Concrete can be colored and made to look like something other than concrete....it originally found favor because it was less costly, although I am not sure that is still true. What attracts you to concrete? The color?

Check out Caesarstone's "Raven". We have it in on our master bath vanity, and it looks a lot more like concrete to me than Caesarstone's "Concrete". Go figure, but the "Raven" has a much more varied look - light smudges and spots are haphazardly spread about - while the "Conrete" looks nothing like real concrete, it looks totally uniform to me.

I think you need to look at real slabs (not small samples) to be able to judge. And don't look at the picture of the "Raven" on Caesarstone's website. There, they must have enhanced the contrast of "Raven", as the picture of the slab shows a ton of very black dots. These same dots on our counter are barely visible, and just blend into the overall grey.

It isn't quartz, but Formica's Natural Concrete will easily outperform real concrete.

Hi all, thank you. I like the color of concrete, plus the irregularities (in the color). I'll definitely check out the Raven, thank you.

Take a look at CS Pebble in the honed finish. I have it in my kitchen and we've had many people ask us if our counters are concrete. It has some spots, so it's not uniform in color which I like. It gives it a bit of depth but not too much imo. I have concrete counters in my MB which I love and are a beautiful uniform brown, so I'm not averse to the uniformity of a counter. I didn't pick the Pebble to mimic concrete btw, but I must say I can see why people think it might be now that we have it. Those Silestone colors are quite nice too!

I just came back from an outlet where I saw Pebble, Raven and Concrete (among others). Raven has a little too much movement for me, although it's very pretty.

Thanks malabacat. Any problems with fingerprints etc on the honed? Pebble was very nice, although unfortunately a little light for the 'vision' I have in my head. I was fortunate enough to see a polished and honed sample, and like the honed look!
I've yet to see the Silestone ones, but so far I really like Concrete.

I also saw Cosmopolitan White, which I LOVE! It's white with greyish lines and tiny spots. A great match with Concrete, although there were a few contenders for a match with Concrete: Haze, Sleek Concrete and Raw Concrete (they didn't have samples of everything so there may be more.) Thinking of doing Concrete on white cabs on the perimeter, and Cosmo White on dark grey cabs on island.

(Giving a lot of info for anybody else who read this thread in future with the same ideas. :)

Now I just need a new idea for a backsplash - I was thinking of white glass skinny subway tiles laid vertically, but the ones I found may be a little slick, and not the right type of white (blueish) for Cosmo White. Maybe frosted..

As always, thanks ladies and gents!

Cawaps, what an interesting product. Thank you. Have you used it or know anybody who has?

I have seen it in person at a friend's house, in one of the patterns that looks like rusted metal. I thought it looked and felt great, but I didn't get a chance to ask questions about performance. I see a few Neolith threads have popped up to the first page, so hopefully you have found something here on the subject.

If you like concrete, why not use concrete? I always wonder about people wanting something that looks like something else rather than just getting the actual thing in the first place. I can understand substituting CZs for diamonds, but in this case the real thing should be cheaper than the substitute.

I don't like the maintenance aspect of it, since we're planning on renting the place out in a few years.

The honed finish does show fingerprints but only in certain lights and from certain angles. And they wipe away easily with a damp sponge. I don't notice them very often, it's not like every where I look I see fingerprints :-) I've found the honed finish to be much easier to care for than I was expecting. I'd read a lot of "horror stories" for lack of a better term about CS honed finishes and they have not been they case for me. CS stopped making their darker colors in a honed finish which I believe showed fingerprints, oil stains etc... a lot more than the lighter colors do.

I'm currently looking for a concrete-like quartz as well, evdryst, albeit a lighter-hued one. Thanks for posting this! I've got samples of Caesarstone Raw Concrete, Sleek Concrete, Pebble, Haze, and Linen for comparison. Linen is too tan to my eye. Haze was too pale. Sleek Concrete is a lovely color, but the flecking in it did appear as if there was Morton's kosher salt sprinkled across the surface--not a bad thing, necessarily, but it stood out too much for me. Raw Concrete is my favorite--a slightly warmer tone, but between the honed-only finish and the higher price group, it's probably out of the race. One thing I did notice: Raw Concrete has a small amount of clear, almost glass-like particulate in it--when a bit of this particulate was on the cut edges, it appeared to be a chip, though the surface was perfectly intact. I know this would alarm me constantly if it happened on my counter edges, even though it's just the illusion of a chip. This leaves Pebble, which has a bit more movement than the rest and is a bit cooler a gray, but it does come in polished as well as honed. It will probably be the victor for our kitchen.

which did you decide on? I am now looking for a polished version of concrete/gray quartz since I heard the honed finishes are harder to maintain

Hi, I decided on Sleek Concrete from Caesarstone. I love it. There are some photos here https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4973124/kitchen-reveal

(Sleek Concrete on the peripherals and Cosmopolitan White on the island, Both from Ceasarstone)

A closer look. It's hard to tell from these photos, but up close it has fine detail that makes it resemble concrete.

Any problems with keeping it clean? Cup marks?

Which finish did you go with? If im going with a darker one im not sure which finish to do.

I went with Cambria greystone polished.

@evdryst How did your CS hold up since installed? did you have any issues ith fingerprints, water rings, staining, etc that did not come off? I see many comments with concern around CS, particularly honed finish, and would love to hear about your experience and if you had honed or polished finish. Your kitchen looks great and I am also considering stainless splash and would like to hear how you like it. thanks!!

Hi Susanrhill24, we did this reno, rented it out, COVID and other stuff happened and I didn't see the house for about 3 years. When I saw the kitchen again for the first time it was covered in water marks and stains.. looked terrible! I guess they didn't remember how I told them to clean it (more about that in a bit). After I was done they looked like new (except for a tiny chip at the sink - ah well).

I did not go with honed. With lighter colors I find that the gloss doesn't bother me as it does with dark/black, where you can see every fingerprint. Having said that, when I clean after dinner I do give it a quick once-over with a dry or thoroughly wrung-out microfiber cloth to prevent the dried-on water patterns forming. I find I have to do that with whatever countertop material is used, so that isn't a quartz thing.

For future reference: If I really want a dark countertop I usually go with a leatherized finish as it's more cleanable than honed. Honed is like a million tiny holes. Have you ever tried to clean frosted glass? It's bloody impossible! Same thing with honed.. oil goes in those tiny craters and because you can't wipe them out it stays put. I've heard Mr. Clean helps because it's spun glass? I haven't tried it yet. Anyway, leatherized is where they take the gloss off with an acid wash, which makes it a smooth, gently pocked finish, but not glossy. It's so lovely. It makes the black look more dark grey though, so watch out for that. If you're interested in an example, have a look at this house I did last year: tiny url . com / sunset 3d (put that in a browser without spaces.) That island is black with white veins. Would have looked completely different with a glossy finish.

The way to clean quartz is with Soft Scrub Gel Cleanser with Bleach (search Amazon for that), and with Scotch-Brite's green and yellow scrubbies (not the blue and blue, which is softer). Squirt the gel on the countertop and spread it over the affected area (I just use my hands). Leave it for a minute, and scrub it. Don't be afraid to use force. It's like magic. I've used it on different colors quartz and it works every time. My pure white bathroom countertops (same house, same tenants) came out as pristine as the day they went in.

Gosh, this turned into an essay :) Good luck!

Forgot to say that I really like the stainless steel backsplashes. I thought they were going to be a pain/scratch, but they're not/didn't.

@evdryst thanks so much for the info! checked out the link you sent and agree, the leathered quartz looks great. I am told by a fabricator the honed is somewhat of an issue with any brand of quartz, but great to know you are able to clean effectively. I am looking at a similar color range/style like what you installed with CS sleek concrete and also stainless backsplash, but with penny rounds on one area and another tile on the perpendicular wall with the cooktop. was great to see a miz of backsplashes in your pix as well.