Countertop

[memenee]

Looking for countertop recs.

I want something with a matte finish (honed) and something that looks like marble but is durable and virtually maintenance free. Does something like this exist?

Pics would be great if you have them! Thank you!

[TR]

I don't know about maintenance free, but you can get honed granite, right? I think so.

[TR]

Soapstone I think tends to be matte finish, too.

[dove]

I had the option to have this same countertop in a matte/honed finish. I didn’t go that route, obv, but the option is there with quartz.
We love it so far! So low maintenance.

[pierogigirl]

Jun 2, 2020 19:34:04 GMT -5 TR said:

Soapstone I think tends to be matte finish, too.

I believe soapstone needs a lot of (or at least some) maintenance. I used to want it, but now I want quartz.

[allhis]

We had soapstone in our last home and have honed granite that looks very similar to soapstone in this home. I’m happy to post pics if interested, but they are both very dark. Like a soft charcoal with subtle movement.
I’m guessing when you want something that looks like marble you mean a marble like Carrara or Calcutta? We have honed Carrara in our bar and I love it. If you truly want marble, there just is no real substitute imho. Quartz has its own set of great attributes, but it just never looks that much like the real thing. That said, it is still a beautiful choice that is less likely to stain or etch. Personally I’m fine with a little patina over time (for what it’s worth with proper sealing annually and general wiping maintenance, marble really isn’t as finicky as people think).
You also could go with a light color quartzite like a honed sea pearl or taj mahal. More forgiving than marble but with similar natural variation/beauty.
Another low maintenance manufactured option would be porcelain slabs. They look more similar to real marble than quartz, and can also be honed. They aren’t cheap though...

[mrsukyankee]

We are going to have Dekton in our new kitchen. It's pretty much indestructable. We are getting a version that looks like marble and is matt.

[allhis]

I’ve never seen Dekton in person, but from everything I’ve read previously I think it might be your best bet in this situation where durability is key. I believe it is a lot like Porcelain but even stronger? Some porcelain slabs can fool even a real stone snob like me. I would definitely look into Dekton if i were you. And mrsukyankee I cant wait to see pictures when your kitchen is done!

[aprilsails]

I would verify with your supplier/installer How much experience that have with Dekton or porcelain before you go that route. I also question its durability. By chance, while we were picking out our granite slabs they were installing Dekton on a display counter in the showroom area. They straight up shattered it when it dropped 3”. You should have heard the swearing. Dekton also seems quite thin to me and o had concerns about chipping at the edges, @@@ especially with young children in the house.

[memenee]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond.

allhis yes, I would love to see pics. I love charcoal soapstone and it was a contender for a while - would fit nicely in my old colonial but ultimately opted for something lighter due to the small size of the kitchen (again, thank you 1920s colonial). I still consider it though from time to time and I did hear of ‘leathered’ granite that mimics it very nicely. Is that what you have?

[kitchenreno]

I had the same initial requirements when we redid our kitchen a few years ago. After searching and not finding one I liked, we ended up with Jet Mist/Virginia Mist leathered granite. It's not light at all, but it's not overwhelmingly dark either. We also have a small 1940s colonial. I then chose marble subway tile for the backsplash

The countertop was the hardest decision for me, but I'm so happy with the final result

[memenee]

kitchenreno wow, would absolutely love to see pics if you are at all comfortable sharing. Sounds like we have similar tastes and similarly sized old kitchens!

[kitchenreno]

Jun 3, 2020 10:23:32 GMT -5 memenee said:

kitchenreno wow, would absolutely love to see pics if you are at all comfortable sharing. Sounds like we have similar tastes and similarly sized old kitchens!

I was looking when I posted and couldn't see to find the pictures from when it was first done on this computer.  I'll check later when home and see what I have!  

It's def dark, but it has white veining, similar to soapstone, and is super low maintenance.  To me, the leathered finish is the best part!  It's not shiny at all.

[allhis]

Here are some pictures, the first 2 are soapstone in our old house. The next 2 are honed Nevada black granite in our current home, which is similar to Virginia mist. Leathering granite will give similar effect as honing, you’ll just want to see a sample first as sometimes it is done with a heavy hand and ends up looking kind of cobblestoned/highly textured. I think that subtle leathering would look awesome in an older home!
The last picture is honed marble in our basement bar.

[memenee]

allhis STUNNING! All of them! You are killing me though - I had just ruled out soapstone or something that mimics it and had moved on to something that mimics carrera marble in an attempt to make my small kitchen look brighter and larger! And now look what you’ve done - brought me right back to where i was!

ETA: Sorry I forgot to thank you - I appreciate you going to the trouble to track down these pics for me - thanks so much for sharing them

[Wallflower]

My brother and SIL have slate and OMG, I love it. I don't have photos of their kitchen, but I found something online that was similar.

[memenee]

Jun 3, 2020 13:01:37 GMT -5 Wallflower said:

My brother and SIL have slate and OMG, I love it. I don't have photos of their kitchen, but I found something online that was similar.

View Attachment

So pretty! Do you know if it’s low maintenance?

[Wallflower]

Jun 3, 2020 14:10:51 GMT -5 memenee said:

Jun 3, 2020 13:01:37 GMT -5 Wallflower said:

My brother and SIL have slate and OMG, I love it. I don't have photos of their kitchen, but I found something online that was similar.

So pretty! Do you know if it’s low maintenance?

Isn't it fantastic!! I'm probably going to steal their idea when I redo my kitchen, someday.

As far as I know, they treat it every once in a while with something like an oil. Again, going off memory, but it's as easy as pouring a little on the counter and wiping it into the slate.

[InBetweenDays]

My parents had honed slate in their summer house and it was a PAIN. They cared for it as instructed and it would show any bit of water that got on it and wasn't immediately wiped away. It also scratched fairly easily. I would not at all consider it low maintenance unless you are ok with water marks and scratches.

[kitchenreno]

Jun 3, 2020 10:57:47 GMT -5 kitchenreno said:

Jun 3, 2020 10:23:32 GMT -5 memenee said:

kitchenreno wow, would absolutely love to see pics if you are at all comfortable sharing. Sounds like we have similar tastes and similarly sized old kitchens!

I was looking when I posted and couldn't see to find the pictures from when it was first done on this computer.  I'll check later when home and see what I have!  

It's def dark, but it has white veining, similar to soapstone, and is super low maintenance.  To me, the leathered finish is the best part!  It's not shiny at all.

I still can't find the original pictures when it was freshly done and styled nicely.  These are just a couple quick pictures taken today.  

Attachments:

[mrsukyankee]

Jun 3, 2020 8:55:02 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

I would verify with your supplier/installer How much experience that have with Dekton or porcelain before you go that route. I also question its durability. By chance, while we were picking out our granite slabs they were installing Dekton on a display counter in the showroom area. They straight up shattered it when it dropped 3”. You should have heard the swearing. Dekton also seems quite thin to me and o had concerns about chipping at the edges, @@@ especially with young children in the house.

It depends on the Dekton. You can get it in a variety of thicknesses and edges. We did a lot of research around it. Our kitchen store showed us a version of what we'll get in their store - it definitely did not appear to be easy to chip off. But it is true that it can break if dropped and a bad batch or very thin- once in, though, it's meant to be quite indestructible (according to a lot of reviews). 

[aprilsails]

Jun 4, 2020 4:00:54 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Jun 3, 2020 8:55:02 GMT -5 aprilsails said:

I would verify with your supplier/installer How much experience that have with Dekton or porcelain before you go that route. I also question its durability. By chance, while we were picking out our granite slabs they were installing Dekton on a display counter in the showroom area. They straight up shattered it when it dropped 3”. You should have heard the swearing. Dekton also seems quite thin to me and o had concerns about chipping at the edges, @@@ especially with young children in the house.

It depends on the Dekton. You can get it in a variety of thicknesses and edges. We did a lot of research around it. Our kitchen store showed us a version of what we'll get in their store - it definitely did not appear to be easy to chip off. But it is true that it can break if dropped and a bad batch or very thin- once in, though, it's meant to be quite indestructible (according to a lot of reviews). 

they were doing a waterfall edge style facing on a counter and they dropped the vertical piece right on its edge. I imagine it might have been a thin piece since that chunk would optimally not get much wear and tear.

I just also know these installers were not used to working with this stuff (obviously). That’s what I would be asking about.

[memenee]

kitchenreno Looks beautiful! Thank you for taking the pics and sharing! I love your kitchen!

[audry80]

We just have a very old, very small house that we just listed. We put in leathered granite about a year and we hate it. So many streaks. Left marks from water. Looks great but not a fan. Our new house has quartz and I love it!

[kate]

I have Cambria quartz countertops, in Annicca with a matte finish. There is really no upkeep, I love them.

[lust2hart]

kate, those windows are fabulous!

[sweetiesparkles]

I’ve got a budget version of an amazing marble— but it’s laminate.

Google Calcatta Marble by Formica. Tons of awesome blog reviews. We are putting it in our bathrooms in our new build. Kitchen will be quartz though.

Highly durable and looks amazing in person.

[circa1978]

Sorry to bring this post back up but I need to make a countertop decision too and this came up in search. memenee, what did you end up going with? I'm also considering a honed black marble and a honed marble look quartz mix. sweetiesparkles, I'm not ruling out laminate either, because I think there is a pretty amazing dupe Formica has for slate and I've seen the Calcatta Marble sample. Do you have kitchen pics?

[circa1978]

Also, literally, anyone else who wants to tell me what counter to get with white shaker cabinets, black island and medium tone wood floor, feel free. Our demo is finally done, cabinets again and it's time to finally make a decision. Durability important, cost less so because I just want this project to be OVER.

[mrsukyankee]

circa1978, maybe something similar in colouring to my Dekton countertops - so a white with grey veining? You can get something similar in quartz which we considered, but we fell in love with the Dekton.