Hi Fern--I do have Paperstone ("Certified") countertops--they have been installed for over a year now, and have held up nicely. I just took a look--I do have a few scratches, but they really aren't very noticable and don't bother me at all (I probably wouldn't have noticed them if I hadn't specifically been searching for them!). That said--I am pretty gentle (and I live alone, so no kids or less gentle users to worry about!)--I don't cut directly on the surface and I'm generally pretty careful not to drag things across the counter--so I wouldn't expect too many scratches. Some friends have Richlite countertops and were disappointed with some scratches that appeared after using a salad spinner (I haven't seen those scratches, so can't say how severe they really are or how they compare to the minor scratches I have found on my countertops). I'm not sure if Paperstone is more scratch resistant than Paperstone--could be. Like Vizslalover mentioned above, I did have a little problem with them maybe 6 months or so into ownership, where a white 'pit' appeared. It was as if the top layer of paper had worn away a bit, like a little crater. My fabricator came back and was able to fix the pit very nicely. I haven't had any problems since, so I tend to think it was a manufacturing issue and not caused by wear (especially since the pit appeared in a low use area of my countertop). My fabricator told me he sees that problem occasionally, and generally repairs it before installing the countertops. I never could find an online complaint about the same issue, so must be a limited problem. (Plus, Kliptech seems to be constantly working on improvements to their product line, so maybe they've resolved the issue) Here is a picture of the pit (the halo around the pit was caused when I tried to rub out the white spot with a scruffy sponge) And here is the same spot, post fix and buff by the fabricator. You can see the fix a bit in the picture, but it hasn't bothered me at all. I'm assuming you have been able to see some Paperstone/Richlite installations (I live in Seattle and bought my paperstone from Environmental Home Center, where you can see a few installations). Like you, I was originally considering soapstone. It was just too hard to find local sources where I could really inspect potential soapstone slabs. For my kitchen, I really didn't want much veining and wanted no green. Some sage FKB member in the past posted a comment about soapstone--something to the effect that if you are going to buy soapstone unseen, you better be sure you love ALL soapstone, because you just can't be 100% sure what you are going to get. I finally decided I just didn't love all soapstone (not for my kitchen, anyway!) so the Paperstone was an easier option for me. (the 'green' consideration was secondary, frankly). I am very happy with my choice, but if I had it to do over again, AND I had lots of slabs of soapstone available locally for inspection, I might go with the soapstone. Or maybe not. Who can say??? :) Anyway, hope this helps! Kelly

tkbalt, Thank you SO much for posting. I saw your sink and thought it may have been the matte. So far it has been durable and easy to take care of? The price was killer and I'm sure we could have done better, but we just wanted to get it ordered ASAP. We started this process in MAY and it took until last week for the one cabinet we ordered to get here and installed.

I think you will find something negative about any of the varieties that you look at. Everyone has different likes/dislikes/tolerances. It's going to be difficult to get one without a hint of green, I think. Most of the ones that I looked at did have some green in them. Some more than others. I don't think you can choose from a sample. I thought I wanted a Stormy Black from M Tex. based on a countertop that I saw. It is a harder variety and the counter I saw was gorgeous; blackish with white veining. When I went to look at the slabs that were available, they just weren't the same..... had more green, iirc. I ended up with a Barroca that has white veins, but it may scratch too easily for your liking.

I agree with others as I wouldn't change the faucet since the rest of the hardware would need to be changed as well. The faucet you have now goes well with the rest of the hardware choices. I would think that changing the paint color or even wallpapering, artwork - adding colorful towels - anything to add some color to the room which seems completely washed out with the pale green and beige.