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Honed Caesarstone - do you have it? Love it? Hate it?

12 years ago

Hi,

I have finally decided on caesarstone for my kitchen countertops - but I am still undecided about the color. It will either be raven or shitake....I really love the look of the honed finish, but it seems like it has gotten very mixed reviews. If you have it, could you please share your experiences with me? Thank you so much!

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Comments (7)

sas95
12 years ago
I don't have the honed but I will tell you that our KD(from whom we bought our Caesarstone) strongly urged me not to get it. He said that it did not hold up as well, and that he knew of enough issues not to recommend it.
janjan212
12 years ago
Ditto sas95. We had seriously looked at Quartz products and I was drawn to honed finishes. The fabricator/Stone yard told us that many quartz makers are no longer doing honed finishes, or very little because they are harder to maintain and were not holding up well. We ended up going with a granite, so it was a moot point for us and I can't share any personal experiences.
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I guess I'l be the one who hasn't had any maintenance issues with honed AB. I love it! And I don't baby it, either. Like you, I wanted a not-shiny dark stone: my first choice was slate, but I was told it cracks, flakes, sheds - I can't even remember all the things it does, the saleswoman scared me off it so fast! Didn't want marble. Didn't want synthetic. Liked the reasonable price of granite. Read all the reviews here on GW that said it shows every fingerprint and watermark and fleck of dust... but this simply hasn't been true for us. We have it on our sink run and our deep sink splashes plenty. We mop up the water after doing the dishes - but I wouldn't call that a maintenance nightmare... I would mop up water or spills on ANY counter... Not sure why AB gets a bad rep - I think it looks sharp, we have had ZERO problems. Now, I wish I could say the same about my wood island top.... This isn't a great picture, but since you asked:
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I've heard that some estone manufacturers stopped offering honed finishes, but I can't confirm.
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Hi momrichel - Here's a cut and paste from a post I did a while ago about my the Virginia mist granite. It should answer your questions. "Posted by deee (My Page) on Sun, Feb 10, 08 at 9:38 It's been six months since I put the counters in. I've only sealed them once. On a day to day basis I have noticed no obvious scratches, stains, marks, etc. My husband and my nine year old are the proverbial bulls in a china shop, so the counters are not babied one bit. Since you asked, I thought I should give the counters a thorough once over. I put on my old lady magnifying reading glasses, waited until daylight, turned on every light in the kitchen and really examined it from every angle. When I got super close (two inches) to the counter and looked at it from one angle, I did notice some faint marks. They resembled eraser marks, not scratches and they were only visible from a certain angle. I also noticed some very mild pitting. I have no water stains. I recently noticed that the side of the cooktop where I cook the greasy stuff stays slightly darker after I wipe it after cooking. It's been six months so I'm sure it will go away when I seal again. The faint "eraser" marks will probably go away too. But honestly they aren't noticeable and don't bother my one bit. Who goes around their kitchen with a magnifying glass? Who has time? So, to answer your question. Yes, I am still thrilled wth my counters. When you put your nose to the counter, they do show a tiny bit of wear. They aren't perfect but I still give them an "A". I hope my input helps. Dee
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iroll_gw
12 years ago
Another ditto. We bought ours through IKEA, and they have extra paperwork to sign if you insist on the honed finish (we didn't).
cottonpenny
12 years ago
Thought about it. Got a sample of honed pebble. It didn't seem to be that difficult to maintain, but it was only a sample and I didn't really spend a lot of time abusing it. Was also counseled against it. Caesarstone glossy is not so glossy so I probably wouldn't have risked it.

Ended up with Cambria though.
blackchamois
11 years ago
Llando - What did you end up selecting? The Shitake or Raven? I am considering Shitake or Pebble. I would LOVE to see pictures as I am having SUCH a difficult time deciding!

Cottenpenny - Which Cambria did you choose? I was looking at Windermere.
AboutToGetDusty
11 years ago
I had a sample of honed white quartz I was considering - can't remember which brand but I think it was labeled Carrera Mist? Anyway, I abused it for a few days...and it showed. Threw it out and we're doing soapstone. At least I'll be able to sand out scratches (yes, the honed quartz scratched from a knife!)
Laurie
11 years ago
I have Ceasarstone also and my dealer also was going to make me sign my life away if I got the honed. I brought a sample home to play around with and did not like the way it reacted at all.

Went with the regular finish and it's been two years and it looks utterly perfect still.

LOVE it.

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