I have Santa Rita Venata and mine is more gray (looks black when oiled/waxed). It is very busy with lots of white/cream/green seaglassy veins. I LOVE it, BUT--it is soft. It scratches, dings, chips--you name it. I sanded a new ding out (bottle of paprika fell on the counter and broke) just this morning. You can't see it so much, but you can feel it. We knew it would do this going in, and have an old house that is dinged and chipped all over anyway, so we don't care so much. If this would bother you, don't get it, or look for a harder variety. I have used the Holland Bowl Mill Bee's Oil (wax) on my stone and it does darken it longer than oil, but it is a workout! Here are pics of my counters (haven't oiled them in a while):

Ladeda -- Our fabricator was Alpha Granite. We were on the verge of having them install Caesarstone but when I went to pick up C'stone samples from their office I saw some pieces of soapstone from Dorado sitting out on the counter. My husband and I had been to Dorado earlier and loved the soapstone we saw but couldn't find a fabricator from the list Dorado gave us (I called a bunch of them and they all tried to talk me into granite!). In any case, Alpha gave us a great deal on the fabrication because they had just decided to start using Dorado as a supplier and needed to get some soapstone installs under their belt. Sorry -- probably more information than you need. The bottom line is that they did a good job. We only have one seam and it's fine. I've always wondered what it would look like if a more experienced soapstone installer had done it but it's not bad. Just a bit more noticable than I had hoped for. I can take a picture of it if you'd like to see it. And, as far as finish, I don't think they did anything to the stone once they got it from Dorado. At least it didn't seem any different to me. Our install was done nearly 2 years ago so they probably have more experience with soapstone now and maybe can give you names of other customers you could check with. Or maybe Dorado has a better list of fabricators now. In any case, we love our stone. It's probably my favorite part of the new kitchen (or maybe the dishwasher . . . ). Good luck.

Here's one style: http://img.hgtv.com/HGTV/2009/05/07/HBFYB106_Modern-Kitchen_s4x3_lg.jpg Visit the Kitchen Blog link below and check out the finished kitchens. You're bound to see something like you're wanting. The direct link below shows just one style. Here is a link that might be useful: Blog

Ours were screwed from underneath, and the mitered seam in the corner was also screwed together. Please post pics of your completed project (and step-by-step progress if possible) There's an old thread dedicated to DIY soapstone tops, so you might search for it and add your project, for reference. Good luck!