blondelle, Thank you. I do know all the "bad" things about marble, but I still am going to pull the plug, because of it's beauty. I will go with the Vermont Danby as I think it is a bit more durable. I know Quartz is all the rage, but 20+ years ago so was Corian, so that's what I got. Although it has held up beautifully (solid white), I am done with "FAKE" materials as to me they look fake. I have yet to see a marble look alike that looks like marble to me. I'm a decorator, so perhaps I have a keener eye, but I just can't do it. I'd rather have etching etc, in a real material than have a perfect finish on a fake one. Everyone is different, that's just how I role.

Doing a small powder room with 2x6 pearl marble subway pattern on walls up to 40" topped by a marble mini brick border and marble chair rail. I'd prefer Not to use a marble floor because its at the beach . I have found this carrera look porcelain that works though its a tad whiter , I would use grey grout . Should I get the real marble floor or look for a different porcelain , I really don't mind the upkeep on the walls but would rather not worry about countertop and floor as its a heavily used bath . as for countertop , on the white 30" vanity , shall I use torquay or a plain white quartz . ? thanks for input . For the record my friend rented a beach house wilth all carrera countertops and was given a 2 page list of all things to avoid , she ended up covering the entire countertop w placemats for the month rather than worry about what would stain or etch them .

This is the only post I could find regarding Royal Reef Quartz. Do you think Royal Reef would go nicely with white cabinets (black hardware) and white subway tile. Our island is a color called Hale Navy. We have Maple light colored flooring. Most of our accents (stools, pendants) are a matte black and stainless. I’m worried the Royal will look too beige. The woman helping us with the quartz said the RR wouldn’t look beige that it would take on the color of the navy and white. I’m not convinced .... any advice? BTW your kitchen is beautiful! Thank you

Yes, your results are consistent with what I found when I did several rounds of testing on manufactured quartz last summer. The suede finishes seem to be pretty prone to staining. I haven't tried bleach on a suede finish, but I used it a lot on the polished ones and it didn't damage the surface and it did remove the stains. As for the scratching, yes, the quartz surfaces tend to be slightly softer than granite. I tested that over and over and found that to be a consistent result. Another consequence of that is that scrubbing or abrasives can damage the finish. I didn't end up doing any comprehensive testing on suede finishes, so I didn't write about it in any of the articles - these used polished samples for the tests. Nonetheless, the results might be helpful to you. https://usenaturalstone.org/do-engineered-quartz-countertops-stain/ https://usenaturalstone.org/got-data-testing-the-performance-of-granite-engineered-quartz-concrete-and-sintered-countertop-surfaces/