I have polished crystallize quartzite and it is beautiful. The polished finish really gives it a depth that I think would be lost with honing or brushing

For backsplash the white cloe tile looks great with the quartzite

go with the quartzite based on the slabs that you like. Some Taj can be very beige, some can have a lot of purple and green in it.

I'd stay really simple with the tile afterwards. Vermeere makes beautiful tile that has dimension, but isn't too busy. Once the counters are in, get some backsplash tile samples in different colors after, to see which you like.

I agree you will need to choose slabs carefully As for the actual one too hard to tell from pics. I always suggest making sure the lighting is all LED 4000K before making this type of decision. IMO never hone stone it just opens it up to staining . As for the area around the range it is hard to tell from the pic. I honestly like what you have and the kitchen is quaite a dated style but of course I do not know anything about the rest of the hose as to style.

This tile looks fabulous with the warmth of Taj Mahal quartzit! Lovely neutral compliment.

Thanks all! coray your kitchen looks beautiful! We did go in person to check out the Taj but found it more green than expected. We did find another quartzite called Perla Venata which had more of a creamy, beige/brown tone to it. Anyone has any experience with that one?

Susan- love thst herringbone pattern for backsplash, will definitely have to look into that.

As for the area around the cooktop, we are getting a contractor to come take a look at it.

I really wanted to go with Perla Venetia after seeing a beautiful slab. Unfortunately, that one was sold and all the others I have seen did not look as pretty as the first. I ended up getting lavezzi. We get to see our template laid out on the slab this week! I can’t wait to have it in place and to wrap up our remodel.

Perla Venata…grrrrr autocorrect! Also, I was told the Taj Mahal and Perla Venata are quarried from the same mountain, just different sides, so they are very similar.

Good luck! Choosing countertops is such a tedious process. We are planning to go select our slabs next week!

C_moumita: thank you! This was very confusing for us while searching, as well: the difference between Taj Mahal and Perla Venata. Some sources will tell you it’s the same thing, basically an “aka”, some stone yards list them separately. J_yamnitz is correct….they come from the same area. Even though our slab seller (MSI in Charlotte, NC) had them all listed as Taj, our slabs were listed as Perla by the distributor. During our search we found that the lighter, beiger slabs were usually listed as Perla V by distributors, and they were more expensive. These slabs are nearing the end, so many are now dark, green, gray, even pink. We searched until we found lighter ones, and they had a “Perla” ID sticker attached to them. At the stone yard, however, they were all lumped in together as Taj.

@patriciacolwell: this is misinformation re honed surfaces on countertops. I have had honed marble countertops for over ten years with NO staining. They have had everything spilt on them; there is some etching, but NO staining. One may prefer polished surfaces, but it is misinformation re staining and honed surfaces.

Maddie260: I’m not sure it’s misinformation, exactly….we came across the same info during our research phase, and even our fabricator said polishing a stone is like and extra layer of “sealant”, if you will. This, of course, does not mean that you can’t protect a honed stone, or that a honed stone will be stained all over, esp if you clean up spills. They also told us that honing a stone will make it slightly darker.

C_moumita: take a look at our slabs…..they were sold to us (and came up during our search) as Taj, yet the sticker on the stone (upper left corner) clearly says Perla Venata.

Hi