We have Kashmir White and River White--both are similar to the Cottage Cream depending on the slabs/lots. There can be a world of difference between them. The ones in our master bath look vastly different from the one in the laundry room.

As far as staining goes, the granite needs to be sealed well. Spills should be cleaned up as they happen when at all possible. Any that sit and have penetrated the granite can be remedied with a poultice made of original blue Dawn dishwashing detergent and flour. We've been in our house 16 months and we're not the neatest people when cooking, we have kids so they are not the neatest when eating and I would not say we baby our granite or treat it any differently than we did our old laminate (other than the lesson learned from pie crusts-story below). I think just about everything has been spilled on the granite and the only problems we've had have been Crisco penetrating the granite (Note to self: Don't roll out 5 double pie crusts in row directly on the granite), and an incident with a Wal-Mart bag that was set down in a puddle of condensation from a glass and sat for a day or two. The water mixed with the blue dye from the logo penetrated the granite and left a blue circle about the diameter of a glass. We applied the poultice and it came right out.

Hope this helps!

Dear Dream Home,

Thanks for this information. I will keep the poultice in mind. I did not know about this remedy.

Our granite store is getting two sample slabs in for us this weekend. One is called Mellenium Cream and the second is called Kashmir Cream. I'm not sure if that is the same as "Kashmir White" but I will ask. I will also check out River White.

Your information was very helpful.
Thank you!

Kashmir Cream is like Kashmir White, only it has more of a creamy off white to yellow hue to it. River White is a "cousin" to the Kashmir only it has more flow to it--hence the 'River' in the name. Hope one of those slabs works for you!

Dream Home, thanks for the specifics.

The "yellowish" hue is a concern. We'll see this weekend what the slab offers. I would like more emphasis on cream, taupe, and grays.

I am still hunting for Cottage Cream, but it seems to have evaporated from the market.

I saw a marble called White Cloud, but I think it's too high maintenance for our beach house.

Good luck finding what you want! Our contractor explained that granite comes from only a few quarries in the world, and depending on which company imports it, it gets a different name.

Since it is a natural product, each slice of granite from the same stone will vary, and you really need to search to get the colors you want.

I'm sure you can find that color you seek if you look at a ton of warehouses, and remember that Cottage Creme might be named something else by a different importer.

Good luck to you!
Suzi

Dear Desert Dance,

Our search continues. Our guy said the new granite will not be in until next week because the granite has to go through customs.

It is a very tricky process to find a slab that feels "calm" with the colors I want.

Thanks for your help.