Always the bridesmaid?

12 years ago

I was cleaning yesterday and came across my large, forgotten sample of Cambria Torquay. Every time I see it again, I kind of love it. You can leave wine on it overnight or write on it with a Sharpie, and it wipes right up with a damp cloth. It isn't too matte or too shiny - it just looks nice and quiet and lovely. At one time I thought I would definitely use it, at least for the island, but I have a couple problems with it:

- it's not a "real" stone, it just plays one on TV

- the pattern is so quiet that I think from any distance it might look like plain, boring white

- I think it would look great with espresso cabinets, but I have the only husband on the planet who prefers painted wood (really, what's up with that?)

So has anyone here actually used it? I can't tell you how many times I've read that someone is going to use it, but they invariably go on to pick something else. The few pictures I've seen on the internet are underwhelming, but perhaps it doesn't photograph well. Just wondering...

Featured Answer

plllog

12 years ago

FINE.

Be that way.

It's not REAL stone.

It's not a REAL thug dug out of the earth.

It's a tough guy with a manicure and a leather jacket with no cracks. But it's a good provider and isn't ever going to cheat on you, and if it gets a little yellow in it's old age from exposure to sunlight, well, don't we all?

Oh! But it's also VANILLA. Just because vanilla is so delicious that we put it in everything, just because it's the most popular flavor ever, we want to be different.

Nope. It's good looking, delicious, well behaved and mom approved, but we don't want it, no we don't. We want a baaaad boy, who is exciting and and dramatic and will make us cry and scream and have pizzazz in our lives. Quiet, steady and reliable just doesn't cut it. Nope. Nosiree.

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Comments (23)

springroz
12 years ago
That does have a sort of quiet elegance, doesn't it? I am having the same toss- up with Silestone. There is something reassuring and easy to know that it will be what you chose, and not having to worry about the slab being right, etc.

I think that is pretty.
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Thank you all for all the advice and opinions. I have ordered the dress and I am going through with it. I did try to talk to the bride. I declined the nail, hair, makeup appointments on the reason that I will just not have time that day to attend them. She is now very angry with me because I am not "cooperating" with what she wants for her "special" day. My hair & makeup will not match the other bridesmaids or hers. Oh well, life moves on. I got the matching dress and I have a hairdresser friend who is coming to my house to do my hair & makeup(this helps me with time because I don't have to go anyplace). I am not the cake server, just the cake maker & set up. Yes, I will be attending the wedding anyhow....the reason I originally agreed....I would be there anyhow..why not stand up for her. It got way more complicated after that point. My husband will be helping me. He has to get ready for the wedding as well and has his own list of "chores" he is supposed to be getting done the day of the wedding. He will be getting the boys ready....we have 2. I will be responsible for our daughter. Not sure where the communication in the thread came from that said i had 3 boys....i may have typed something incorrectly. Bride is also upset that I am not allowing my daughter to attend the nail, hair, makeup sessions too. She is 8 years old and is supposed to be a jr. bridesmaid but IMO she does not need nails & makeup done. My friend is doing her hair when she does mine. I really am trying to make this all work. I have a very tight schedule that day. It keeps getting worse....yesterday the bride tells me she wants everyone at the wedding site at 2 pm....wedding is at 5. I just came right out and said....that is pretty much impossible for me with everything else but I will have your cake done and ready for the reception and myself & the children will be there and ready to walk down the aisle when its our turn. I know how hectic weddings can be.....I deal with brides all the time. I am a cake decorator. In the months of May & June, I make as many as 5 wedding cake per week to be set up and delivered. I can deal with busy & stress. NEVER, have i ever had a bride behave as this one has. Lesson learned i suppose. Someone posted something about my in laws loving me or trusting me. I'm not all that sure that its that but more that there is no one else for her to turn to, to get things done. She has burned a lot of bridges over time. & I am apparently glutton for punishment. haha Also, I did decline to host the wedding showers and bride is very upset because no one else did them so they had not a single wedding shower. I offered to help if anyone else wanted to plan them but no one did. Again, thank you all so much for your help!! Ill post back later and let everyone know how everything ended up going. Date is April 17th. We shall see....I will put my very best effort forth...that is all I can do. :-)
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suzanne_sl
12 years ago
Believe it or not, it's still early days for Torquay installation. I really, really wanted to get a look at the real thing last summer when our plans were getting serious. Our previous kitchen had a white laminate counter that was 40 years old and still looked great; I could easily have done another basically white counter. I love the look of marble, but didn't feel it would be the workhorse I needed in this small space. Torquay looked very tempting. Do you have any idea how hard it was to look at a sample? Cambria isn't as easily accessible as some of the other quartz products. First I had to locate dealers, they didn't know anything about Torquay or when they might have some, they didn't seem very interested in the job, etc. etc. I couldn't even get the remotest hint on cost. Pfft! The cabinets were ordered, the sink and faucet were purchased, the old kitchen cleared and ready for work, and Torquay was still a big mystery. We did the only reasonable thing and went another direction. If this was our story in Sept., I suspect others ready to do the deed in the fall may have had similar experiences. So, as I say, still early days. Hopefully people ready to start their jobs from late Oct. on actually could see, price, and order that product. Maybe they've done so and we'll begin seeing finished kitchens with Torquay. We did have that one photo of a kitchen with installed Torquay a little bit ago, but I think it wasn't actually one of our GW kitchens, and I don't think the photo did it justice. Time will tell.
lavender_lass
12 years ago
Plllog- LOL!
westsider40
12 years ago
plllog--you are a hoot!
daisychain01
12 years ago
How wonderful would that look with cabs painted the same taupey colour as the veins running through it. Makes me want to redo my kitchen.
marcolo
12 years ago
Not to interrupt today's episode of The View or anything ;-), but:

I saw a whole pile of large Cambria samples at a home show recently, and I was impressed. This whole industry was invented by the Italians--all the Israeli and American and Canadian quartz companies use the same Italian machinery and processes. Apparently it's been a physical impossibility until recently to produce more irregular patterns but the Italians (inventors of marble in kitchens) have been very hard at work. After looking at foot-square samples, I can say that they look very nice indeed. I don't think they can quite mimic marble yet, but still some of the patterns were quite good.
mpagmom (SW Ohio)
Original Author
12 years ago
Suzannesl, I remember reading a number of threads about the frustrations you encountered, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with people abandoning Torquay for something else. I also remember those posted pictures that were so disappointing!

plllog, you are too funny. No, I don't want vanilla counters. My dad eats lots and lots of vanilla ice cream (he can tell you the location of every Dairy Queen east of the Mississippi) and he has plain white Formica countertops with a matte finish that are impossible to clean. I'm more a chocolate/peanut butter girl, so I want a countertop with swirls.

Marcolo, I'm glad the hard-working Italians were kind enough to invent fake stones so we could go crazy wondering if we want them or not.

If I did go with Torquay (or something like it) it wouldn't be because I think it does a great job of mimicking marble. I'd get it because I like if for the same reason I like marble - gotta have those veins!
plllog
12 years ago
Okay, at least you know why you don't want it no matter how lovely and perfect it is. Why don't you send your sample to Suzannes?
1929Spanish
12 years ago
Does anyone know approximate pricing on Torquay? I am shocked at what I've seen with pricing on Corian Rain Cloud and want to explore my vanilla options.

I like vanilla, but I'm going to put it over "pistachio" [green cabinets] for a little different flavor.

Remember that there's a big difference in the ones we mary vs. the ones we date. Torquay will last "forever".
mpagmom (SW Ohio)
Original Author
12 years ago
1929Spanish, I remember those green cabinets. I wonder if the Torquay would be a little too cold for them. Around here the price is about $70/sq ft and most edge profiles are included in that price. Caesarstone might have some good options for you. Although I'm not really a fan of specks in my countertop, I really like Caesarstone Nougat, and buttermilk and linen are very nice and quiet.

I won't get anything too wild - we're just not into a lot of pattern - so I don't know if Torquay would be too bland for me or not. Right now I'm looking at it across the room about 6 feet away and I can see the subtle pattern just fine.
sas95
12 years ago
1929 Spanish, we have green cabinets not far from a pistachio color, and Torquay would have been way too cold. We ended up with Caesarstone Champagne Limestone-- it turned out that colors in the sandy brown family worked much better than the whites or off-whites as a combination with the green. The combination looks very soft and organic.
1929Spanish
12 years ago
@sas95...thanks for the tip. I'm in love with the Dynasty Omega Pesto, but haven't seen it in person. I also haven't seen Torquay in person. We should be meeting with the kitchen designer in a few weeks so it will start to come together and I will start asking a lot of questions!
charmer
12 years ago
We are using torquay in our new kitchen! With white cabinets and a warm hardwood floor (going for a very neutral base in the whole house). I will be sure to post pictures when it's done (sometime in late February). We had formica in our first kitchen, corian in our second, granite in our third, and now we will try a solid surface. :) I love the sample and we have put it through the ringer - including our two year-old with a marker!
charmer
12 years ago
Woops, meant try another solid surface!
2LittleFishies
12 years ago
I have a sample of it and to be honest I was a bit disappointed with the look. To me it seems a bit fake looking. Perhaps it was just too contemporary looking with what I wanted with a soft honed marble. I don't like the shine factor. Here are some photos I took of my sample next to Imperial Danby Marble, Corian Rain Cloud, and Corian Witch Hazel.

I posted about it awhile back and most felt the Torquay didn't look as nice as the other options and look like it was trying to be something else? Of course, I'm sure many love it. Just a few opinions. Plus, I was looking for an alternate to the Danby marble.

Here is a link that might be useful: CORIAN/TORQUAY/Danby
2LittleFishies
12 years ago
mpagmom- Can you really wipe a Sharpie off of the Torquay?? That's great!

I wonder how Corian stands up to something like that?
charmer
12 years ago
We tried sharpie and it did wipe off for the most part but there's still a bit of a shadow where it was...

2LittleFishies - I think you can get it honed to eliminate the shine? I read that somewhere...
mpagmom (SW Ohio)
Original Author
12 years ago
You're right, 2LittleFishies, the Torquay doesn't look as much like the Danby (which I love), especially if you are comparing it to honed danby. If you look at it on it's own for what it is, it's a little better.

I was wrong when I said it came off with a damp cloth. My daughter wrote her name with a Sharpie and I had to bring out the Magic Eraser to get it off. But it did come off completely! I'll try it again and take some pictures of it.
lolauren
12 years ago
The linked kitchen has Zodiac Bianco Carrara..... They posted more recent photos of their kitchen in November, I think.. (there were 6+- posts about kitchen details)... I know it's not what you asked for, but I thought it was interesting looking at their "slab" and its veining...

Here is a link that might be useful: http://thefarmchicks.typepad.com/farmchicks/2011/03/countertops.html
kompy
12 years ago
Midwest/Ohio Area (Pricing Installed)

Cambria $75 to $85 per SF
Caesarstone Misty Carrera $73 to $80
Corian Private Collection (Raincloud) $63 to $69
Real Carrara White Marble $63 to $69

Does not include labor charges (ie sink cutouts, delivery)...add approx. $300 to $500 for extras.
Lollyei
12 years ago
Charmer - I really wish your countertops were in and you could post pics here. It sounds like our searches and kitchen decisions are very similar - white cabinets, dark wood flooring, and marble-looking countertops. Only I cannot make up my mind! I thought I had settled on Okite Bianco Statuario, but now that I've seen Torquay, I'm leaning toward it. Of course, a little part of me still thinks I should go with real marble, but all of my "advisors" say NO. (I'm not a great one for maintenance.)
GildedMint
11 years ago
I installed Corian Rain Cloud after looking at a variety of marble look a likes. I love marble, but it can be hard to maintain and I have a sloped kitchen in an old house...would stress the stone. I LOVE THE CORIAN! I think I like it even better than marble now. I had it honed (non shine) as that what the installers said they are doing with all the marble on direction from the designers. You can see pics of my counters here: http://gildedmint.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-update-your-kitchenwithout.html

Also, call around...don't go to Lowes or Home Depot. I went with a surfacing company and it was around $55 installed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rain Cloud Kitchen Photos

Always the bridesmaid?

plllog

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