Okay, I am going to visit another soapstone place Wednesday and hopefully get an actual sample of the soapstone I like- fantasy/fantasia.

One thing- I originally planned on blue/gray lowers, white-ish countertop and backsplash, and white uppers. Now, with a gray soapstone counter, I am mourning this clean look of the counter/backsplash & uppers all matching (first world problems, I know) I just love that look, but I also want a functional kitchen and I think if I did quartz counters I would kinda hate all that fakeness.

So, maybe I would do white lowers & uppers and the dish hutch on the wall by the kitchen table would be blue/gray and I would put carrara as that counter since it will not see much food.

Another thought is doing a carrara backsplash with arctic white quartz silestone. But I also don't love the carrara marble next to the white quartz because the quartz is too white next to it.

Sigh.... seriously embarrassed & annoyed at how long I am taking to make this decision.

Dietitian:

You should look at the sintered surfaces such as Neolith and Dekton. They are initially expensive, but much closer to the mythical "bulletproof" than other surfaces.

Here is the very latest from Cambria, as displayed at the South Eastern Building Conference in Orlando, Florida, last week.

They kicked me out of their booth. Okay, they didn't kick me out, but told me "Don't come back." but I did anyway.

They can be a rude bunch, but the Cheeseheads make a mean slab of quartz.

I was going to also suggest Neolith. It's gorgeous and is virtually indestuctible. The Size is the company and they have a presence here on Houzz. Here's a link to the website: Neolith website

Fair warning: fabrication for Neolith and other large format porcelain tile products is expensive.

My KD was quoted $5K to fabricate ThinSlab (marketed by Oregon Tile & Marble) for a 5' x 8' island with a cook top cut-out for one of her projects.

A friend of mine who is a CMKBD in the bay area was quoted $14K for a master bath shower using Neolith. Granted it was a large shower but $14K is a lot of money!

We never did get a quote to do either of these products for our kitchen because given what they were quoted, we knew there was no way we could afford this type of counter. Pity, though, because it's gorgeous and, as Joseph posted, nearly indestructible. I love my new counters (honed Bianco Romano and honed Steel Gray) but I miss my old, hard-wearing, heat-proof 12" x 12" porcelain tile island counter (DH refused to do tile counters again).

joseph corlett, thanks for sharing those cambria slabs. they are really pretty!

we priced neolith for our counters and were quoted b/t 9 and 10k with built up edges. it is a beautiful product and since our backsplash would probably be white subway (cheap) we were thinking about it. our main concern is chipping at the mitered edges or at the sink.

so we are leaning towards either doing a quartz marble look-alike with white subway b/s or a stark white quartz with statuario backsplash using a porcelain product like neolith from another company.

we visited quartz masters this weekend and really liked their calacutta borghini and their venato. the only thing that is holding us back is the background is not as white as we would like. here is a pic of the venato.

@agk2003 the quartz master slab is beautiful. When I do a search on their web site it doesn't show any availability it texas. Do you know if they go by another name in other parts of the country the way Pental Quartz is Vicostone elsewhere? Is the Quartz Masters a lot cheaper than the Neolith?

Katieleabrown86 I'm not sure if they go by another name. Perhaps give them a call? They were pretty helpful on the phone. As to pricing I got the sense from our fabricator that it would be comparable to other quartz quotes they have given me which have been about 1/3 of neolith. But I haven't asked for this specific one yet.

Dietitian, have you made any decisions? We are still mulling. Question- you mentioned using a thin format carrara for backsplash. How thick is that? I haven't seen thin slabs of carrara.

I can't decide!!!!! I just visited a soapstone fabricator today and he said 1) fantasy soapstone is very soft and will not wear well. 2) light colored soapstone is actually just sanded to make it appear light, which is why when you put oil on it, the color changes to its "real" color which is dark. Trying to keep it light will be a huge pain he said, it will darken where I cook the most, i.e. the middle of the island and around the cooktop and won't look good. I wish I could use emoji's on here to convey my frustration....

@agk2003 The carrara is www.earthanatomy.com it is super slim but unfortunately he won't let you choose your slab, which I don't appreciate! I didn't love the sample I got of it- very cloudy carrara with a not-so-white background.

I am in countertop hell & demo starts in less than a month! #firstworldproblems

Remember, you can always lighten your soapstone back up by scrubbing the oil off with soap and water anytime you choose. I do it every few weeks around the range and sink as it begins to darken.

I haven't read the whole thread, but I had a similar dilemma for our vacation condo. I am going with MSI Glacier White Q quartz. I also didn't like the fake marbles very much. This is a white with gray flecks. I think it looks the surf breaking. Here is a pic. It isn't in yet, but i did see it installed in a new house I tour and I liked it.

@cookncarpenter, can you post a pic of your soapstone? I saw pa soapstone today at a soapstone fabricator and really loved it. it is a lot harder than fantasy, and the color is somewhat darker unoiled, but is a very pretty blue/gray with white/gray veining. Here is a pic of the sample I got with my paint swatch (thinking of colorado gray)

That looks a lot like our stormy black. It was the hardest sample we had and no scratches or nicks that are permanent yet. I would just worry for you trying to go against its nature of it getting darker - I thought even without oil splatter it will darken with time. Ours is too new to tell yet. But as I mentioned we do periodically oil them. This is another photo of the oil faded after about 4 weeks. The oil marks don't always come out when cleaning. The dark area in the back is where I keep a fruit tier. It truly looks this blotchy if we don't oil regularly. Some people i know would hate it. It is a big commitment to make with doubts. Where do you live? I just saw a very patina'd marble in NYC that I thought looked cool.

brdrl I'm in New Jersey. I am kinda looking at the soapstone like a pair of well broken in jeans... here is a pic of the sample I took home yesterday- the guy put wax/oil on the left side. I washed it with soapy water on the bottom left- definitely lightened up. Upper right I put olive oil on and wiped off with soapy water too. You can still see a darkening but it doesn't bother me - kinda blends in.

I am in CT but went to M Teixeira in NJ because the ss selection was so poor here. They were great to work with and helped us with some of our contractor difficulties too. I agree with the worn jean analogy. I find I oil them just before my mom is coming over!

I went through this whole thing myself last year. I have a very small kitchen (condo) wanted something light, something stain proof, no etching. I did not want to have to baby my counters. I found Aqua Veneto Quartzite. I love it, has pretty sparkles in it and I also used it as backsplash. We are going through this at my boyfriend at the moment, looking for a light Quartzite or Granite. I have been everywhere! The Aqua Veneto lots out there now are not as pretty as mine nor quite as light as we want. We did find a real pretty piece of River White which we are going to go with. I am not fond of garnet or purple but this slab we found has a very little in it. It is very pretty. We want the kitchen to be light and airy.

This is the Aqua Veneto Quartzite that I have:

This is the River White we chose for his kitchen. It is much whiter in real life than the photos. His cabinets are just as white as the one in the photos above. I couldn't get a true color photo because the slab was inside.

Not installed yet:

brdrl it is kinda cool that you can do a wardrobe change on your countertops :) I am still coming back to the pic of this kitchen, which to me embodies the warmth and comfy-ness of a well used kitchen. I do love the blue and soapstone combo here. I would have white uppers to brighten up the space instead of white appliances/sink.

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*EDIT quartz not quartzite* Question- what if I did arctic white quartz and slab bianco carrara backsplash? I get my marble, I get my white counters....

dietitian, correct me if i'm wrong but i think based on your posts you're going for an updated country look, and i think that grooved backsplash is kind of contemporary. i do like your idea of the arctic white counters with slab marble backsplash. i also like the idea of arctic white counters with marble subway tile.

Not going for a country look, more of an eclectic mix of transitional/traditional, with a splash of modern. Lower cabs will be full overlay in a bluish/greenish/grayish color, uppers will be inset with exposed hinges in white. hardware will be polished chrome.

I looked at arctic white next to carrara, and I was cringing at how plastic-y it made the quartz look. I don't love them together. pic below is the grooved honed cararra on a wall. My take on it is that it is an updated version of a classic stone... but still not sure! in person I loved the muted movement of the veining. I also love that it looks kinda like a slab.

i love that wall but i think it's the big expanse of it that makes it look cool. yikes, i'm sorry to hear about the arctic white and carrara! we are planning on doing the arctic white with carrara in a small herringbone like this pic:

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we are also pricing out the neolith calacatta for backsplash because we like the look of a full slab. if we went that route, we'd also do arctic white for counter sort of like this:

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Jancy, that Aqua Veneto is gorgeous!! If I had seen something like that AND it passed testing on a sample, I would have gotten that in a heartbeat. Didn't see anything like it. So jealous. :(

agk2003 thanks will look at thasos pental & see if that works better. I just wish marble didn't etch!!! I would put it everywhere. I really do love natural surfaces, so while the quartz has a nice clean look to it, when I see it next to marble, all I see is that the quartz isn't marble. I have issues.

@designsaavy, Thank you - The Aqua Veneto is so pretty, even prettier in real life. I tested with everything I could thanks to Karin MT's expertise! Everything passed with flying colors - not one problem. Thats why we have been looking for another like it but no luck. They look so different than mine now. I love the sparkles in too.

I really do love the look of marble myself but couldn't deal with what comes with it and did not want to baby my counters so the Aqua Veneto was such a happy compromise that I used it for a full height backsplash too.

Here is my original inspiration kitchen- siematic beauxart - with a black granite countertop & backsplash behind the cooktop.... This is darker than the soapstone and no white veins... I sorta like that there is no tile on the wall... very clean. maybe not so practical though.

Looking forward to seeing your reveal!

good luck! great choices! excited to see your final product.

I would like to add a huge thank you to each and every person who commented here and saw me through this decision. Without you I would have gone mad!

Have to tell you that I was secretly rooting for the PA. I have a sample on my table right now, and it is gorgeous!

Welcome to the soapie club! :)

That is a spectacular combination. I can wait to see it come together.

That's going to be really pretty! I like that grooved backsplash. Your choices are really cohesive and should turn out almost like your inspiration above. I'm sure it's a relief to have decided!

Can't wait to see it and I bet you can't either;)

I like it! Cannot wait to see it. Love that blue cabinet color for the lowers. This will be stunning!

what a great combo. good choices.

Beautiful! Looking forward to seeing it all together!

Love all your choices!

Beautiful choices! It will be lovely.

One more dilemma- what color should my island cabinets be? originally I was going to go with a dark wood, back when I was thinking I would have white countertops. Should I still do wood? Kitchen table is attached to island and will be wood. What color wood? Will be made of maple.

Are you doing soapstone on the island as well?

All your choices are going to look really pretty! That grooved backsplash is very pretty and unique. My only reservation with it for myself would be that it may trap grease and dust and be hard to clean. But, it sure will be a statement backsplash! Love that blue.

Can't wait to see it all come together.

thanks designsaavy! yes soapstone on island. I thought about the grooves but truth be told, I don't get much on my backsplash currently. I prep on island, and if I am frying it will be on the front burner, and I have a super duper hood that will suck grease up. I figured I would buy a soft bristled brush to clean the tiles. the groves aren't that deep.

here is a melding of two photos to show a mock up. what do you all think?

Love all your choices. My only suggestion would be to do a different backsplash behind the range because the grooves design will trap the splatters from the cooktop. A stainless steel panel backsplash behind the cooktop which meets the hood will add sparkle and shine, is practical for that area, and is very reasonably-priced. There are also stainless steel backsplashes for behind the range that come in patterns - quilted (for that diner look), tile pattern, all sorts of looks - just google "stainless steel backsplash". Or just do the standard stainless steel panel for simplicity and a clean look.

You could also use your soapstone as a panel behind the cooktop. That will look sharp, but add $$$.

I don't know whose kitchen this is but it was one if my early inspiration photos. I loved the dark wood island with gray. But we decided not to go as glamorous and on our smaller scale the island might look to chunky and dark. It is a gorgeous combo though.

Dietitian, when you saw Quartz master Calcutta B color, did you think base color was white & veins were gray? I am about to have a slab delivered Tuesday. I picked from their picture. I wanted the picture you have shown above from Quartz master. The blue ish/gray veins. Can't make desision. Here are my cabinets. True white color with gray undertones. No off white undertones.

Another shot of color. This is killing me