Brdrl- I LOVE your countertops! Thank you so much for those pics. We are now considering just doing a camping trip to CO during our build to try and pick a slab. We will have to figure something out for the fabricator though - hopefully they will have ideas. The more I read, the more I love the idea of soapstone countertops. We are thinking of putting them in our master bath as well - haven't decided yet. I love your counters both oiled and un-oiled!! I just ordered the samples so hopefully we will also be able to narrow it down then somehow plan a trip. I love Montana with all my heart but at times like this it can be a little frustrating to get materials we want. Did you go with the drain detail around the sink?

Also - are your white veins more elevated than the rest of the countertops or is it all uniform?

Thank you. The veins do not feel elevated at all. We have the runnels on right side of sink:

Hi brdl, thank you so much for sharing your valuable info. Your kitchen and counters looks awesome. However, I must say that food looks simply delicious. What is it and care to share the recipe?

I agree - not mine though! That one was a screen shot of America's Test Kitchen show. On our our pro list was that they use Soapstone for the commercial/show kitchen. I can't get the link to copy but it was their vegan episode cauliflower tacos. I haven't tried them yet.

I have a softer variety of soapstone. It does scratch easily but as others have said those will disappear with oiling. The bigger problem for me is dings. If anything falls on the stone, you can get a sizable ding. I just fill them in with a Sharpie marker for now. Possibly in a few years we will sand everything down and start all over. If you're looking for a countertop that will remain pristine, soapstone is not for you!

In the Natural Stone Institute's guidelines for natural stone requiring trivet use, there is no exemption for soapstone.

Joseph, I agree. I have never put a hot pan directly on the counters. I also don't want to warp (or shatter!) my pans from thermal shock even if the stone can take more heat than other counters.

Check out slate too, if you like the look of soapstone. Ours is a very dark charcoal gray/off-black with a bit of light gray marble - with a honed finish. Everyone assumes it is soapstone. It was installed by previous owners, but we have been living with it (family of 6) for 15 years now, and haven't figured out how to destroy it. Absolutely love it!

We have soapstone and really like it but it's not without it's problems. The biggest consideration, in my opinion, is the overall look of your kitchen. It's a bit of a rustic look with lots of patina. It fits right in with our old house but would have been out of place in our new build at the beach. It does scratch (we have no noticeable dings) and it fades unevenly. We also get water marks and rings after oiling so we stopped oiling the stone about 5 years ago. As a result, the color is not uniform and there are etch like marks and rings that do not go away, ever. But like you, we love the feel of it, so silky smooth.

The truth is, though, if I could think of something else to use, I'd replace my soapstone counters. But there's nothing I like better so they stay.

I've had my soapstone five years now and love it! I would never consider another counter material (other than wood, which I also have in my kitchen)
As most would agree, soapstone is not for everyone, but if you want a counter that you can pretty much do anything you want to do on, and can embrace the patina, then soapstone is for you!
I oiled mine for the first few months, and then it's gone naked ever since, I prefer the lighter natural look of the stone. Oiled is gorgeous, but too dark and formal looking for me.

This latest kitchen remodel was the third house I put soapstone in. I love it, and it works beautifully with my 100 year old home. I used Green Mountain Original this time, as that was what was available. Scratches disappear, and larger dings can be relatively hidden: a black Sharpie is a must. I don't particularly like that I am always afraid of dropping something or gouging it; however, the look and feel compensate for that. I've always thought granite looked "cold" by comparison. That said, I do know that there are some granites that can definitely look like soapstone.

I oil mine about once a month, just because I like the dark look.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences, I have read each and every one of your comments, they are all so helpful. I hope others chime in and even show pics of their well worn kitchens and countertops. I love the idea of the natural changes, the biggest concern is gouges, I would hate to see big gouges in the countertop or chips on the edge perimeters. I may purchase a soapstone cutting board or serving tray to experiment with.

I've had my soapstone for almost 2 years and I would never recommend it to anyone because you really do have to be okay with the scratches or chips or divots (did you read Marcolo's post about Barocco soapstone?), but for me, it's right. I don't like Corian or granite, didn't want anything shiny, and finally landed on soapstone. We decided on one of the hardest varieties and fell in love with one of the softest. It's beautiful with its white and caramel veins. The scratches don't bother me (it's like the scratches in a stainless steel sink), and we call it patina. I love how it feels soft and warm to the touch and to the eyes when you walk into the room. One of the selling features for us was the ability to put hot pots directly on the counter and the other is the fact that soapstone doesn't stain. (Yes, Joseph Corlett, I know that the Natural Stone Institute recommends the use of trivets, but they also tell you to "use coasters under all glasses particularly those containing alcohol or citrus juices" for all natural stone).

The soapstone companies that I dealt with provided samples of the different varieties that I was interested in. Get some and see if they scratch with your fingernail (yes, some do), or a key or anything else that you can drag over it. Do your homework, read all the old threads here and assume you'll have scratches before you even start using your new kitchen. If that's okay with you, then buy and enjoy!

Here is a picture of my no name green soapstone. This is the heaviest use area and has quite a few scratches after 2 1/2 years. Never really noticed them until I took this picture!

One cool think about getting samples in you'll have plenty of trivets. I use my counter top and cork flooring samples as trivets. I put felt pads on the stone ones.

Here's a few pictures of mine-first from far away before I had oiled/waxed it. It was "naked" for 5 years:

Almost the same vantage point when oiled:

I wish I had a closeup of when it was oiled to show how any scratches "disappeared", but I can't find any.

And this is a closeup of the same area today. Someone opened a bottle of wine there, and you can see other scratches as well. But, who cares? If you might, I would agree-look for something else.

I love soapstone. This is my first time having soapstone countertops and have had them for about 10 months. I don’t find them to be high maintenance. I waxed them when first installed and they still look great. I haven’t noticed scratches. We did get one small (tiny) nick right after they were installed (think husband dropped a tool), but you have to really look when the lighting is just right to see it. It doesn’t show water spots or fingerprints. We just use soap and water when we wipe them down. I have a 1927 English Cottage with some Tudor influence. We loved the historic appeal of soapstone but also the simplistic look.

I used soapstone in several places in my house remodel a couple of years ago - kitchen counters, bath vanity tops, shower shelves, and fireplace surround/mantle. The SS I used on the first floor is slightly different than what I used on the second floor (for that I used an "orphan" slab I loved but wasn't large enough for the kitchen). My first floor SS is Pinheiros Altos (PA) SS and is relatively hard for SS. I love it. Yes, some small scratches and a ding or two. But I went into it with an understanding that would happen so it's not bothersome. And I put hot pans directly on it!

BTW, my home is a craftsman bungalow built in 1924 so it fits right in.

Will post pics later.

This discussion feed has been very helpful, so thank you to all who took the time to contribute. I am currently considering soapstone for my kitchen remodel. I love its beauty and character and feel like I have taken the time to do the research and know what I am getting into. That being said...I went to two local stoneyards. The rep at both places flat out told me I shouldn’t want soapstone. I told them I researched it and was aware of softness of the stone etc. They both proceeded to tell me I would regret the decision. (Neither of them know me personally and are trying to help based on first hand knowledge of my personality btw. ) Now I am hesitant to use either company. Are they not confident in their product or installation? Have other had similar experiences?

Thank you everyone for your comments and pics.

Joseph, I absolutely admire your expertise and talent. Apparentky soalstone is heat resistant so much so, thst it can be used as a griddle or pan on which to cook. Your thoughts? http://www.canadiansoapstone.com/

Sherri, thank you for the link to Marcolo thread,

oasis, can’t hardly notice the scratches as they disappear into the stone,

Lela, Love your stone, though I like the dark/oil tone better. It’s cool that one could choose and appear to have different or new countertops according to mood and preference.

Westman, love the stone with your cabinets and floors, this is the look I am hoping to achieve.

Winon, can’t wait to see your pics.

E M, let us know what u decide, looking forward to the feedback from this thread on this question.

EM, my installer also forewarned me a bit and asked if I had done research. Apparently, he had a client years back that had him install them and hated the look and had them removed and replaced with something else. I tend to be a little OCD and was a little hesitant with the softness/etc., but I love the look of natural stone.

I was warned too. A fabricator, a friend who is a interior designer and the people at the stone yard. I think most people in the business have seen someone regret their choice, so they want to be sure that people truly understand what they are getting. The fabricator was almost hesitant to do it, as he said that he was sure I wouldn't like it - I didn't go with him. The others, it was more of a friendly warning.

As soapstone becomes more mainstream, they are probably a little more worried that people haven't done the research and just like the look. Just like all the people with white marble that didn't understand that it can stain and etch - they just saw it everywhere and it looked pretty.

I have only had my soapstone for about 4 months, but I love it. I keep it oiled since I like the dark look. It has some scuffs and scratches already, but I don't mind at all and I look forward to it developing more of a patina. Hell, I have some scuffs and scratches too, and I hope I age as well as it will!

Agree with Laura. Below is the link for the wax I used. I applied it twice when first installed. The name is a little misleading because I don't think soapstone can really be "sealed" but I love this product. As stated earlier, I haven't waxed since they were first installed and they still look great.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RO1X8K/ref=asc_df_B007RO1X8K5392957/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B007RO1X8K&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167138874211&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14499385091378219275&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033483&hvtargid=pla-309606691892

Thank you westmanmarine and Laura! Your comments helped put me at ease. It seems SS is a bit of a dirty word at stoneyards. I was becoming concerned that some of the attitude may have been related to the product install, such as perhaps they hate selling it because it is more prone to breakage or chipping during install.

westmanmarine,

I'm intrigued by your wax. How long have you been using it(i.e. how long does it work?). Also, do you get any water/glass rings with it?

I love my soapstone, but the water rings are what I don't like.

cheri127- almost 5 years ago you wrote a similar comment about being less than thrilled with your counters. You have a beautiful kitchen and should be completely happy with it. As I stated back then, you should try sealing a sample of your counter, it will keep the stone evenly dark and you will not have the issues that you did with oil.

I have had soapstone from Alberene in Virginia in my kitchen, kids bath, and laundry room for almost 9 years. I read about it extensively prior to purchase. I too read that it could not be sealed and when my installer suggested that I do, I thought that he must be wrong. So, he sealed a sample for me with Miracle 511 seal and enhance. I kept the sample and messed around with it for a couple months before sealing the counters. After the initial sealant the counters were sealed a second time, maybe six months after the first, and they look almost the same now as they did then. Heavily scrubbed areas around the faucets could probably stand to be sealed again but for now I just wax them every few months.

My counters have a couple of dents, many little speckled areas, and have had some chips on the edges. They are not like a perfect granite or quartz surface. I have hand sanded some of the edge chips, if you know where to look then you can see them, but slightly imperfect fits the stone so the marks and dents do not stand out or look bad.

http://www.stonemastersinc.net/countertop-materials/soapstone-countertops/care-for-soapstone

i love our soapstone wax. just be careful, most soapstone waxes are made from nuts so those with allergies should be warned.

Mom2, I have had my soapstone since last spring. I applied it when counters were installed. I applied, left it for 15 minutes, then wiped it off completely. Then did the same with one more application. I have not noticed rings or anything. Soap and water is all I use on them.

I also use the same product that westmanmarine uses. My stone is new and seemed to absorb the wax pretty quickly the first time I applied, so I have done it a few times - the last couple times I have rubbed it on before bed and wiped/buffed them in the morning. Each time I notice it seems to absorb less and stay longer. I love the stuff.

I just ordered some! Thanks for sharing. :-)

Funny what people think they know about soapstone.
"All soapstone has green in it." Not. Now, it's my understanding that Vermont's is the one with green.
I can tell you I wanted that since I started dreaming in 2006, but it's just not to be without serious costs around here.

"Relatively new to the market." Which market? Where" New? HUH?

Although, in 2006 when looking for soapstone, I was condescendingly told more than a few times, that it was pronounced "Silestone." Needless to say they didn't get my business.

When I started paying ahead on kitchen counters, Granite Grannies here in Upper Marlboro had never done any soapstone. I was starting to look for other things. But by the time I'd paid 1/2 on account towards counters, they'd done a ton of installations. I actually found my slab there, and it was the 1st one I looked at.

I have only oiled mine and think it's stunning. It has veins and almost a leopard-ish look on parts.

I love it. And my giant, custom sink? LOVE IT. Oh - I don't know or care how hard it is. I can tell you the VERY day I got it. I tunked my coffee cup on the edge of the sink and got my first tiny chip in the too-squared edge. I shrugged and said to myself, "Self? Got that out of the way."

My soapstone also does not have any green. It is black with these luscious caramel veins. (It is also one of the harder varieties.) I have some slight scratching but no gouges at all and we are at almost 3 years.

Mom2sulu: what is your SS called? The caramel veining is amazing!

This is a great thread! I am in the middle of a DIY full kitchen remodel and am just wrapping up the long journey of choosing a soapstone slab. Maybe my wife and I are just too particular, but we traveled to what felt like nearly every soapstone yard in Southern California to disappointment. Until last week the only one we really liked was the "stormy black" sold by Teixteira. It is hard as soapstone gets (5 on hardness scale by my tests) with just the right amount of veining, and the sample we got looked beautiful oiled or unoiled. Unfortunately they were asking a sky high price, maybe it's a San Francisco thing....

We ended up passing on them based on their price and found another yard with some slabs with same hard properties, similar look, and significantly lower price!! Veining is a bit different than the stormy black, but I think I like it even better. I have to say I was shocked at the range of prices I have been quoted for various soapstone slabs over the last 2 months. Between 9 quotes, I've gotten anywhere between $20/sf, to $50+/sf. No difference in stone properties either. Can't wait to get my soapstone installed!

So glad folks are finding this thread useful and are enjoying it. I never knew that there were different types of soapstone and had different hardness and tints of green. Loving all the shared experiences and photos, especially photos of food displays, just yummy. Love this guy too

E M,

Thanks for the kind words! My soapstone is called Pinheiros Cascada. It was a 5 on the hardness scale.

Hello P G,

We put in SS 6 years ago, yes we have some dings and scratches; I even have a place where I cut the SS with a Swiss Army knife (by accident, of course).

I have a thread at the link where I had asked about supporting the SS.

We loved the SS. One reason we choose the SS is that we make cold processed soap; and laboratories use the SS due to the resistance to chemicals, and we use sodium hydroxide/lye to make the soap in our kitchen.

Note: if you read the thread, our SS is still in place and hasn't moved in six years despite the odd light tremour we get here from earthquakes.

Here's the link (I hope is works)

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2531645/support-1000lb-soapstone-overhang?n=32

I went through the exact same debate & posted a similar question here on Houzz. I ended up not going with Soapstone for all the downsides noted, but instead, went with Cambrian Black brushed granite. I think the brushed texture gives it a similar matte look as soapstone, but is super hard so no worries of scratches. Also, I didn’t have to worry about any green or blue tones coming through as I wanted a true black/charcoal. Counters were just installed this week..here’s a picture in progress...

I think I promised pictures. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have a great one from the kitchen (lighting is bad). But I'll post one anyway; also the fireplace uses the same SS as the kitchen. The hall bath vanity and master shower use the lighter "orphan" slab I purchased. The tile in the shower is actually a very light green and picks up green in the SS perfectly.

Hi P G,

Here is a link to our soapstone counters. The suppliers have their own page in this forum and have them posted as one of their projects.

https://www.houzz.com/projects/239391/courtenay-bc-silver-soapstone-oiled

Thank you all for posting pics and links. The more I read and research, the more I lean toward soapstone. Dang, if it were just a bit cheaper !

We've had soapstone counters for 10 years. We DIY'd them. We still love them. We only have one chip on an edge which is barely noticeable. We still oil but rarely. I would post a pick but we are painting several rooms and my kitchen is packed with the overflow. I do agree with other posters they aren't for everyone but I have noticed that every one of our visitors comments on ours. Like every option there are pros and cons. Hope you find just the right fit for your project.

I'm a soapstone regretter. I wanted it so badly because I adore the softness and warmth compared to granite and quartz, and I love natural materials and patina. I thought I was ready and knew what I was getting into. I bought from a reputable dealer. Well what a disaster. Mine weren't as dark as they come but they weren't that light either. Still they scratched just from looking at them and chipped/pitted like crazy. Then the white veins started to crack open and I had a big corner chunk almost fall right off. I only lasted about 8 months with mine before I had them torn out and replaced with Silestone Charcoal Soapstone in the suede finish. It broke my heart (and cost a fortune) but it was the right decision. It looks almost identical from a short distance but it's bulletproof in comparison. It feels kind of 'fake' and that makes me sad but I'm not walking on eggshells around my counters anymore and that's a relief.

I know that my experience isn't typical but I would still recommend getting references and talking to clients who have installed the exact same material (from the same spot in the same quarry) before committing to soapstone or choosing your slabs.

I am definitely #teamsoapstone. I first quenched my lust for soapstone many years before I had a kitchen remodel planned, by having local stone yard fabricate a replacement top for my coffee table from a soapstone remnant.

This is a Brazilian soapstone that Dorado Soapstone (importer/distributor) calls "Anasazi". It is very hard and dense, and pretty much impervious to scratching, with intense contrasting veining. This piece (coffee table photo above) has NEVER been oiled, it is just that dark naturally. My initial experience with the naturally dark, and practically un-scratchable Anasazi stone might have lead me to underestimate how soft the majority of (less dense) soapstone is.

Dorado / Anasazi

I later put, what turns out to be, a much softer ss in my kitchen. For my kitchen I was looking for the soft grey (unoiled) look, with minimal veining. I kept my kitchen counters natural for the first three years. I fully embrace the texture and patina of the small scratches my counters have (no-regrets), that is part of the vintage "been here forever" look I love about my 100+ year old English-cottage-y house. (I've also had a copper kitchen sink for many years before my kitchen renovation where we added the soapstone, for us the copper patina showing wear, and constantly changing in appearance, was a feature we loved, so we are already "patina people" in general). But, the oil marks and rings that would mark/"stain" the surface my un-oiled soapstone, anytime anything remotely oily would touch the counters, drove me CRAZY, and looked very messy (and, well, ugly) to me. (Note, not really a "stain" - a surface mark that a degreasing agent can strip from the stone).

The solution for me was to switch over to the "wet look". After 3 years of frequent scrubbing with simple green to get rid of (de-grease) the incidental oil blobs and rings that came from normal kitchen use, I started oiling my countertops, and embraced the jet-black, wet look, about 2 years ago. I've only oiled 3 times, all with an oil-and-beeswax blend paste. After the first two applications where the counters sucked up the oil/wax, I went about a year before a re-application, which happened last fall. Counters in photos below are about 6 mos from last oiling.

Oil-Wax paste

My kitchen counters are what Saratoga Soapstone (importer/distributor) calls "Mineral Black" (also quarried in Brazil). I think it is probably one of the softer soapstone varieties out there, that is sold frequently for countertops, which was a (mineralogy) trade-off, in order to have the uniform soft matte dove grey look I wanted, the quality that drew me to the unoiled mineral black. Between the Anasazi and the Mineral black I feel like I have probably bookend-ed the Rockwell spectrum for material hardness for soapstone.

Saratoga / Mineral Black

Photos showing use/scratches/wear/love, just to be clear on what soapstone "patina" looks like (eyes wide open):

More frequent oiling would make the wear marking much less visible - but they don't bother me at all, and I've not had any issues with water rings or marks from water, before or after oiling. I did strongly dislike the oil splotches-stains that I found to be unavoidable when trying to keep my soapstone natural and unoiled, for me that was the only down-side to soapstone. In the last photo the cloudy area in the upper-left ,the "oiled look" is starting to fade or evaporate, and the natural dove-grey quality of the unoiled stone is starting to reappear).

I would totally use soapstone again, (I love my kitchen), but I would have gone into the shopping planning for oiled wet look from the start, instead of shopping/selecting based on unoiled-look of the slabs. But definitely important to know what you are getting, and understand how it will wear.

J, love your kitchen cupboards and thank you for the tip re Cambrian black, I’ll take a look for sure.

winno, thank you for the pics and I love yoir cupards, bathroom and fireplace. Is kt gas or wood burning?

brent, thank you yes, the link to the fabricator worked

Val, glad you have enjoyed your ss for so long. Good luck with painting, I know the turbulence it creates, but worth it in the end!

@jesslake, I am so sorry to heard about your unfortunate experience with ss. This must have been awfully discouraging and very expensive. I could not imagine having to rip out and replace a hard surface countertop. Hopefully your dealer or fabricator helped you out with regard to this do over.

Bemocked, thank you for sharing and taking the time to write such detail and share your photos. How long did it take to get rid of the “ugly” oil marks? i am assuming they are not as noticeable when the stone has been oiled and darker in colour.

If you oil the entire counter... then there are no incidental oil marks or blobs (or rings from setting down the bottle of olive oil on the counter) from use, the whole surface is the darker color from oil exposure.

In the first years, when I was keeping the overall counter un-oiled and natural, to degrease an oil blob/ring/mark, I would spray simple green or a citrus degreaser, let it sit 15 mins or so, wipe it off, scrubs a few minutes with soap and water, and repeat a few more times.

@jesslake thanks for your input. We decided to go for the SS and will have it installed in late April. I agree with you about going with a reputable company. While SS seems to be available at many stone showrooms (usually one option, maybe two, a few slabs of each) we found that many companies did not seem to be able to provide much info about SS in general. We often got conflicting info and every single showroom either told us outright not to buy it or gave us other options (usually jet mist honed granite) which they thought would be better. One show room warned me I had better not call them after install and complain about the scratches. Thankfully this attitude scared me off and led to me reach out to companies who only deal with SS. We will be working with a fabricator who only deals with a couple of vendors and these companies get their stones from the same quarry in Brazil and have done so for years. He knows the stones and vouches for the quality. He goes through a four part sanding process after install and is able to supply photos and references for his work. At this point, I finally feel comfortable using soap stone and am now leaving it all in his hands. I will post pictures when the job is completed. Based on my experience at this point, I would highly recommend that, if you are looking for soapstone, don’t use a “regular” granite/stone company. Many SS companies will travel or have vendors locally in your area. I live in the northeast and found Greenmountain soapstone and Vermont soapstone very easy to work with.

Love our soapstone, glad I decided to go with it.