First of all, white/cream with very little pattern knocks you out of natural stone with the exception perhaps of Taj Mahal quartzite which is very expensive. You'll be looking at a $5K USD bill just for the stone for a small kitchen. Installed, quartzite easily reaches up to the $10K or $15K price depending on the size of your kitchen. Granite in those colors/pattern isn't available at least in a variety that is durable enough for most kitchens. When we speak of "leathered" versus "honed," we are normally speaking of the finish given to natural stone. Leathered is usually more rough than honed, although a honed Taj Mahal is quite rough due to the nature of the stone's composition.

If you are open to engineered stone like quartz, I do believe there is an option of a honed finish, but not a leathered one. I don't hear people talk about honed quartz that much. Have you seen any countertop samples in person? Most quartz is far from what I would call a high-gloss appearance, so you might like regular quartz selections just fine.

White with little patterning can also be had with honed marble, but that comes with a host of other issues that you may or may not be prepared to accept. Google white marble and you'll find hundreds of discussions on its properties, and pros and cons.

Honed is a smooth matte finish on stone, as opposed to a shiny one. Leathered is also matte, but instead of a totally smooth finish, it's a bit bumpy/dimpled. You can usually get those finishes in granite, and I'd suggest that you select a slab that already is leathered (or honed). To have the stone yard do it after the fact is going to cost a lot.

back2work is correct--white granite does NOT come in white with little patterning. It's just the nature of the stone--it will usually be highly speckled, not veined, and can have lots of colors you may not like (burgundy, yellow).

You can get honed or leathered quartz, but may have to sign off that you understand these finishes require more "upkeep" and care than the polished ones. Any honed surface is more porous than a shiny one, and you can get blotches and stains, especially with white

For a product that is matte with little or no pattern, that will stand up to a busy family, try a solid surface product like Corian. There are many Houzzers who love it.

I can’t think of a more durable/serviceable surface than polished granite except for face grain maple that can be refinished.

Describe the installation: counter or island? Sink or range in it?

If its going to be treated badly use man made quartz. Some of the cheaper colors are Better than the expensive ones. You’ll probably want to replace it in 10 years. Avoid plastics and plain white.

Thank you so much. We are actually doing it on the island and the main counter. It will have both sink and range. We have maple on the island also. I have attached an "inspiration" picture and would love any suggestions on a quartz?

I agree polished granite is truly bullet proof in a kitchen . There are white granites that are pretty simple . If you open the surface of a stone IMO it becomes much less impervious to stains , oils etc. Quartz is IMO a poor choice for kitchens it does not stand up to heat so really in a kitchen not practical.

The bottom one is river white and can often have cream streaks in it so you need to hunt down slabs that have that .

An island large enough to accommodate a sink and a range will be well outide the size limitations of any stone slabs. You might want to rethink the design to get better function, and to fit within the materials limitations. And lower cost solutions.

Why would you want the sink and cooktop on the island?

Page 110 and 111 of the GranQuartz catalog may help.

The sink is on the island and the stove is on the L shape...so both will be surrounded by the same countertop. That is what I meant.

So both are on the island in the L shaped stone? I would use granite but it would help to know the size of the island stone.

When an island gets large enough for a range and sink it can become an obstacle to comfortable movement in the kitchen.

The inspiration kitchen looks like it would have a professional staff.

I think a honed (matte) finish is realistic in terms of upkeep. But in some granites, the honed version can look a little flat and almost like plastic. A leathered (textured) finish seems less desirable based on what you've told us about your kitchen. I've seen that used more sparingly - in a powder room, for example. You might really love some of the man-made materials like Silestone, Dekton etc - lots of white options and bulletproof. Our local stoneyards have slabs of all these options - from soapstone to granite to marble to quartz to quartzite to composites. It might seem overwhelming when you walk in but you'll rule out 90% of them before long especially if you want white-ish.