I picked the Ceasarstone over the Zodiac from the samples and won't see it in for another 6 weeks.

Christopher Peacock did a beautiful kitchen in his SF showroom in Misty Carrera. I was shocked at how nice it looked. I had been contemplating marble and was not sold on the Caesarstone, but after seeing this example, I was fairly impressed. We ended up not going with it, but it was a clear second choice. I wish I could have taken a picture, but they don't allow that!

animala.... your kitchen is beautiful! Did you post details somewhere?

remodelfla, thank you, I did post the finished kitchen last month, pictures at the thread below.

Since I don't want to hijack this thread, I have attached the Misty Carrera pics from the Caesarstone website:

It's funny, all of the pictures on Caesarstone's website has the thicker mitre'd edge (which we did as well) but is hardly mentioned in their brochures and not many dealers had any clue about it.

Here is a link that might be useful: My finished kitchen with Misty Carrera

Is your Misty Carrera honed or polished?

Montanamaven, ours is polished. What we liked about Caesarstone is that it is not crazy glossy shiny like granite.

I have it on my white island.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Dear Sofla, Misty carrera looks very pretty on your island. Thanks for posting. I was happy to see how much contrast there is between the misty carrera and the white painted cabinets. They look beautiful together and pick up on the colors in your floor very well. May I ask what color of white your cabinets are? They seem to be a very white, white.

Thanks, it's a stunning kitchen. I'm ordering the polished then. Sounds like less cleanup and I'm messy.

I saw the Zodiac installed at Ikea in Paramus NJ. I thought it looked great, and I was considering it for our counters. I have not seen the Caesarstone in person, but I would say that the Zodiac has a little more contrast, with a little more black speckling here and there, whereas the Caesarstone seems more gray overall, more muted. The Zodiac I saw was really beautiful, much nicer than the tiny "sample" on their website. To me it looked very much like real stone.

Thank you so much for all the replies; very helpful!

All the misty carrera look so marvelous ~~ But after the post by nicanewjersey, I'm more confused than ever ~ (grin)

I haven't seen the Zodiac Bianca Carrera in person ~ or even a picture ~ or even an opinion of someone who has it in their kitchen ~ anyone?

Did any of you who have the Caesarstone Misty Carrera also consider the Zodiac?

I thought I remembered another post quite awhile ago that said Misty Carrera is more expensive ~ anybody know if that is true?

thanks for all your help ~

If it helps any, I've also been considering these. The sample I saw of the zodiac was indeed more contrasty, but I personally didn't care for it--looked more like ink lines or limestone than marble, but it's a nice look if that's your style.

Where I am the Misty Carrera is more expensive because Caesarstone is more than Zodiac. I think this varies greatly by region, so you should check locally.

You probably couldn't find a picture of the zodiac because it's really "Bianco Carrara".. Pic:

Here's a thread that shows them side by side (scroll down):

Here is a link that might be useful: bianco carrara meets Misty Carrera

Here's a photo of Caesarstone Misty Carrera at a home show from a few years ago.
I would do it in my own home. Customers love it too!

Franscois47, the color of the cabinets are white. It is a bright white.

When I was shopping for countertops I considered Caesarstone, I even found colors I liked. But the price was totally out of my range (more than double the cost of other materials I was considering) and the vendor told me the material is manufactured in Israel, imported and distributed through California, then sent to New Mexico. I thought this was too much transportation, I'm trying to be more "green" than that.

to the animala,

Your backsplash is gorgeous. What is it?

I don't have a picture at the moment, but I used Misty Carrera by Caesarstone, and it's absolutely gorgeous. It isn't stark white, it's got a softness and warmth to the color. However, be careful leaving hot pans on it. Mine did burn in a small area when I accidentally did that.