Hi lisa_a, Just curious - what did you end up choosing? We are on a similar journey and have to decide this week because appliances and flooring are now ordered.

Considering:
- Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo
- Pental Onixaa (brand new Pental marble lookalike, more realistic than Pental Carerra)
- something grey - a cement lookalike...CS Pebble or Pental Stormy Sky

Hi, studiojr, we ended up selecting a slab of Bianco Romano in a leathered finish. It was a tough decision.

I have seen Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo - really lovely. I haven't seen Pental Onixaa but it sounds like I need to. Uh, oh, and here I thought our decision was finalized. We won't be starting our remodel until January - didn't want the kitchen torn up over the holidays - so I guess I have time to change my mind....

Good luck with your decision!

yay! Leathered Bianco Romano!
(That was my favourite one, out of your choices.)
It's going to look so nice.

Can anyone post photos of their marble look-alikes? I like the Pental Lattice, but I haven't seen the Onixaa. Even a photo of the sample would be great! Thanks.

Thanks, Hydragea! I have to be patient since we won't start our remodel until after Christmas. Oh, well, I've already waited years, I can manage waiting a couple more months. ;-)

cubby325, have you done a search for threads about marble look-alikes? There have been many such threads over the years. See the link below. Read these threads first. If you don't find the info you're looking for, start your own thread asking for photos. You'll get better results that way instead of tagging on to my thread. Good luck!

Also, you should go see these products IRL. I thought that one of the Caesarstone marble mimics would work for me but IRL, its veining was a bit too warm for my color scheme.

Here is a link that might be useful: Google results for kitchen forum: marble look alikes

Go to your local Home Depot and get a sample of Silestone LYRA.. It's their version of the Carrera look.

A nice bonus with Silestone is that it contains an anti microbial.

It's a beautiful look if you want Carrera without the marble hassle. Good luck!

Thanks, I will do a follow up search. I checked the Home Depot Lyra, but I like the Pental Lattice a bit better - very subtle. I think my biggest problem is my natural maple 6-year old cabinets, and I'm trying to make the best choice for them.

Here's a photo of a slab of the Onixaa. The Pental reps said it was flying out of the showroom - many orders a day from people who come in to buy the Lattice or the Carrera.

This post was edited by studiojr on Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 11:23

I had inquired about Onixaa, as the color looks a bit softer than the Lattice, at least on the Pental website The fabricator didn't have it. Maybe I'll go back and ask if they can get it. Did you happen to see them side by side? Thanks for the photo!

Oh, that's lovely! I'll have to make time to go to the local warehouse to look at it.

Thanks for posting!

I didn't see them side by side, but they were only a few feet apart (in the CA showroom, where customer service was terrific). Both the Lattice and Pental Carrera looked very fake next to the Onixaa, which made us rule them out.

I also saw SS Lyra and CS Frosty Carrina in mocked up kitchens. Ruled Lyra out because of the dots and FC's veining looked like smudges.

So...my quartz samples are driving me crazy as well! We are still between the CS Calacatta Nuvo, Pental Onixaa...or for a different look altogether a Pental cement lookalike, or perhaps CS's new Sleek Concrete. The designer who is helping us doesn't like marble lookalikes, but agrees that the Onixaa and the CS CN are pretty realistic. I'm still agonizing.

I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. Good luck making this decision!

These marble look alikes keep getting better, and have a ways to go still, so best to avoid them until they reach a point where they stop improving.

This post is wonderful really helping me learn about the different marble look alikes. I am still also considering Romano Bianco counters. Please share pictures.

I will post photos of my antiqued Bianco Romano counters but it will be sometime in Feb before my kitchen is completed.

If anyone is still looking at these quartz variations, I can post pics of my countertops in a couple of days (they started installing yesterday). I ended up getting the Onixaa (after going in to pick slabs thinking I was going to get Lattice -- they hadn't come out with Onixaa when I initially made my decision).

The Onixaa looks wonderful. I really love how everything has turned out. (Well, other than the seams. Onixaa doesn't yet come in extra large slabs -- or at least my place couldn't source it -- and I have several runs more than 10' long.)

Vanessafox,
I would love to see your photos. My fabricator is waiting for a sample of the Onixaa which will not arrive until February. Even then, the samples are small, maybe 6" x 8", so you still don't get a good idea of what a large piece would look like.

Have you decided on a back splash? I took a sample of the Pental Lattice to a tile store, and the whites were all too white for the background in the Lattice. As someone previously said, the lattice has green undertones. The back splash tile that looks best with it is a marble with beige, gray and white. But I do like to keep it simple!

Oh, yes, please post pics, Vanessafox!

They're finishing up now, so will hopefully get some pics tonight!

Cubby, for backsplash, I'm trying to figure out the color now. When I compared slabs, the Onixaa was definitely whiter than the Lattice, although it's not pure white (and the dark veins skew purplish, with some very faint brown).

I'm having different shades of grey subway tile brought over now to see how they look so I'll include those in my pics. (I tried the white subway already and it definitely didn't work.)

These pics aren't great because it's super dark outside and not all of my lights are installed so the light is not great. Also, the house is clearly still in a state of building. Heh. I'll take new ones in a week or so when the plumbing trim and lights have all been installed.

The first is a somewhat wide view of part of the kitchen so you can get a general sense of how it's all been installed. I used the same material in all my bathrooms, master closet, laundry room, built in bar, and so on.

You can't see the flooring because it's covered with cardboard, but it's a dark brown (almost black) bamboo. The walls are BM stonington gray (trim isn't painted yet). The cabinets are a dark brown (Bellmont carmelized bamboo java).

I'm thinking of a darkish gray subway tile backsplash. You can see some samples (one pic has the white thrown in). I know it's hard to tell with such bad lighting. But any ideas?

I'll add pics of the two seams in the main L counter so you can see what that looks like too. (OK; not awesome.)

[I don't know how exactly to add multiple photos to one post so will have to post more photos separately.]

Main sink

corner

seam

possible backsplash color samples (plus the switch wall plate color!).

That looks really nice! I'm not sure I can talk hubby into changing his mind but I'm going to go look at it anyway. ;-)

Looking forward to seeing your finished kitchen!

Looks very lovely. What is the lightest back splash tile that looks almost white? I love all the windows in your kitchen! You will really enjoy all of that natural light!

Thanks! The lightest back splash tile is a white matte. It's so hard to tell with such terrible lighting!

I have almost forgotten that I'll actually have a house to live in someday. I'm nearly 20 months into a 6 month remodel.

The windows were one of the core features that drew me to the house. Or, at least, the partial set of windows on a much larger space that could accommodate many more windows. I maxed out the glass percentage to what code would allow.

BTW, here's what that space looked like before I started. (Plus link to another view.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Original Kitchen

I had a window over my kitchen sink in my last house, and it was 7' wide by 4' tall, and it was wonderful. I faced east and had trees for morning shade. If you face south or west without trees, you may need some type of sun shade for certain times of the day. But you WILL love it!

Hi Vanessafox, thanks for posting those pictures, your counters look great. Did you happen to see the Statuario from Pental? We visited the stone yard today and they mentioned that was also a new color they are waiting for from Pental. Had a very white background with some random veining.

I don't think I saw that. I looked at quartz lattice, thassos, blizzard, misty carerra, and organic white, quartzite macuabus, caesarstone frosty carrina and london grey.

Now that the countertops have been installed for a week or so and have faucets installed (I still don't actually have a working kitchen or anything, of course. heh.), I really love them.

I am stumped on backsplash though.

The house is midcentury modern and I'm keeping with that as much as possible, with some updated twists. I'm pretty minimal overall. As I mentioned, the floors are dark wood, the cabinets are sort of dark wood with a bit of light, the walls are light grey, and I'm doing all the trim dark (likely the same color as the floors) rather than white. You can see a bit of my ceilings, which are dark beams with light panels (that still need a light stain).

I'm thinking of doing a dark grey matte 2x8 tile for backsplash (all the light colors seemed really washed out against the wall color and didn't highlight the quartz).

I couldn't find a good dark grey but I found a black matte that I was thinking of doing with pewter grout. I worried though that it would be too dark against the dark trim.

I could also leave the trim white, but I've included a link to the general idea of what I'm leaning towards with the dark. (I could also do just the windows themselves dark with white moulding, but it sounds like the painter will charge millions for that due to prep work.)

The photo is the cabinets, black backsplash tile, pewter grout, and a flooring sample against the onixaa quartz.

Here is a link that might be useful: Example of dark trim

Hi lisa_a, thank you very much for starting this post as I am starting to build our first home and ran across this conversation. We're at the same stage right now, wondering if Onixaa is the right choice for us. Do you mind posting your finished kitchen's photos, because this product has not been out very long, it's been so hard to find good pictures from non-retailers showcasing the product matched with cabinet colors. I'm also looking into matching it with dark stained wood and am worried that the streaks may look purple on the countertop. I 'd be super thrill to see your design :)

Thank you in advance!!!

Hi homebuilding newbie!

My kitchen remodel won't be completed until June so you'll have to wait for photos for awhile longer. But I'm not sure they will help you since we're not using Quartz. We're doing honed or leathered Steel Gray granite on the perimeter and leathered Bianco Romano granite on the island.

However, Vanessafox used Onixaa on her counters (pictured above). Can't recall seeing her reveal thread but you could search for it.

Hi lisa_a, thanks for the quick reply, I realized it was Vanessafox's photos I'm seeing, I apologize bout the confusion. Can't wait to see your completed kitchen in June.

Vanessafox, do you mind sharing photos of your complete kitchen? Thanks again in advance!!!

Haha! Complete kitchen! Eventually it will be complete, I think??

But it is much more complete than it was before at least when I posted the earlier photos. I still don't have backsplash installed (I decided on white glass tile, which you can see in one of the photos). But you should be able to get a sense of what the Onixaa looks like with dark cabinets.

Sorry the lighting is so bad. (I tried to get both far away and close ups so you could hopefully see how the veining looks with the cabinets.) At the end, I included a few pics I had taken the other day when the sun was out!

I can see what you mean about worrying about purple streaks, but at least with my slabs, the streaks look a lot more grey than purple and there are some tan streaks as well. From far away, it looks pretty white. I would not have been happy at all with them looking purple-y and I love how they came out.

Vanessa, I love your kitchen, but your view is "to die for" !

Vanessa, Is your Onixaa honed or polished? My kitchen is set up just like yours and I can't decide if I should try to avoid reflection from the windows or not. My quartz guy keeps telling me that I'll regret a honed quartz because it will leave marks like crazy and is harder to clean. But his only experience is with a quartz product that he honed himself, not one that came from the complany already honed. So just looking for some feedback on how you like your counters now, and whether they are honed or polished. Your kitchen looks fantastic!!

Hi Angie,

Thank you! I'm hoping to get some better pictures up soon, even though I still don't have backsplash (or outlets) or a range hood! (Now I'm contemplating doing the backsplash with the same slab material as the countertop.)

The quartz is honed. I don't notice a lot of reflection, but that might be because the windows are western-facing so they don't get direct sunlight most of the day. (And then in late afternoon, I get so much sunlight, I get driven out of the room entirely -- sun shades are still also on the installation list.)

I don't have trouble cleaning it and I don't really notice marks. As you can see, the island is pretty massive (10') but I haven't had a problem. I can sometimes see water marks and that kind of thing, but I just give it all a quick wipe down and it looks new again.

I really love the counters. I think I like them more every time I see them (and I see them all the time because they are everywhere: bathrooms, laundry room, pantry, dining room bar...).

Vanessa, Your room looks beautiful! What color did you paint your walls? It looks like a pale gray with green undertones. Thanks.

Thanks, Vanessa! I am super excited to get my honed sample to test. My onixaa sample is very easy clean so I am hopeful that the super white will be as well.

Cubby325, it's Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray:

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/stoningtongray

Theoretically, it has a blue undertone, but in some lights, it looks more like a green undertone. It also looks slightly different with dark trim (main floor) vs. white trim (downstairs).

Here's a pic looking at the island from the kitchen side (it's really cloudy today).

Thank you and very nice! I've been thinking about light gray walls as well.

Vanessafox or anyone else who has used Pental Onixaa in their house -- I am considering this for my kitchen and would love to know if you think it would work well with white cabinets and a white subway tile backsplash. I'm wondering if it looks cloudy/dirty against white cabinets and backsplash. It looks beautiful in the pictures! Thank you for your input!

I think it might work great, but white is tricky since the white of the countertop won't exactly match the white of the subway tile/cabinets. A very light grey would be probably be easier to match, although I don't know if that color scheme would be as timeless as all white.

We ended up going with no backsplash (!!) and just the light grey walls.

But I love an all white kitchen - and I think you might have the not-quite matching issue with most countertop color options (unless you go with a darker counter, I guess).

Thanks Vanessafox! I ended up going with Misterio since it had more white in it.

Awesome! Post pics once it's done!

I will for sure! These boards are such a great resource, I hope I can help someone else. :)

Thanks for the great info Vanessafox! I am 18 months in to a 6 month remodel of a midcentury home as well and have been debating getting the Onixaa honed for my kitchen. Your pictures and follow up have sold me! We also did bellmont cabinets

Haha. We're now only 4 years into our 6 month remodel now, so any day now! I'd love to see pics of yours once it's done. I'll try to get some new pics up once it get sunny again later this week. I still love the countertops. I enjoy them every time I look at them!