I do not have it, but my best friend does. She is a huge Italian cook, and we have cooked together often. She does not even oil hers except when the mood strikes her. I It is a wonderful surface that I would not hesitate to use. I think you're going to LOVE it.

Go for it! I don’t have it, but only because I’ve decided I want light. I ordered some samples from an online source and tested them for scratching. I ordered “Belvedere” and “Stormy Black”. The stormy seemed a little more forgiving to me. I would do it if I wanted dark counters! There are different levels of softness depending on the type of soapstone, so be sure to test some samples!

Picture for fun. (Not my sample source)

I've had it for six or seven years. Super easy maintenance and you can put hot pans directly on it. I have never oiled mine, but it has developed a patina. I would not hesitate to use it again.

12 years & I love the soapstone counters & sink. I mineral oil about once a year. The first week i had a clock fall & put a small ding, used magic marker to color it. Mine was finished to fine & a FL soapstone dealer, Joshua came north & refinished some of us from GW. I also have soapstone in master bath counter.

IMO if it stands up to labs it is the perfect choice if going dark .

Here are some photos of my samples. The first pic is what they look like dirty. I had a soap dispenser on it.

It doesn't sound like from your OP that you are aware that soapstone varieties vary in softness. This is what @Melanie Beckman was describing. A good stoneyard who works a lot with soapstone will be able to tell you which of the varieties it carries are harder and which are softer. The harder ones will be more resistant to chips and scratches. As to upkeep, many people opt not to oil their soapstone at all, while many love the richness that oiling gives. The longer you have the soapstone the less frequently it needs to be oiled to keep that dark color.

As I previously mentioned - I am aware of different soapstone properties, and I am aware there are different varieties.
My kitchen faces north onto a wooded lot. It’s naturally dim. We’ve added better lighting and another south facing window, but I thought I wanted to choose a stone that is a lighter grey than the usual black. I was also hoping to find domestic slabs, but Alberene is getting hard to find. Maybe I should go darker and then I’ll avoid some of the obvious discoloration that occurs with lighter varieties. We have a friend who has a piece of it and they have a glass ring stain they can’t seem to get rid of. I haven’t seen it in person or what they’ve done to try cleaning it, but it’s got my husband worried.

On the other hand, seeing your testimonials, I am feeling more confident again. So far all have been affirmative. I think that’s a good sign. Thank you all for your responses.

I’ve had my soapstone counters (Black Venata) for a little less than two years. I still love them. They are more like concrete than polished granite in that the surface will not stay a uniform color unless oiled. And the oil will wear off unevenly. Water marks will happen. Scratches too. Some days they will look blotchy. All the words in the English language to describe how they patina will sound negative, and yet in actual experience they are beautiful and the fact that they change from day to day is a pleasure. The lighter the color of soapstone the softer it will be. My pick, the Black Venata is in the medium range, and I wouldn’t go softer than that, because scratching and chipping is a thing. I won’t want a stone so delicate that a bowl dragged across it would leave a scrape.

My oddly shaped kitchen has some dark corners and I went with wood cabinets, not bright white, so I worried about whether the darkness of soapstone would make the place look like a pit. :). This was a change out from almond colored Formica. I did the same thing you are planning - added more light. And it all turned out fine. Below is a picture at almost the end of the remodel taken of the darkest area in the kitchen. There is no natural light in this section and with only half the lights on you could figure this is a worse case scenario. What the photo doesn’t show is that the the soapstone itself looks rich and lustrous in real life, even at night in dim lighting.

An option, if you are still concerned is to do a "honed" Virginia Mist or Jet Black it's sometimes called. It looks like the dark soapstone but has none of the downsides. I had it in a previous home and loved it. This is an example. Less expensive than the soapstone also. Just thought I would add that to your decision-making. Like every stone, you have to go to the yards and see the "actual" slabs to make a good decision. Good luck! btw, I LOVE the sage green cabinets. If I ever have a cabin or house that I can do that, I'm in. That is beautiful and it is a photo I have saved as well.

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Thanks Flo, but ironically it’s not the look I prefer, but the way it feels to the touch. Other stones can get close, but never quite the same.

There is a give and a get with every single top surface, Nothing else will feel like soapstone, because nothing else IS soapstone. If one needs uninterrupted, 24/7 "perfection" from a surface? Not sure where one would find that. It's like Goldilocks and the porridge. What about "perfection" is so appealing? Not much, really.

We buy new merchandise "faked" to look worn, some of the most beautiful women on earth have facial "flaws"! . Nothing will mimic the soft feel of soapstone, or its talc content. If you love it, get it.

You can ask a thousand people, and of the thousand, the only person who matters is you. You will get raves, disappointment, no matter the number of users asked. It matters not granites honed, leathered,.......they aren't going to FEEL like soapstone. So, whether it is crumbs you don't want to see, or shine that offends you, or matte surfaces that may show water, or WHATEVER it is? Nothing and nobody is perfect, and beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.. Un enhanced seal below, and no complaints: ) where it's also a mantel surround.

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We sell and install a ton of soapstone. It's a wonderful material that stands the test of time. If you're looking for US-based slabs right now, the choices are very limited. Churchhill soapstone out of Virginia has been spotty as of late, so much so we have held off on buying bundles (a bundle consists of 6 slabs and we buy bundles for color and veining consistency on jobs that require more than one slab) for a bit.

Go for it, and enjoy the process. Here are some images of recent projects we've done. Best of luck!

With the beautiful green cabinets, the soapstone will look gorgeous. Jan is right - you can get feedback from others who own soapstone, but only you and your husband can make the “right” decision for your house. If he is worried about a ring of water leaving a mark, then go with a “non-shiny” granite. But the feel of soapstone cannot be mimic’d by other products. You can’t make a mistake here because your green cabinets will wow everyone who comes to your home. Like Flo, I would do that color “next time”.

@Therese N I love your soapstone! The cabinet color is lovely too - would you mind sharing the manufacturer/color?

Congrats on your soapstone...it s beautiful!

Our soapstone is 5 years old...one of the hardest varieties, Belvedere. Like yours, ours has green veining, which we love. Oiled it on and off for a year. Haven’t oiled it since.

Enjoy your new kitchen!

I used PPG "Mezmerize" color https://www.ppgpaints.com/color/color-families/greens/mesmerize. I'm not sure what product the painter used, but I suspect it was a Sherwin Williams enamel of some kind. This was our slab from https://www.stoneholding.com. We were lucky to get everything cut from one. Our fabricator was http://www.nvrsurfaces.com. Our Cabinet maker is Cabinets Unlimited in Rockford, MN (they're old school and don't have a website, LOL) I also want to share the pendants! https://www.tudoandco.com/collections/all/products/reims-smooth-garden-concrete-pendant-ceiling-light

It looks great! I love the green with the counters! What are you planning for a backsplash? I’m sure someone can suggest a different light bulb to change the intensity of the green if you want to.

Thanks! No, they’re integrated LED, but it looks a little different in-person. It’s ok, though. We have a north-facing kitchen with a wooded lot in Minnesota. I needed color since we don’t have any half the year and lots of shad3 the other half, so I was afraid some of those sage greens would become too grey and dull given the natural lighting we have to deal with.

Oh - backsplash will look like these painted tiles...

I'm also looking at soapstone from Stone Holding. Is your Black Unique a harder stone?

@misntroya I honestly don't know. It seems to be holding up pretty well so far. I recommend calling the supplier and talking with them. They will be able to help you better. They really know their stuff. I suspect my stone goes by other names from other distributers. I was mainly looking for something light because our kitchen tends to be dark, but I just had no luck with anything local. They're all fairly black, especially when treated. The other quality I wanted was very little to no pattern. Also hard to find. The slab I chose did have some larger veins, but the rest of the areas are pretty uniform. Soapstone in general is soft by nature, so it does scratch, but its also repairable. It is really liberating to have a stone that I know will develop wear and tear and that it becomes part of it's legacy and charm. I would much rather have this and worry less about it, than have a piece of glossy granite and end up with a big heart-stoping scratch that I cannot do anything about. Wax hides most of the little tiny scratches, and light sanding can knock down the rest. Even better is that I don't have to worry about stains or heat. Even the water marks will buff right out when I freshen it with wax. It is a great product - whichever variety you get - because it's so easy to live with. If you're still curious, there do seem to be a few pages on the internet that discuss the hardness of the different varieties. Hardness increases as the ratio of talc decreases. Give Stone Holdings a call. Also try talking to the great guys at NVR Surfaces in Rockford/Greenfield. They are the fabricators I used and they are particularly experienced in fabricating soapstone. (I recommend hiring them, if you are here in MN!)

Very beautiful soapstone, Congrats!

@theresen Thanks so much for your timely response! We're in Milaca and are having Distinctive Cabinet Design in Foley making our cabinets. I originally wanted a black soapstone countertop with little white in it, but when I saw a slab of Noire at Stone Holding in Waite Park I couldn't resist. It has beautiful white granite swirled in it. Distinctive Cabinet Design has their own separate building where they fabricate countertops themselves. After our first visit there we were just driving around the area and saw the open overhead doors of this building and saw a big ole slab of soapstone there. So I'm pretty confident they'll do a good job. It's a small kitchen project actually, as our antique stove, fridge and bakers cabinet take up a lot of space! My husband's camera acted up and wouldn't take a picture so I took one with my camera, not very good but I'll try to add it.

Congrats! Looking forward to the reveal. Waite Park was a bit of a haul for us, but always a nice drive. Milaca isn’t much further for you. I’m glad you were able to get out there and find something. That slab is beautiful! Have them show you their planned cuts so you can approve them before they procédé. They can either do it digitally or tape off the slab for you to look at.

Another greater Twin Cities metro person here. When we installed soapstone counters seven or eight years ago, by far the largest selection of soapstone was at Midwest Specialty Products in Shakopee. IMO well worth a little extra driving for such a large investment.

I went to Shakopee first. They did have a great selection. I was originally looking for domestic slabs, so I didn’t look closely at the others. I put a slab of Churchill on hold, then went to Waite Park. They have far more stone overall and we found better service. I did end up giving up on domestic, and really liked the stone we found. We also tried MSI and Stone Source but didn’t find anything there. I’m glad the Twin Cities (& wider metro) has such great resources. Lots to choose from!

They have an amazing selection of stones in Waite Park. I absolutely loved the stone we chose, and it's a harder variety which is a plus. We were assisted by Sean, who was extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

For all of you mentioning water marks, soapstone fabricated properly, by a soapstone expert, should never show water marks. That’s why I always suggest getting your soapstone from a soapstone dealer…not from a stoneyard that mostly sells granite, marble, quartzite, and (ugh) quartz.

Our counters, one of the hardest varieties of soapstone, Belvedere, are almost 6 years old. Fabricated by M. Teixeira, the largest soapstone dealer in the US, they’ve never had a watermark. Not one.