I've been on several soapstone blogs over the last couple of years and as someone who has a soapstone counter with a soapstone sink in a bathroom for 25 years, I think I am qualified to talk to you about soapstone. My soapstone came from a well known company in Vermont--I'm sure you have come upon the name if you've been researching soapstone. It was a light grey when new and because I liked the black color, I oiled it and oiled it and oiled it. It is the bane of my existence. Thank goodness it is in a powder room or I think I would rip it out. Hand soap, soap from shaving or any organic product will lift the oil from the stone in places causing the light color to show through. It then looks awful. The company suggests one keep an oiled rag under the counter for touch-ups. That should tell you something. Now do you want to oil a dirty sink? If you don't, then you will have to clean it, say with an oiled soap, and then that will remove even more of the oil. Now you will have to do a major oiling job. Whoever decided that soapstone doesn't need oiled but every 6 to 8 months must not be using the counter. If you can find a color of soapstone you like without oiling it then maybe it would work but I believe it will now show oil spots. I don't think you can win with soapstone. I'd find another alternative. I know that the word laminate is not a popular one on this forum but I know someone with a high end house with beautiful cherry cabinets and yes, laminate counters. Her three young children eat on it, do crafts on it, spill everything imaginable on it and after 5 years still looks like new. I don't know why laminate gets no respect when it now comes in so many wonderful colors and textures. Just my opinion.

Thank you, all, once again! Diy crazed, we are living with two Ikea "Udden" units flanking the range right now. They are topped with stainless counters and one has a small integral sink. They've been surprisingly functional and it was the convenience of being able to set hot heavy pans right on them and not having to worry about stains that first made us consider the stainless. The look, especially in winter, leaves me a little cold. One of my favorite kitchens in my files has ivory cabinets and zinc counters. We were so keen for zinc in the early days (zinc counters paired with a patterned encaustic tile floor a la french bistro--at least as reimagined by Thomas Keller--if you can believe it). In the end we decided to try be truer to the Victorian provenance of our house, but with quite a bit of allowance for contemporary conveniences and eclecticism. I'm having a difficult time visualizing the soapstone though. Thank you for your read of our kitchen. We may be too close to evalutate. Malhgold, those are my concerns exactly. The marble reference in the drawing is from an earlier iteration. We've made the decision for perimeter counters to be all one material. But I do know what you mean about the soapstone changing the tone. Next to black, lighter colours often read as white and texture fades. The other surfaces are not white because we were going for a kind of neutrals plus texture look. One of the considered options we will still have is to put a different patina on the bricks, or even paint them in the future. I installed them myself, to match the existing brick and concrete pillar. We're also having our cabinets hand painted on site, so one thing we've been contemplating is painting the island much darker. The entrance to the kitchen is through a small library (not yet installed) with dark stained, possibly black bookshelves and a white oak herringbone floor that our neighbour, a master woodworker, is going to be installing for us in the spring. Anyway, all this is to say that we've tried to build allowances for change into our plans and although the overall light look was our favourite for some time, we're starting to feel the need for some anchoring. Kitchendetective, unoiled soapstone is definitely something I'll consider. It looks almost like zinc unoiled and I think that softer colour will pick up some of the more subtle veining in the marble. I'm just concerned that it will darken regardless.--but the evolution of its surface is also appealing. Finally after my long winded response, Vtkitchengirl. My pendants are called "Franklin pendant". Their finish is antique silver (and they do tarnish!). I bought mine at Ginger's in Toronto, but if you google the name, I think you'll find other distributors in the US.

I love my soapstone and have been enjoying it for over a year now. It gives my kitchen the perfect black matte counter with fabulous white veins. My particular stone is for me the perfect balance of very plain vs beautiful veining. Neither too busy, nor too bland. It's just right. But if you are posting a casual note wondering the advantages of soapstone vs granite, then it's a red flag, and you have a LOT of research to do. Two years ago when I started looking into soapstone, most threads focused on "are you a soapstone person" and the "patina" that develops. More recently, there have been a lot of GW users that have talked-up soapstone. Pros: Beautiful veins, variable black color, matte finish (you'll never get it to shine). Unique look- your friends don't have this in their homes. Amazing texture- some feel velvety. Heat properties: put hot pans with impunity. No stains: super dense, chemically inert. Cons: Perhaps too numerous to mention- either they don't matter to you, or you should skip this stone. Soapstone ranges from "exceedingly soft" to "soft", and depending on your slab or the type, you'll have dings and marks to a greater or lesser degree. You need to be a "soapstone personality" (blue jeans vs satin pants, artisanal glass vs diamonds). One user posted that she loved hers, but that PENCIL indents were going through her children's homework into her stone. On top of that, depending on what you want for your final look, you will need to oil on a fairly regular basis, at least for the first few months. Some people have their stone settle in very fast and stay looking great without oiling (that's me). Others complain that the surface doesn't stay black for long, and then have to decide whether to keep oiling, or strip it all, and go gray (which itself will lead to it's own type of marks showing). For my part, I love my soapstone, and I think it must be a very hard sample. It will ding, there are some very small nicks near the sink. Overall, I'd call mine pristine after a year of hard use. But we have not dropped any cans on it by mistake... That would definitely result in a dented counter, not a dented can. Please look into this wonderful stone: but you need to do a lot of research before deciding yes. If you don't want the personality of Soapstone, you might try Virginia Mist granite with a honed or antique finish- rather similar to some types of soapstone.

Whew! I'm glad this thread got back on track. There is a lot of helpful info here. I have acquired a couple of samples of both. I really, really, like the look of the Virginia Mist (not the one that is also called Jet Mist) honed, but the granite place is telling me it will definitely stain in its honed version and suggested leathered, which I don't love. "ngcurt" mentioned "antiqued" Virginia Mist. I have never heard of antiqued. What is that? I have played with the samples of soapstone from Alberene and went to the quarry to choose a slab, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I can definitely scratch it all up with my fingernail and dent the end with a pot easily. However, I have yet to permanently stain it with anything acidic while ketchup and lemon juice for 30 min barely etched the granite surfaces. I left marks all over the granite with a key and have yet to get them off, even with suggested acetone... Oil definitely sits on the soapstone, but I haven't tried Simple Green as "athome inva" mentioned. Never thought of that. It seems like an easy solution. The quarry said to use denatured alcohol. Didn't happen to have that around. I'm surprised yours darkened so quickly. I think I would like that. But Alberene had a piece in their office that was used to create a "cabinet" and its top. The unoiled cabinet was still very light while the waxed top was very dark. I wonder if they are now quarrying a different vein than what you have? It is all quite beautiful. After speaking to the granite fabricator, I am now a bit more nervous about trying the granite than the soapstone because I have no idea how I would remove stains from granite. I had thought it was pretty indestructible. "Sabrina Alfa Interiors"--Are you saying that the drawback to black honed granite is really just the fingerprints? I think I could live with fingerprints as long as the stone and the finish itself is not actually damaged. Also, there is the leathered version of AB that really doesn't show anything. It looks like cheap Formica, but it seems to be extremely durable. The black is beautiful. Any thoughts? For that matter, there is a leathered "Virginia Mist," too. Also looks like cheap Formica, but it would be durable and would probably hide a lot. Thank you guys so much for all the input. Of course, I will still accept more of it. :) It seems there are pros and cons to both, so I almost feel like flipping a coin or choosing based on price.