically correct would be a laminate or something we wouldn't want- and local would be limestone or sandstone and those were not on our short list.

Our island is a very quiet granite, DH's one concession to the 'shiny stuff'. Not sure why he disliked granite so. It didn't help matters much that our youngest, on a kitchen tour several years ago, looked at the granite (lots of movement) and announced loudly, "Mommy, somebody could vomit on the counters and you couldn't even tell!"

The reason we got soapstone aside from the fact that I loved the look was because we had a very very busy house and it was low maintenance. I could oil it if I wanted or not. I knew it could scratch and ding and that didn't matter one bit and the thing that really sold us was if it got really scratched up I could sand it all down and oil it up and it would look as good as the day we had it installed. I don't think their are many materials that can do that. Darn shame we had to move. I still miss those countertops.

We didn't do the runnels but we will probably in this house where we will definately be getting soapstone again. I also love that it thaws meat in record time.

I think I considered practically every countertop option available in our area. I went to lots of show homes. THey all had granite. I didn't see any that I thought would look right in our kitchen. They were so glossy and our house is not a show house. DH didn't want granite either he thought it might be dated in a few years. We are trying to go with some classic choices. I have loved soapstone for a long time but thought budget would preclude it. After finding this forum, I started researching soapstone options more thoroughly and with some DIY we are able to swing it. I love the heat resistance and the fact that though scratches are common, you can deal with them. I am hoping it will look just right in our 1872 farm house.

Our house is a 1922 colonial revival in a historically significant part of our city. (Significant locally, anyway!) We wanted something that was true to the era of the house, and I loved it when I checked into it. No regrets.

I had always pictured my "dream kitchen" with those beautiful black, matte-finish countertops that I had seen here and there over the years. The problem was that I never knew what those countertops were, and when it was time for me to actually redo my kitchen, I couldn't find them anywhere. My (former) KD tried to convince me that granite was the way to go, even though I had said time and time again that I didn't want shiny. I had pretty much settled on concrete countertops, but I couldn't find anyone local with experience to install them.

Finally, I took a trip to the Expo in Orlando, and in their huge room full of zillions of countertop material samples, there was this one lonely little chunk of soapstone. I was so excited! I said, "That's it!! That's what I want!! What is it?!" Once I found out it was soapstone, I started my research on the material to determine if it was, in fact, the right thing for my kitchen. The more I read, the more sure I was. The same (former) KD tried desperately to talk me out of it and gave me a lot of false information (e.g., it's porous, it stains, it's the same soft soapstone used for carving figurines). Of course, his shop also didn't sell it. I was all set to have slabs shipped from Vermont and have an installer flown down from New Hampshire.

Fortunately, my google search for information led me to this site for the first time. I read much more and became more and more sold on this stone. Unfortunately, I ran into the same problem with soapstone that I had with concrete: there's nobody close by who has any experience with it. There was a lot of great advice here on GW by this really nice guy named "florida_joshua" but it took me about a month to notice that he had the name of my state in his user name. Duh. I tracked him down, determined that he could travel to my part of the state to do my counters, went to his shop to pick out my slabs, and fell even more deeply in love with this wonderful stone.

My countertops are scheduled to be installed this week, and I couldn't be more excited! :)

My first reason was I like to be different. Every remodel I saw had granite and I didnÂt want to be like every other remodel. Plus I don't really love how granite looks-I mean it looks great in some kitchens and I saw some beautiful slabs (I told dh they would look great as art on my wall) but granite wasn't right for MY kitchen. Also I wanted a durable solid surface so I wanted to love Zodiaq or Corian but I didn't. I researched countertops choices for months. I lived with my 23 soapstone samples for months. I loved those samples. I also had a few granite samples. I hated those samples.

I love that my soapstone is so durable. I have a hard stone so it doesn't scratch as easily as some. I put pans out of the over directly on it. My kids do "art" all over it and I never worry about clean up. It feels so good. It is beautiful. I have only had my stone for 3 months but everyday I ooh and ahh over it. I havenÂt gotten tired of it.

Sugerbreak, how does it thaw meat in record time?

If you did soapstone in the kitchen, what did you do in the masterbath...marble??

Haven't done it yet, but it's ordered. I am basically a sloppy person; an artist who washes out my dyes and paints in the kitchen sink and I wanted a countertop that did not stain.

To be honest, I had never heard of soapstone till I began lurking a year ago on this list.I really liked a low key green granite like Kerala/Hawaiian green -- it was the green that sang to me. Then I saw Green Mountain 'original' soapstone - soft green with green and white veins and fell in love. I know it will darken, but oh well. I hope to have a piece left over to do the vanity top in the powder room.

Well, I like both granite and soapstone. When we moved to our home we had laminate countertops removed and replaced with granite. We also added a granite-topped island. Loved it then, and still love it now. I have natural stained maple cabs,maple floors & SS appliances - the kitchen really benefits from the pop of color and shine the granite brings. I believe in the right place, with the right polished granite you can have a classic look that isn't too "Las Vegas."

However, when we were building a lake cottage that we'll eventually retire to, I wanted nothing other than soapstone. I'm an avid cook and baker and I love the non-stain, heat resistance and low maintenance properties of soapstone. I also knew the cottage would be a hub of activity in the summer with lots of family and friends visiting. I didn't want anything I would worry about getting stained, damaged or burned from guests using the kitchen. I understood about soapstone developing a patina, and I was fine with living with the "imperfections" that come with its use.
I wanted a surface that would fit the look I wanted in the setting, something that wouldn't need to be updated - something I knew I would like to look at and work on for years to come. I have white cabinets, and to my mind, you just don't find a more classic combination.

I do have a soapstone farmhouse sink, but I don't have runnels. I like the look, but didn't think I would use that upgrade enough to justify the extra cost and losing that area by the sink for prep.

I think there is some scientific reason why it thaws meat so fast. Something to do with the way soapstone dissapates heat and cold. If you put a steak on soapstone and some other surface the steak will thaw much faster on the soapstone. I actually read about that characteristic on this forum years ago and it is really true. *sigh* I can't wait to have soapstone again.

I never heard the steak thing...just one more reason I must have soapstone :)

Things cool very quickly on SS as well..

That said, originally, 9 years ago, I wanted granite...then when the time came to choose, I was already tired of it....and I could not find any that really "grabbed me"ÂÂand for that price, I want to be grabbed.

I considered CS Lagos BlueÂÂ.then with a sample in hand, I discovered how easily it dingsÂÂand how difficult it would be to repair....and IMO it is not a material that would look good with "patina".

I kept putting off choosingÂ...then discovered this forumÂÂand soapstone. It has the soft, matte, timeless look that I had searched for in granite, but had not found...and was also very well suited to our farmhouse style colonial.
It was love at first site.

The rest is history. :-)

Materials have a property called thermal conductivity that describes how quickly heat will be conducted from an area of higher temperature to an area of lower temperature. Stones are typically (from what I find just googling around) in the 2.0+ range. For comparision, wood is around 0.15. So granite and soapstone will move heat into thawing meat or away from a cup of coffee roughly an order of magnitude faster than wood will. For comparison, steel is around 46, copper near 400! Metals just whisk heat away like crazy.

Other factors affect heat flow, including the temperature difference between the surface and the other object (thawing meat or cooling coffee).

My DH will laugh if I show him this thread and the thermal conductivity discussion.

I'm in the life stage where personal heat surges strike unexpectedly from time to time. When one hits, I high tail it to the soapstone and press my arms, head and cheeks on the counter - instant relief! DH has come upon me in this position and asked "What are you doing!?" I didn't know the science behind it, but I knew it worked.

Another reason to love soapstone!!

We did it because we did not like the shininess of granite, it was cold, and it would not fit the style of our house. AND more important, everyone was/is doing granite -- it will be out of style soon. We love the feel of soapstone and love the patina and lack of movement. We did not do the runnels - didn't really see a need.

We will be redoing our master bath and are planning on using soapstone in there as well.