We had a pool built last year and chose a Pebble Tec finish. I am now so sorry we did. I wish we'd saved the $$$ and had just gone for the old fashioned plaster finish. I'm 62 and use the pool for aqua exercises for my arthritis, and part of my routine is to walk MANY steps back and forth in the pool. The first few days I did this, the bottoms of my feet ended up RAW. At first I didn't make the connection. But finally on about the 3rd day, I realized it was from the surface of the pool. My feet were so sore I could hardly walk on them. My feet are not that sensitive. I walk around barefoot all day when I'm home. I now wear either water shoes or mesh shower shoes in the pool. I thought maybe I could "toughen up" the bottoms of my feet, but the few times I've tried to go in barefoot since the beginning, I can feel the irritation, and end up putting my shoes back on.

Yeah #1 is an idiot - you are not! Do LOTS of research and arm yourself with knowledge. ALSO another thing I wish I knew from the start about "softness and scratchability" of the soapstone. Many fabricators try to put a high polish on their soapstone just like their granite - of COURSE you'll be able to scratch w/ your fingernail! 150-200 grit is about where you get that nice soft matte finish without as much scratching. If you really want soapstone, you can always live with plywood countertops until you find the deal and the stone that's right for you. As OP said, it's a big part of the cost and you should be absolutely sure about your decision! Good luck! From my research (depending where you are) you're looking at $90-$130/sf installed. You do get what you pay for, and I've also noticed several fabricators have what I call "zipcodeitis" wherein they mark up your price because they know where you live or they figure you've got $$ coming out of your ears if you're looking at soapstone.

I posted this on a couple different threads but I'll do it again here. I wanted comfy outdoor furniture but really didn't want to deal with keeping cushions clean, so I opted for these chairs from Ikea. they're surprisingly comfortable and you can just wipe them off. because they're rounded inside, they're way more comfortable than other hard chairs. throw in a blanket or a small round seat cushion if you need it to be softer. they also come in a pale warm grey (the white is a little harder to maintain). and they're stackable!

IMO poor choices for color I would do any bright color and I have had good luck with getting unfinished ones and painting them in fact i have even had them painted in a car painting place with car paint.I had really cheap ones once in red they lasted about 4 yrs then went to the unfinished better quaility ones . I love bright colors utside it is IMO where you can do much more color than you might do inside . Maybe look for nice outdoor rug first to see how nice bright colors look