https://www.cambriausa.com/designs/design-palette/Devon/

If you scroll down in the gallery pics, it looks blotchy there, too.

It's a feature, not a bug.

oooh! If you connect the dots I think it makes a starfish or maybe an octopus!

I would not be happy with the splotchy-ness, specially if the small samples they have did not show any splotches of that type.

Many of the online pics show similar blotchiness, although not the small sample closeups. I also don't really see this as a bug. There are quarz surfaces that are supposed to be very uniform, but I don't think this is one of them. I don't think the spots look bad.

This is not the first time someone has posted about their Cambria counter not looking like their sample. I've seen a few counters that should have been rejected at the factory because of resin pooling, so I would never buy Cambria without seeing the slab first.

I think the thing that bothers me most is how Cambria could possibly think that this looks beautiful. I didn't pay a premium for Cambria counters to get passable counters or counters that simply "don't look bad." The local representative said that the premier dealer misrepresented the product, which is a definite possibility. If I had known beforehand that there would be all these spots, I would not have chosen this design or a company that thinks that this is a nice design.

It's good advice to see the slab first. But I think if you have to see the actual slab first, it isn't a good company to buy from. If they can't accurately represent their product without showing you a full slab, they are not conducting an honest business. Maybe they should start paying for their premier dealers to display full slabs of their product.

The sample I saw was about 16x16; it wasn't a small sample. I do not have a single 16x16 area that doesn't have at least five of these spots. Honestly, if there was only one spot on any given 16x16 area of my counters, this would not be a problem; I would have just passed this off as a minor defect.

Definitely has blotches per design. I also recently saw a sample at IKEA (can't remember what brand it was) with similar blotches and (a) was wondering whether it's supposed to look like that, and (b) that I wouldn't want it.

I agree that it's bad that the sample you saw looked different from your counter and the counter shown on their website. Still, it may be hard to contest this AFTER it's been installed.

Instead of making a consistent product, they now put disclaimers on their samples (a label on the back saying the sample is only representative and the slab may not look like the sample) and they have changed their warranty in the past five years to allow for resin pooling. Originally a pool over the size of a dime was covered under warranty. I decided not to use them when my design center had two samples of New Quay and they were so different AND I was told I'd have to drive to Seattle from Portland to view slabs or buy it sight unseen. No thank you!

I like Cambria Buttercream,Orangic White, and Pebble specifically because of the splotches. I am fortunate to have a Cambria showroom by me that has full slabs of everything but I would be very unhappy if I wasn't expecting the splotches because I was looking at a small sample. For what its worth, I like your counters in their "spottiness".

Oops! I mean Ceaserstone for the stones I spoke about in my post above. I really wanted Organic White because of the splotches but the jumbo slabs were on indefinite backorder so I went with Cambria Newport. Good luck!

Hi, JL. Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with us. Cambria is an all-natural quartz product that is intended to have variation in color, tone, size and pattern. An inherent characteristic of many Cambria designs includes color blotches which are there to enhance the natural beauty and depth. This includes all of our designs within the Desert collection. We encourage you to look at larger views of the Devon design as a sample is small select cut from a full slab and will not display every characteristic intended for a design. If you would like to speak further about your concern, please reach out to our Cambria Customer Care at 866-226-2742, and ask to speak with Mandy, our Supervisor.

I am avoiding Cambria also because the samples are no always representative of the quartz.

I have to agree that their business practices are a little shady. We went with Cambria because we fell in love with one of the colors and couldn't get it anywhere else. It looks gorgeous and I'm happy with it, but there are a couple of little white spots in my black that are kind of strange. I can live with it, but it really bugs me that the samples are not representative and that you can't pick your slab or really see it beforehand. I went to my fabricator and had them pull my slab and show it to me before they cut it, but it had a protective film on it, so I didn't notice the white spots. If I had, I would have requested templating like on granite.

Whenever I see Cambria post here with their canned corporate-speak, it convinces me even more to never buy Cambria.

If you want to know what your countertops will look like exactly then inspect the slabs the fabricators plan on using for your top before they are cut. Or better yet go look at whole slabs before you select a color. Looking at small samples and then expecting to know all the properties of a whole slab is not realistic. Even a seasoned designer is unlikely to have seen an entire slab of the color you select since there are so many colors from so many suppliers. And what you perceive as a problem professionals and other customers may actually like. In this case I like the irregularity and were the tops more uniform I would think they looked cheap.

The investment people are most often unwilling to make to get the kitchen of their dreams is not money but their own time. Blaming cabinet makers, countertop companies, and even designers because you expected something different isn't fair if you didn't spend enough time learning about what you were buying.

I always tell our customers that we want them to spend more time discussing their design and understanding the properties of their selections. But people today have shorter attention spans and often pressure us to order sooner rather than later. And the faster they want to order the more likely they are to point fingers when their expectations are not met.

that's exactly the point, Cambria won't let you do that. I called and asked if I could see a whole slab. the corporate customer service person gave me the address and phone number of the distribution facility over and hour away. I was willing to drive there but I had to call to get the hours. When I called I was told it was not open to the public.

It is not Cambria that isn't letting you see the slabs it is the fabricator. You need to speak to your fabricator to make arrangements to see your slabs either before you order or after they arrive at the fabricator. If they won't let you then they are a not a great company.

As a cabinet dealer I can tell you that customers often blame manufacturers for the sins of the dealer. It is our job to set expectations and make sure our customers know what they are buying.

" Blaming cabinet makers, countertop companies, and even designers because you expected something different isn't fair if you didn't spend enough time learning about what you were buying."

Main Line Kitchen Design:

Have you forgotten where you're posting? This is Houzz, where nothing is ever the fault of the original poster.

no it was Cambria's distribution center that told me they were not open to the public. I did go to my fabricator and see the slab. It was my fault that I didn't make them pull the protective coating off and examine every inch, sure, but since I couldn't see the slab before I had it shipped to the fabricator, I would have had to pay a hefty restocking fee to send it back. THAT is Cambria's policy. If I would have been able I would have driven hours to review the slabs and pick the one I wanted, but they won't let you do that.

If their product varies like natural stone, then the customer should be able to select their piece like they can for natural stone.

I love my counter, but I think the practices are a little shady. They are trying to hide stuff and CYA. Sure, a small sample isn't going to show every variation, but saying that these variations are 'natural' and 'add to the beauty' is a load of crap. Most of these quartz products are expected to have a fairly uniform look. The people at the fabrication facility, who I made pull my slab for me, thought I was crazy to want to see it because it's a man made product that should be what was represented by the sample.

Mine is black with blue speckles. There is a bit of brown sort of color threaded through it. But chunks of white? not what I was expecting

Those two blotches that look like drops of paint, are the white spots. These are the two worst ones, but there are white splotches randomly other places that are not as noticeable. The more brown spot that looks like a piece of food in this photo, THAT I could understand because there is a sort of brown color in there, but the white chunks? I was not expecting that. I did not complain to Cambria because I know that they would say it's a natural variation. If these two were the only two spots I probably would have called them but there are tiny white dots in other places, so I figure it's 'normal'. It doesn't bother me that much but the point remains that these white spots were not in any samples or any pictures online. If the finished product has an additional color, it would be nice if it showed up in the samples. Otherwise that is misrepresenting the product.

Megan - Thanks for sharing pics. This is a perfect example... The sample didn't show any white specks and you didn't think you had to inspect every inch of the slab since it's a "manmade" product and you're paying a premium.

When I was quoted Cambria I was told I couldn't see the slabs since they were "manmade" - they all look the same. What am I supposed to do? Be that annoying customer??? It would be nice to be able to trust a company and know that what you're buying resembles their samples. If there is THAT much variation then suppliers should have multiple samples on hand and show the differences. NO EXCUSES!

Hi Megan,

If your fabricator can not get you access to see the slabs before hand then that is a problem. We sell Cambria as well as most other quartz countertops and we can make appointments for our customers to see any slabs although they will have to drive to the distribution center. All quartz seems to have the same issues and and I haven't noticed a difference between one line or the other. If you had looked at your slab you could have probably avoided the biggest areas you objected to. Why people think there will be no variation in a quartz top seems to be the real issue.

My distribution center is in the Portland suburbs--Floform, a big beautiful new showroom. Slabs are stocked in Seattle, four hours away. I was told they couldn't ship a slab down. They only ship paid-for slabs and the sale is final. I was told I could view a templating in Seattle on my computer, but that wouldn't show any flaws like those white spots.

Megan:

Fortunately the fix for your white spots is relatively easy and inexpensive. I'd Dremel them out and fill them with superglue or Fillachip. You may always know where to find them, but the home inspector for the person who buys your house someday will never find them. Less than $300.00 if you were within an hour of me one way.

Well this is a real bummer. My wife and I picked this color out from all of the other Cambria colors for our kitchen remodel. Looks like blobs of "water spotting" and who will pay thousands of dollars for that look? Not a feature, definitely a bug...and we are squashing this one.

And from how large a sample did you and your wife pick out this color?

I really wanted the blobs of "water spotting" on the Ceasarstone Organic White and would have paid thousands of dollars for that look if the jumbo slabs had not been on back order. That's why they make so many types of looks because we all like different things. :)