" Is there a way to guarantee that we'll get the look we want if we order the Everest? "

Nope, it is a man made poured product. The "veining" is as the veining comes out of the dispenser. Today's could look entirely different then tomorrow's batch, let alone years difference.

NO guarantees of any type or kind with the appearance of quartz, unless you pick a slab yourself, just like natural stone. So you might as well pick natural stone. And forget dealing with a knockoff brand of any of the quartz. That is playing a losing lottery ticket. You just don't know when you will lose.

I have always gone to a Marva stone warehouse to chose my Cambria slabs and they sell almost all quartz brands. I chose my fabricator first, then they send me to the warehouse to tag my slabs. I have also done this with granite. Others here on this board have not been permitted to do this, so YMMV. Personally, I would not purchase any countertop save for maybe Corian without chosing my slab because — as you have seen — the variation in all these products is huge.

Adding — and you MUST go to templating at the fabricator’s, or at least see it digitally, even with quartz. Good luck.

All quartz has resin pools, but the photos you posted show a pretty high percentage. I think you can do better.

AnnKH, I'm not sure what resin pools are, to be honest. I actually love the sample in my picture. It's a picture of tons of black almost knotted looking black veining that I referenced but can't post that I don't like at all. I saw that and got concerned because that's what I don't want.

Resin pools in Quartz are when blobs of resin accumulate in one area causing pools of color in that area. Those pools are inconsistent with the rest of the Quartz pattern. The resin pools are clearly not part of the Quartz pattern. I do not agree with @AnnKH that what you have pictured shows resin pooling. The color "blobs" you see in that photo are part of that Quartz's pattern. That is as opposed to a blob of color that does not belong in the pattern which is a resin pool.

As to your OP question, I will echo what others have said. What you end up getting for your counter may look different from the sample, and have more or less of pattern or background color that you wanted or didn't want. Or, it may look exactly how you expected. The only way to know what your counter will look like is to see in advance the specific Quartz slab that will be fabricated for your counter. Unlike granite - for which it is customary to look at slabs and buy a specific slab you like - it is unusual to be able to see a Quartz slab in advance.

RESIN POOLS:

M Miller...you just gave me info I did not have. You really cannot select quartz slabs when you purchase? With the variance in samples vs. slab colors, I'm surprised and disappointed. Now I'm even more nervous about selecting my new countertops. Sorry mmlibby for hijacking your post!!!!

"You really cannot select quartz slabs when you purchase?"

That's up to the local marketplace. A serious buyer shouldn't have a problem selecting engineered stone slabs before fabrication.

The designer we're working with said that we could go to the slab yard.

jqueen, no need to apologize. Ask whatever you'd like!

M Miller, thank you for the explanation. I was going to ask if the blobs of darker gray or beige in my pictures are resin pools but I had assumed that they were part of the pattern. I happen to love them. But seeing your examples, I see what a resin pool is now.

I'll have to double check with our designer on choosing our slab. Maybe I misunderstood something in our conversation.

Minardi, I wish we could find a granite that my husband and I agree on. The only ones I really like are blue pearl and black pearl. Maybe silver pearl, too. We're going for a lighter look for our countertops though since our lower cabinets will be a medium shade of blue.

MizLizzie, I'm glad you get to go to the fabricators. Are you a designer, by any chance?

No, I am just an old lady who has remodeld a boatload of houses, usually for us, but sometimes family or to help out certain realtor and contractor friends. A long time ago, I studied residential drafting at university as a side interest. So I know just enough to be dangerous. Good luck. Insist on seeing your slabs and templates.

"You really cannot select quartz slabs when you purchase?"

As I said, it is unusual to be able to see in advance the Quartz slab you specifically want to purchase. In my area it is unheard of. I only know that it is occasionally done from the comments I see on this Kitchens Forum by the few people who have done it. I would ask your designer about it.