I know this is an old thread. But I know I read old threads when I am trying to make a decision. We put soapstone and marble and wood floors in our kitchen in 2007. So we are going on 8.5 years and I LOVE IT ALL. My kids have grown up with it. We don't baby any surface. To be clear, my style is not slick and modern. I have antiques and an older home so I like traditional materials and I don't mind a "lived with patina"-but having said that I don't think my stone has much of a patina at all. The big island is soapstone. It has a few scratches-mostly from house-sitters and the kids dragging heavy pots across it or cutting directly on it like a cutting board.. But if I oil it (which I do maybe 2-3 times a year) they fade. I did search for a long time and I picked a soapstone that was know to be harder than others with minimal white veining-so this could make a difference. I think we could have the top polished/honed again and it would look brand new. But I think it looks fine. Maybe in another 8 or 9 years. I love it everyday! The carrara marble is around the sink in the most used food prep area of the kitchen. It is honed. I just had a repair company come out (only because we had to do some other work in the kitchen and hubby asked about it) and they honed it again and cleaned it up. It looks brand new (I didn't think it looked bad before). There are a few little pits and chips that cant be fixed-but I don't think they are that noticeable. I just sealed it after the guy left. It was never really sealed before. I have gotten a few stains and I have always gotten them out. I have had etching but I learned how to get that out myself (I use sandpaper-yes and it has worked beautifully for me). I love it every day! We are about to ignore all practical advice again and put marble in our master bathroom. I hope we have as much luck with it as we did in the kitchen. In the next few weeks I hope to post photos of our 8.5 year old finishes.

In a childs room, I would go for the thicker top, which will be a little stronger, if you can. Girls are not as hard on things as boys, generally, but kids like to climb on things, they drop things, even on expensive granite, and teenagers like to sit on counters at times, teenage girls have other teenage girls into thier rooms and bathrooms, and THEY sit on the edge of counters, trying makeup, doing thier hair, etc. You can't possibly imagaine what they can think of to do when they aren't thinking. If I could I would go with the thicker countertop. Looks are one thing, but kids are aother... just sayin. Sue

The fabricator we used was Napoli from Seaford and we got the marble from Stone World in Farmingdale. They were both an absolute pleasure to work with, and quality was top notch. The price was around $100 sq/ft, plus $300 fabrication fee and $150 delivery fee. Click on the Zillow link below and flip through the pictures and you will see the result (we just sold). I did all of the work in the kitchen (whole house for that matter) and used a very high quality carrera subway tile for the backsplash. That I purchased from World Tile in Copiague- highly recommend them too. http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/14-Shinnecock-Ave-Massapequa-NY-11758/31428225_zpid/ BUT....BEWARE!!!! All of the horror stories you hear about marble in the kitchen are absolutely true. As careful as you try to be it is going to get destroyed. My wife is an active cook and we have two very active boys. From a far the stone still looks absolutely beautiful...but upon closer inspection you can see the damage. For what we paid it is upsetting, but we knew that going in. I would not use it again, but it is beautiful. If you are local to the Massapequa area you are more then welcome to come by and check it out, we will be there until Memorial Day. Hope that helps...Bob (516-606-9641)

Thanks for all the posts everybody! Americancolleen, thanks for the lead on the Westwood place. IÂll give them a call. Please post pics when your Danby is installed! Willowdecor, I appreciate the heads up. I just donÂt understand how people can run a business that way. DonÂt they want customers? And IÂll call that remnant yard! HollyH, thanks for the heads up as well. I really like their website. It is probably one of the easiest to use - IÂm sure it sells lots of stone. Wish they would do that with remnants! :) PenelopeJosephine, in Boston there is a Boston Materials Resource Center. I havenÂt shopped there, but it is a good place to donate good used materials. nhbaskets, thanks for name of your fabricator. IÂll give them a call as well. This site is so fantastic - I know that when I have a question, it will be thought about and help will be given. Thank you all! Hestia