Oops I forgot to add that we will have white shaker cabinets. I am open to having a different colored cabinet island. Originally I was thinking espresso, but if I choose soapstone I am thinking of staying with all white or possibly a gray island.

Soapstone gets darker with age so even if they look contrasting in your samples, over time they will be similar but not quite the same (if you oil they will both appear dark). I liked my sample of Fantasia but it was more green than others. The Barrocca slabs I liked were a truer gray. In the end we went for stormy black because it is so much harder. I love the counters. It is almost a year now and no nicks or chips, just scratches that either dissappear or I don't notice them. I couldn't live with marble. Every day I juice lemons, grate tumeric and make a mess with the espresso machine. The etching I could handle perhaps but not staining. Soapstone is just perfect for me.

we have grey cabinets and one of my do-over would be a White Island. I love 2 toned kitchens. Espresso will be too dark with SS counters, in my opinion.

I have two different soapstones in my kitchen /sunroom...but they are adjacent areas and very very different from each other so I am no help. But I did do an image search and it appears there are some good examples....hope this helps you. c

https://www.google.com/search?q=light+soapstone+island+and+dark+soapstone+perimeter&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=575&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjK8rj1v97LAhVLOyYKHVDGCyIQsAQIGw

I considered doing that but couldn't find Fantasia slabs that I really
liked. I ended up finding some Barroca with great veining and decided
to use it instead. The slabs are all so
different that you really can't tell by looking at a small sample.

Now that I have played with my samples I realize that the scratches on my Fantasia aren't fading with the oil. The Barroca and other samples are fading enough to me to handle. So the Fantasia is out. Bummer as I loved the dramatic veining. So I either need to pick another stone or have dark counters in the whole kitchen. Oh why can't I handle etching. Soapstone and Marble combination is stunning. I would love a walnut island but they again that is a dark countertop. I really wanted to lighten up part of my kitchen.

Soapstones are very different, you are doing the right thing by checking them because some of them are real mess in a short period of time and you don't need that...

What about doing a soapstone with a quiet type of quartzite or granite?

Could you use the Barroca all over but oil/wax the perimeter and not the island? We have ss counters and I've thought of doing this but decided our kitchen is really too small to not have it all the same.

I have SS on the perimeter and a walnut top on the island. Both are living surfaces and change a bit with time, but I love the combination and the warmth they bring to the aesthetics of my kitchen.