My house is a transition bungalow with victorian hardware, fancy shingles, et.al. Our town long ago had a granite quarry (now defunct). The stone from it was used to construct the State Capital. DH thought that if the original builders (1913) would have used stone for countertops, it would have been that white/grey granite. Well, since we can't get it anymore we found the closest in color and that's what we chose (bianco catalina). It has a vintage look and we love it. As an aside, my DH is just like pbrisjar's! Wants absolutely nothing "dark" on large surfaces, likes "shiny" and thinks anything worn with age (patina, distressed) just looks bad! He also loves marble, but would have had a hard time adjusting to the inevitable wear and etching!

pbrisjar, what granite is that? It's gorgeous! We wanted something matte and black/charcoal, and soapstone was too expensive (sigh). We're thrilled with our honed black granite.

The granite is Arco Baleno. Some refer to it as a marble, Hubby's research shows it is actually a quartzite.

That's not the best picture of the granite. The best part is on our peninsula, which right now is covered with remodeling and construction debris. Some day soon I'll have to clear it off and take a pic or two.

it's white w/ almost no pattern--visually calm, easy to spot dirt or the cat pill I just dropped

it's impervious

it feels like "technology"

the sink is seamless--no grooves

I can scrub it really hard, bleach it, etc. (couldn't do that well on my wood counter)

It's repairable

I have Corian Venaro White

zelmar, I'd love to see more pics of that counter, it looks amazing!

We chose granite but I didn't really know about soapstone when we were doing our remodel and now that I do know, I think it would have been difficult to get it here in rural NC. We chose ubatuba, not a very exciting granite but I think it stands back and lets my multi colored slate floor and backsplash shine...

However, my bathroom granite (wild west green or verde sequoia) is incredible and I'm kind of wishing I'd gone with it in my kitchen

We chose Cambria quartz because after 11 years of dealing with ugly and hard to clean tile with wide grout in the kitchen and bathrooms, we wanted something almost completely no maintenance. The quartz is fantastic, hides dirt and crumbs, cleans up with blue Windex, and is completely no fuss. And looks great, especially the Cambria quarry series. Larger chunks, more realistic patterns.

I love my maple butcherblock on the island, because I love to chop and knead dough and I have always used the stuff. It is forgiving and good looking and easy to maintain.

I love the mahogany bar we have for people to eat snacks and drink rum and even do work because we have mahogany on our boat and the bar is shaped like a sail and it is varnished and it looks GORGEOUS.

I love the granite (dakota mahogany) we have on the perimeter because it is fine with heat, doesn't show the coffee grinds and is neat to look at (fun movement, and cool to the touch.

Diamond Black granite

...because I'm a "winter" and black and silver (vs gold) work great for me!

My friends are always teasing me about my "black & white" wardrobe...but it's not true! I do have some cobalt blue and reds! OK OK, I admit it, 80% of my wardrobe is black, dark gray, or white.

Anyway, the Silestone blacks didn't do anything for me...and then I saw Diamond Black and loved it! (I toyed, briefly, w/Black Galaxy...I think the "Galaxy" part influenced me...Science Fiction/space travel), but kept going back to the Diamond Black every time I was in the store...so, Diamond Black it is!

My DH wanted "Stargate." His all-time favorite TV show is Stargate SG1...so I looked for it, but I couldn't find any granite yards with it...most had never heard of it.
[I found out later that it's also called "Silver Star Galaxy" but looks remarkably like Diamond Black....so we may have gotten it anyway!!]

Isn't it interesting what can influence our choices??!!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Zimbabwean Collection of Granite Materials : Stargate, Silver Star Galaxy

Craig00 I love your answer.lol

My counter are a beautiful schist too. They are Pietra Cardosa. It has the feel and look of soapstone but a little harder. It works for my family. Love it!! Plus DH didn't care by that stage in renovation he was all about "if it fits the budget!"

Aftre living with Harvest gold laminate in our first house for 9 years and blue stone-look solid surface counters and a huge, stained butcher block island counter in our "Before" kitchen here for the past 14 years, I wanted counters that would be nice looking ~ elegant, even~ but VERY low maintenance. I didn't want to worry about water spots, fingerprints, dust or food crumbs making me feel like they were in constant need of more cleaning. I didn't want to worry about what the housesitter might do to them. I didn't want to worry that we might forget to reseal them someday and ruin their beauty somehow. So, after much research, we went with Silestone's Dark Canyon . . . and we love them! They add to the beauty of our knotty cherry cabs, but they don't have enough movement in them that they detract from our artwork in there.
{{!gwi}}

Because many years ago I decided if I ever remodeled a kitchen, I'd get stainless steel counters.

Because I wanted something good for rolling out dough.

Because I needed a counter that could take a beating & look the better for it.

Because I enjoy the contrast between the pristine cabinets/backsplash/floor & the aged, used (abused!) counter.

Because at my age, I'm looking to reduce routine maintenance & don't want to fuss with periodic sealing or oiling.

Here is a link that might be useful: cast stainless counters

- because we always joked that if we designed our own kitchen we needed a "tea coloured counter" so it wouldn't show the dirt.

- because I found this on Craigslist for $600 complete with the attached undermount Blanco sink (first thing I bought, actually - the fact that EVERYTHING came together as though it had been planned from the get-go is one of the miracles!)

- because it was way nicer - and probably cheaper - than the wood- or solid-surface-edged laminate we were considering

Cambria "Becon Brown" Quartz

Stainless steel counters for the perimeter runs, which are the cooking & cleanup zones. So practical & easy to keep clean.

Kashmir Gold granite with a lot of movement for our large center island & beverage center, because we wanted it dressier yet natural for the more public areas.

I love my granite because it has black veining and red wine colored flecks -as well as dark chocolaty flecks-so it works well with my coffee and wine tastes!

We chose our counter tops-Uba Tuba granite, for it's beauty and practicality. We had/have an active family. I needed counter tops that didn't need babying. They had to take what ever we dished out and still needed to look good. Uba Tuba fit the bill. Book bags, grocery bags filled with cans, replanting house pots. Nothing touches it. The ease of maintaining them is also great. Hot water and a little dish soap on a sponge is all I do. On occasion I use a multi surface windex cleaner. Dry with a clean cloth. That's all it takes to look good. Oh, and they don't need sealing. NancyLouise

I chose mine because I love water, always wanted to live by the water. We don't live by the water, but put a pool in our backyard that I absolutely love... So I wanted to bring a bit of that into my kitchen. I adore my counters and its a good thing as they were way above budget.

For me - it is granite - always. I love the depth and warmth it adds to a room. Kitchen is impala, bathroom 1 - saphire brown, bathroom 2 - labrador antique. Very easy to keep clean, doesn't show anything and mine don't need to be sealed.

I chose vulcan gold because it puts the drama in our home on the countertops where it belongs, verses being in the living room freaking us out constantly :oP And ummm they're right for me because I paid for them two years ago and can't send them back :oP

I chose SS for DH's countertop because he's a wonderful cook and a terrible slob. They also take the drama away from the windows where the view of the lake is fantastic...and all the drama we need in that corner of the kitchen.

We did the rounds:
Good granite places: $5,800 - $6,000 for 3cm Ubatuba
Cheap granite place: $2,500 for 1.5cm Ubatuba and even the work in their showroom was shoddy, I also think he miscalculated our sqft!
Silestone: $6,400

Visited M. Teixeira showroom, loved the look and feel of the SS way more than the granite and quartz. They had a deal going for DIY Piracema, free cut to fit and edging: $2,200 with about 20sqft of leftovers to use as we please. Delivered to us in southern CT for only $175. Done!

- Don

Theresab,

I just want to say that I absolutely adore your countertops! They are so beautiful!!!

I don't do fake things (no corian or silestone type countertops). I'm practical and low maintenance (no stainless or concrete, no cleaning grout between tiles). So, granite. That's easy. I also prefer blue to not-blue (the only two colors in my world). That's easy. The hard part: finding blue granite -- the rarest and most expensive color granite. I nearly gave up and started pulling samples of white and grey granite, but they were so boring compared to what I envisioned. I had to visit about 12 yards. Most of them just laughed at me and a few wanted $100/sqft. Perseverance finally paid off, and I'll figure out how to post photos by the time it's delivered and installed.

Thank you for this thread! I came looking for kitchen counter info. We're building and I can NOT decide what to use on our counters right now.

We are bread bakers, so I need something we can roll dough out onto. Also, that can handle the heat of baked goods as they cool, and crock pots and the like.

I can't pick things out in a store. Never could. Never will. I have to SEE a kitchen I like. I'm leaning towards a golden toned maple cabinet, very simple look and non-fuss hardware. I like dark counters, like Silestone's Rain Forest, w/ the gold specks in it, to pick up the gold tone of the cabinets I like. I like granite that's close to this color too.

Only thing, our kitchen is not as bright and sunny as I'd like, so I'm worried our entire kitchen will look too dark w/ the dark counters. I guess we could just put in a nice bright ceiling light, and I hope to have some under cabinet lighting too, but our main concern is durablity.

pkirkha1, you mentioned that you don't need to seal yours. How's that work?

I'm so confused and really want to be happy w/ this HUGE purchase!

i am a low maintenance girl who loves blue, too. so blue safita silestone was my initial plan. i do believe i would have liked it. but, researching the remodel, i realized that i also had a very low tolerance for things that seemed to look fake to me. so i gave up vinyl for tile floor and silestone for granite counter top. while it does require a little more care ( worrying about sealing, learning to put down a glass on it "more softly") i am enjoying it so much. and, given what a hassle remodeling is, it is great to have something different and lovely as a reward for our trouble, no?? :)(btw, i did not end up with a blue granite, but one that works very well with all of my blue "stuff")

IÂm still no closer to deciding on anything but the soapstone. IÂd love a different surface for all the areas of my kitchen but itÂs small-ish with only two sides so that wonÂt work. Maybe I should forget the work triangle and divide it into mini rooms just so I can try all the options. LOL

I do love that granite, theresab, and I just know that if I went that direction it would be something expensive and way too fragile for my family. Perhaps thatÂs why IÂm so willing to accept the limited look of soapstone, knowing that we wonÂt be able to permanently damage it.

don chuwish, just curious, how many sq.ft. of soapstone was that. I am planning a trip to M.Tex soon to look at soapstone but I think it may be a budget buster. Your price seems really good.

Ours is Antique Nordic Black.

We came to it in a very roundabout way. I originally fell in love with soapstone, but my budget did not. I also flirted and almost married Zelmar's schist, but time and money wasn't on our side for it either. So, off to the granite yard I went with little hopes of finding something that I would like as much as soapstone or schist. Then I saw this granite and it fit my budget and I liked the looks of it. What's more is that DH really liked it, so we tagged it. I was nervous and second guessed myself, but now that it is installed I love it too. I don't like shiny granite and was worried it would feel cold. This isn't shiny at all. Soapstone has such a wonderful feel...nothing can beat it, but this is close. Due to the antique finish, it has a really neat feel and isn't cold.

Alexamd,

How is the maintenance of the antique finish? Does it show more fingerprints, water or oil rings, etc? Did you test it with lemon juice and/or other substances for stains? I also love the look of the matte finish, but I thought that the tradeoff is increased maintenance? Please tell me I'm wrong.

Soapstone for our perimeter counters. Once I saw it - or more accurately, touched it - the longing was intense and nothing else would do. (You other stoners know what I mean.) When I found out we could DIY the fabrication and found a stone yard nearby that carried it, soapstone was a DONE DEAL.

But I'm nothing if not TKO - so I also wanted something else just because so many other beautiful countertops exist! So I also got some wonderful dramatic white granite with gray and mahogany veins for my red island and hutch.

The soapstone is wonderful for putting super-hot and cold things on, for not staining, and for aging gracefully. The matte look and masculine feel complement our house perfectly and give the kitchen a rustic charm. But the white granite adds elegance and the necessary feminine offsets.

Theresab, your countertops are absolutely gorgeous! I am so looking forward to getting my granite installed!

Another soapstone-lover here. Icfgirl - if you're a baker, this is the perfect surface for kneading and rolling out dough. You can put hot and cold on it without worrying about anything, and it is low-to-no maintenance. Yes, it scratches, but just take a piece of sandpaper and then oil and you will never see the scratches. The beauty of soapstone is that it ages gracefully, as someone above has already said. Mine is a gray-green and has not been oiled; it will eventually turn dark green if I want it to.

Check out Trailrunner's pictures of making bread on her soapstone.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trailrunner's bread post

I'll answer before alex and see what my answer looks like with theirs :) I am using antiqued nordic black in my house as well as accent tiles on my hood, and around my backsplash (behind the stove). I was particularly worried about the sealing issue because of the grease behind the stove and tested it quite a bit.

No it does not show fingerprints (nor grease spots) because of the variation in the finish. I actually tested an unsealed piece and was really happy with it's inability to damage :) I let the test sit for a week and aside from a small grease spot (only noticable because of the fact that I'd marked it) from olive oil (and only after a week) it was really impervious to damage. When I cleaned it off I had to show where the grease spot was to my husband. That finish is really hard to beat! I decided to use it in our entryway as well because I liked it so much.

Had I not already paid for my countertops...I'd have considered switching. It's fabulous!

Igloochic, Thanks for responding to my question. I'm assuming that your granite is NOT sealed, is that correct? Nordic Black is sounding like a definite possibility. I initially looked into granite, but the high-gloss finish isn't what I want in my house. Yet, everything I've considered, with the exception of soapstone, seems to indicate that most solid surfaces that have a matte finish are higher maintenance. Your description of the easy care, low maintenance pushes Nordic Black way up on my list of possibilities.

One other question--because I have a cat who isn't supposed to get on my counters but does when I'm not in the room, I like to disinfect my counters before doing any food preparation. Usually I use bleach water or a mixture of vinegar, alcohol, and water. Would the Nordic Black be adversely affected by that?

Now let's see what Alexamd says ... : )

Thanks Igloochic. I agree pretty much with you. No fingerprints at all. The only thing I sometimes see is a slight oil ring from olive oil or a little grease mark from melted butter, but you need to look sideways and in the perfect light to notice it. It has all cleaned off with stone cleaner. I never notice water marks.

I'm using porcelain tile because I don't want to over improve the house I have and DH can install it unlike a solid surface ;-)

Oops...I didn't see your follow up. Mine is sealed. I am not sure about the bleach or vinegar. My gut is that it wouldn't be a good idea, but I am not sure. I have stone cleaner and anti-bacterial stone wipes that my granite company gave me.

Alexamd, Even though your granite is sealed, it's still a matte finish--right?

Do the antibacterial wipes have much fragrance? I have terrible asthma (all my life), and any sort of fragrance really bothers me. That's why I've mostly switched from the bleach water solution to the water and vinegar. I imagine that, even if the fragrance is okay, it would probably be cost-prohibitive to be using the wipes 3 times per day.

I'm really not germ-phobic, and, in fact, I think antibacterial soaps and antibiotics are overused; but I think it's important to clean up carefully after my cats walk through the litter box and then saunter across the counters or after raw meat juices have leaked onto the counter---thus, the bleach or vinegar solutions.

So what do all of you with sealed (or unsealed) granite use to disinfect your counters, when needed? I've seen people post information about Method's (unscented, I believe) cleaning solutions---do they disinfect, and has anyone used that on their granite?

I tested with bleach and vinager-white and red (as well as oils, mustards, soy, lemon, chinese spices, toothpaste and hairspray...because I was doing a bathroom as well). No issues at all :) Again not sealed (just a sample). I will be sealing the tiles we do use, but I wanted to see a worst case scenario.

Igloochic, So, if you were using it on your countertops, would you seal the Nordic Black? Also, when you sealed it, did it become very shiny?

My two concerns: (1) don't want shiny granite; and (2) want to be able to use the bleach/vinegar mixtures mentioned above without worrying about damaging the granite or removing the sealer, if used.

From what I've read, it seems like an unsealed, non-porous granite would be a good option for my kitchen. And it sounds like Nordic Black might fit that description.

I chose laminate because my DH wanted it. I do enjoy it very much. It's Wilsonart HD with a beveled edge.

HOWEVER, if I ever have a chance to own granite, I will choose the same granite as poster "glad." Glad's granite is the most beautiful stone I have every seen!

sail-away, I use the Method granite cleaner. It doesn't say anything about it disinfecting and it does have a scent. It's a very nice, soft scent but unfortunately it probably wouldn't be great for you. Wouldn't alcohol be a disinfectant? A lot of people use regular drugstore alcohol mixed with water to clean their granite. I need to try that as I have a couple of sneaky kitties myself!

Amy2202,

I just checked and they still have the same deal on their site, see the 'On Sale' page, we did the Piracema. If we had been willing to spend more we may have picked something else.
Ours was two full slabs, or 86sqft. We only needed 62sqft but I think you have to buy whole slabs. We're using the scraps well so I don't mind. $26/sqft is hard to beat!

One tip I'll convey when picking more than one slab. DON'T take two slabs that are side by side slices. It seams to be standard practice to go that way, but it results in the same veining patterns repeating in your kitchen. Something I didn't realize until it was on the cabinets staring up at me. Out of 4 or 5 slabs in a rack maybe pick the 1st and last? I don't know for sure, you want similar but not near mirror images of each other.

- D

It's what I decided to buy and now I'm stuck with it. I was so careful with my decision, and tried to research and weigh my decisions and I just screwed up again. My granite is Brazilian Black or the St. Gabriel Black like at Lowes.

We had already decided on soapstone and then thought that it might not be right for out home. Cost was also a factor. This granite reads very black with silver and gray flecks. I chose one slab that was very consistant. I was told that I would just need one. After he started to fabricate, my granite contractor went back and got the only other slab that "matched". I has some bigger gray flecks that stand out and look like dirt at times.

There's also a green chunk in a very high profile place. There is also an area that looks like a darker black rainbow shape that catches your eye. I know that granite is natural and has things like that at times, but this is not the kind where you want movement or odd colored or odd shaped things that stand out.

Also, I feel like I always have to wipe it...though I'm starting to get over that a little now. The color in my kitchen just doesn't have the intensity that it did at the granite yard. The other thing that I didn't count on was with the darkness of the granite, I need to use my undercounter lights more to see. When I do, the light not only light up what I'm doing, they reflect off of the granite and shine into my eyes. It's like a black mirror. I'd love to have a non shiny finish now.

I'm working to make it better now with a nice backsplash.

I know, I know...I should be grateful, but it's just not what I hoped it would be. The only time I like it is when direct sunlight from my skylight hits it. Then it's all that it was at the granite yard. We're going to work on different lighting to help bring out it's best.

I really wish that I felt like you guys do about your choice. The good news is that I didn't get all new cabinets AND a countertop so my mistake is ONLY a 2,200 one...How long does granite last again????

rmlanza, Thanks for responding to my question. Currently, the vinegar/water mixture I use on my counters also has some alcohol (I read somewhere that the vinegar boosts the efficacy of the alcohol). So I guess I could just eliminate the vinegar and use an alcohol/water mixture, since alcohol apparently won't hurt the granite. I'm just going to need to adopt new cleaning methods.

Thanks Don, I will call and make an appt, for this saturday. Anyone I should talk to? Another question if you don't mind, did M.Tex cut your sink out or was it a diy install? We are thinking of a diy install.

rmlanza - just because ubatuba is a popular choice doesn't make it any less beautiful IMHO :). Just look at your pic! I mean WOW is that stone stunning.

kristenfl, I can see why you chose the granite. It's very pretty. But, thanks to your description, I can understand why you are having difficulty with it. My guess is that the backsplash will help a lot. I know nothing about polished granite, but won't it lose some of the high shine over time? I know that things I want to remain shiny never do--I hope the opposite doesn't hold true.

Lighting will make a big difference. We have dark counters and I almost never use the undercabinet lights (an expense I feel as though we could have skipped.) On the "bright" side, you put in the undercabinet lights and you're getting good use out of them.

It sounds as though your counters are quite new. I think many of us focus on the negatives of some of the larger items when they're new to the space. We just put a cherry bureau into our mudroom. I searched all over (for more than a year) for something that would be just right---to serve as a recycling center, to have lots of drawer storage, and to have plenty of clearance so we can kick are shoes off underneath. We finally moved it into place about a month ago and I couldn't stand how big and overwhelming it was. It didn't seem to fit the space at all. But now, DH and I are both used to it and really like it.

Good luck with your backsplash and lighting. Your kitchen is beautiful with the white cabinets, clean lines, hardware, window.....and, yes, counters. And, thank you for sharing. I'm sure your experience will be helpful to others.

Amy2202,

BTW, if I could figure out how to send you a private message or email I would!
I did the sink cutout myself, for me it was the single most challenging aspect of the job. Piracema has a lot of hard inclusions mixed with the softer true soapstone. That's the veins and blotches you see. Very pretty but tough to cut, sand down and keep it smooth and even. Diamond tools are key! Not sure but you may be able to get someone to do it for little enough.
I plan to write up my experience and lessons learned for the forum, but not until I'm done!

- D

acoreana, thank you. I never said it wasn't beautiful, I just said it wasn't exciting. meaning it didn't have the movement that so many beautiful granites have. It's great for my kitchen. But I did find the wild west green after the fact and absolutely fell in love with it.

Does anyone know if granite can be honed after it's already in place? Someone on this forum has honed ubatuba and I love the way it looks! I guess it would be a really messy job, wouldn't it? Is there a way to strip off the sealer so it's less shiny?

zelmar, thanks for your kind words.

I actually ordered some samples for the backsplash today, so onward I go! We are still up in the air about changing out the doors, and we might wait for exactly the same reason that you mentioned about getting used to something first. We can always do that later. In fact, we may just make a couple of them aluminum with an opaque glass in them.