Durability is determined by the substrate. I believe with Vetrazzo the substrate is concrete. If so, it needs to be sealed regularly, and is subject to a certain amount of staining and etching. Neither of those will show much however! From what I can tell, caring for it is no different from caring for marble or some other stones. Seal it on schedule, clean it right away when you spill, and it'll last forever looking gorgeous.

I've seen a lot of these in person, and they look about exactly what they look like in the promotional literature. Lots of little speckles. Overall, it's not really any busier than the speckly granites, but whether you like that or not, whether it looks too busy to you or not, is really personal. Your best bet is to get as big a sample as you can (at least a square foot), take it home, and see how it looks out of the corner of your eye. Put some clutter on it, like an oil bottle and a salt and pepper set.

It's also MUCHO spendy. Much higher than your average granite. If using green materials is important to you, you will already have realized that tidbit though. Most green materials are MUCH higher than other choices.

I have seen Vetrazzo in real life. It's gorgeous and splashy, if you like that kind of thing (I do). I went with much safer quartz because I was scared away by the care issues--it is concrete-based and sounds more difficult to care for than many other options and given its high price it was too big a trade-off for me. The Vetrazzo also comes in an amber-colored concrete which I'm sure would hide many more sins than the white. Whenever I see it, I just have to remind myself that I made my counter top decision based on practicality for me. But I love it!

Make absolutely sure to order a sample before you make too many more plans. We were ready to go with Icestone Denim Moss- I had everything picked out, based on the colors in it, we found a dealer about 3 hours away, had pricing- I wanted the whole thing planned out before we committed.

And then we got the sample.

Looks-wise, it was ok. It didn't have that zing I was hoping for. It wasn't objectionable, but there was no WOW! factor to it at all. It looked like it belonged in the bathroom of an airport.

Once we started pouring stuff on it, we got over it really fast- it stained badly, it etched like mad, and tapping a fork on it (DH likes to make noise) resulted in glass chipping off the edges.

One other thing to note- cement is not green at all.

I did some technical consulting for another company - Urbanslabs - out of
Santa Ana California back in the late fall...

ALL of these products have some basic fundamental properties -
they ALL have glass and concrete that is the majority of their make up. Some use types of resins
to help give the finished matrix added strength, some just use water to mix
everything up.

A couple of universal common denominators are they ARE PRICEY -
and they WILL STAIN VERY EASILY... I don't care what the companies tell you...
a cement based product WILL STAIN if you work at it - sometimes ya don't
have to work at it at all...........

IF you are laying awake in bed at night worrying about the environment, and
wanting a "green" product - these kinds of products are for you.

If - on the other hand - you want an affordable and easier to clean countertop
material for your kitchen... there's other products that will work - and
probably better...

Bottom line is this - if you HAVE the green, I'll help you install something GREEN
if you want it, but be prepared to buy "green" with LOT$ of "GREEN" (hundies....
LOTS OF HUNDIES that is!!!!!)

just my .02 cents worth

kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Urbanslabs Website

I have Icestone. Denim Moss in the bathroom (no, I don't live in an airport!) and Sage Pearl in the kitchen. We are not having trouble with stains, but have some etching which bothers me because of how it shows in the reflected light from the window.

My biggest issue with the kitchen is that I am struggling with a backsplash. The counter does not provide the bling I am after, perhaps because it is a horizontal surface. But it is too busy to pair with a busy/blingy backsplash. Last kitchen had very plain quartz counter and jazzy tile splash. Kind of wish I had done the same again...

I picked up a sample of Fuez's Sapling. Fuez manufactures their recycled glass slabs in Portland, Oregon. Their product seems more matte than Icestone's. The sample I got is not sealed (I'm not sure if it is generally factory sealed), and I let red wine sit on it. It barely left a mark - it is just a hint darker where the wine was sitting, and that was an unsealed sample. I also tried tapping a large metal spoon on the edge. I had to hit it pretty hard to loosen any of the glass up or chip it. I would have made a few dents in my Mariana soapstone if I were to hit it the same way. I've never tried hitting granite to have a comparison there. I love the "sapling" color. In fact, they have several colors I really like - very earthy colors rather that the super vivid colors you see in other lines.

"IF you are laying awake in bed at night worrying about the environment, and
wanting a "green" product - these kinds of products are for you.

If - on the other hand - you want an affordable and easier to clean countertop
material for your kitchen... there's other products that will work - and
probably better...

Bottom line is this - if you HAVE the green, I'll help you install something GREEN
if you want it, but be prepared to buy "green" with LOT$ of "GREEN" (hundies....
LOTS OF HUNDIES that is!!!!!)"

How about some of us just like the material for its unique characteristics?! I did have a goal to choose greener products where I could and we installed solar - but I don't lay awake nights and I don't have money to burn - plenty of other counters are as expensive or moreso than the recycled glass.

These kinds of responses drive me nuts. There are positives and negatives for all materials - it is important that each individual know what those are for their particular choice and be prepared to live with them. Just because a product is "green" or in the premium cost category doesn't mean those are the main points of purchase decision.

I suspect most people considering this material like the unique look. I have loved it since I first saw it used in a Sunset Idea Home. At the time the reaction was purely aesthetic.