So just so I have my details clear - quartzite and granite are the best choices for durability in a kitchen correct? Did I read that quartzite can still etch, but doesn't scratch and that granite doesn't etch or scratch? We spoke with the owner of the granite place and they will replace our stone. As much as I love the super white look I need something that won't cut when the pizza cutter rolls off onto the counter and that won't etch badly if things like fruit juice are spilled on it. Any suggestions on what type of stone is best as well as any more specific suggestions on a light color that has a similar look to super white? Thank you all so very much for your help!

SDMomof2 � Thank you for the advice. I will follow up with that. Perhaps I should try and find a good fabricator in my area and try that approach. Annkathryn - I will try that with the company Ikea works with if I can. I think I can still get 20% off. Yes I am very concerned about if I am making a mistake and having my kitchen turn out to look cold instead of warm. I am trying to learn but so far have bought all Ikea white glossy cabinets. Not sure if I can exchange some at the moment or not (they are still in original boxes). Would it look better to have darker cabinets on the base and white glossy on the walls? I have been going back and forth in my mind between darker countertops or lighter. Darker will give more contrast. I am looking at lighter but then have the problem of trying to keep a warm overall look to the kitchen. The white macaubus seems to have some light gold/brown in the veins but not sure if that is enough to bring in a warm look. This is not easy. How do other people do this to get that "WOW" type of kitchen?? Do they hire a good designer or would a good fabricator know what to do? Thank you for the Sochi link. Sochi � You have the "WOW SO AWESOME" kitchen that I want. How did you know how to do that? Did you hire a designer? You have a great sense of doing contrasts. I love it. Can I hire you to do my kitchen? That slab that they were trying to sell me seems to have too much broken lines that look more like cracks than just veins. Your lines seemed like more shifting and much smoother. I can post another picture. I am afraid I made a mistake of getting all glossy white cabinets. My kitchen is small and gutted at the moment. I have the idea to knock my dining room wall out to open the kitchen/dining area. The Ikea cabinets are still in the boxes. Now am trying to figure out what to do to bring in warmth into the kitchen. Should I try to exchange the base cabs for a darker base and keep the upper walls glossy white? I am not sure if I can do that but maybe I can as long as they are still in the boxes. So far I have all white Ikea glossy cabs, natural bamboo flooring and stainless steel appliances. Any ideas from this point to bring in warmth? Annkathryn did suggest some things. I am trying to keep my costs down and do as much as I can myself because I may sell the place. I do want under cabinet lighting controlled by dimmers. Gee there is so much to learn about kitchens, much more than I ever imagined. Any others in my situation or have any thoughts on what to do? Thank all of you so far. Again, this is not easy.

We purchased ours at BR stone in Pompano Beach. Just do not put a straight edge on sides. You can look at my photos, our installer did NOT put an angle on that eased edge because it was difficult to cut. My son has chipped it in a few spots with very hard objects. They are completely invisible and the stone looks like it did 5 years ago. Just passing on learnings from having it installed for years. It came in from the port of Miami. Sea Pearl has a similar look. But the slabs we saw of Sea Pearl were more grey. I really wanted marble - but not the hassle. This Sky Gold was perfect - it took me about 3 months to find it. Not many people even know what it looks like, I had to personally walk the yards to find it. BR stone knew how it looked and had 2 bundles. I was able to buy bookend slabs, so the longest piece on my counter looks like one large piece of stone. Only seam is a small seam at sink. Good luck - be patient and let me know when you find it. It comes from the mine that produced Azul Blue in Brazil. There is a video above.

Looks like this is in good hands with clarifying the differences between quartzite and marble. Good job, folks! I have to say that this excerpt is so wildly wrong that I'm saving it as an example for the next time I give a talk on this topic: ".. they did in fact tell me it was "Geologically Marble" but that it is an "Older Marble" (Bianco Olinda) as opposed to a young marble like Carrerra Marble and is therefore harder than the younger marbles making it a little closer to a Quartzite." That is SUCH NONSENSE. Calcite has a hardness of 3 on Mohs scale. This is true if it is 10 years old or a billion years old. Age does not change the properties of a mineral. Kudos to you, gpican, for not falling for that. And to CPArtist and others for setting the record straight every time you see incorrect information being passed around. You're helping clear the air and you're helping lots of people. Keep it up! That said, marble is wonderful too. As long as you know it's marble when you decide to buy it!