I'm considering Aria quartz, it's at the top of my list. I also like the Silestone Blue Sahara because my backsplash is Hirsch glass silhouette with seaglass blues. I have Dove white cabinets and a medium/dark wood tone island. Difficult choice, what to do, what to do! Update your post, and let us know what you decided.

HI Judy, I have had to postpone the kitchen project for at least a few months due to an illness in the family which has become a higher priority, but have still decided I'm going for the Aria quartz, with Marshmallow cream Starmark cabinets and light tan tile (Ahnzu A10 3 x 6 /Urban Putty tile installed with staggered joint lines). I like the marble-y look to the Aria which gives it "movement", and in a more "tannish" tone instead of the usual white marble look. Your other option looks really nice, too, and I love seaglass blue colors! I didn't find the decision-making process easy at all, I must say!

Hi Judy and forestlover-

I too am looking for some images of the LG Hausys quartz countertop. I only found the one on their website which I believe you referenced above. Any luck finding any other images?

We are attempting a grey/brown/taupe look and it seemed that Aria has some very nice variation that works with that scheme. We are doing a two tone cabinet, cocoa on the island and a grey with brown hues on the perimeter cabinets. My backsplash is ogee arabesque tiles in white ceramic (same color as white subway but a very different shape). I am having a really difficult time with counters, granite is too much for our subdued cabinets and some of the "marble" looking quartz seems to stark and/or too sterile. ARGH!!! I thought counters would be easy after the cabinets but not so much.

Best of luck to you both of you. If I do go with Aria I will try to post some photos.

Katie

No, I haven't found any other images, Katie. I agree that Aria would go great with a grey/brown/taupe look. The colors and movement of the quartz brings to mind a very creamy delicious ice cream flavor, and I think fits in especially well with the popular "griege" look. I almost went with a fake marble (Minuet, from the same brand), but I think the Aria has more depth and character.

By the way, I am both "forestlover" and "lcs328", so made both comments, but am never sure which user name will pop up for me! I must have signed for Houzz twice.

Hi forestlover-

Thanks for the response!

I think we are going to go with the Aria, one last look tomorrow and then time to buy. I will take a picture and send it to you after our install, probably mid-February.

Best of luck-
Katie

Would love to see pics. I love the dimension of the aria quartz but wonder if I should do a contrasting solid color on the side counters so our large island is the showpiece.

That sounds like a great idea, especially in a large space like yours! I think I am going to use the Aria for all countertops, including an eating peninsula that may be attached to a blank wall- still deciding if I want the peninsula. Unfortunately, my narrow L-shaped kitchen won't fit an island. My hunch is that just putting the Aria on the perimeter countertops won't "showcase" it enough due to the other things placed on the counters, and my peninsula will be rather small so in my case I may need to keep things uniform by sticking with one countertop material.

Hi All-

Our countertops are not yet installed, should be in a few weeks, we did decide on the Aria quartz from LG. Once they are installed I will be sure to add a photo but for now here are our cabinets!

Best-
Katie

They look so beautiful, Katie!! Thank you so much for sharing these photos- it is so helpful to see the Aria quartz actually installed! I still haven't moved forward with my own reno yet but am still committed to the Aria quartz! Love the rest of your kitchen, too, including your floors!

Thanks! We are very happy with the kitchen! I love the aria, I didn't know if I would like the little flecks of the clear and blue Quartz but I LOVE them. Without them I feel the Quartz would be too monotone. Here is a photo with our back splash and one with the full counter top in view. Let me know if you want additional photos of the Quartz.

I can see the Aria pattern in the top photo and it is so creamy and beautiful! I also love what you did with the backsplash! In the bottom photo, the Aria pattern is bleached out by the pendant lights so it just looks white to me (due to the photography). If you get the chance, I would love to see another one in the daylight without the lights on so I can see how the pattern looks from a distance. Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to post these photos!

Thanks!

Here are a few more, it is hard to get non saturated images in my kitchen. I did my best, let me know if these are better. I can certainly try a different time of day as well.

Thanks, kmtod1! Yes those photos are much better and your countertop is very beautiful! Thanks for posting more photos- it is very helpful!

Love your kitchen. I am thinking of the Aria so great to see the pictures. Can you let me know what glass inset you used in the backsplash and where you purchased? Looks great with the countertop and thinking of using that too. Also, my cabinets will be a little lighter brown - do you think they will look good with the Aria also?

Thanks

Hi Barb! Thank you, we love our kitchen too! A harrowing process for sure but the end result is wonderful. The glass tile was purchased from, Capco Tile, here is a link to the product: http://www.capcotile.com/products/4274. We did use a special grout as well that really adds to the look, it is called Diamond Bostik; it is hard to see in the photos but it has some shimmer. Aria has some bling so a flat tile needs something to make it pop next to the quartz. I don't know how the Aria would look with a lighter brown cabinet, as there is a significant amount of tannish color in the countertop, to use my nephews term "it might be too matchy-matchy". I guess it depends on how light your cabinets are, a light oak would probably not work but a warm walnut might look great. I would make sure to look at a full slab with your cabinet door sample, the little samples in the store are not enough. Best of luck!

Love the glass accent in the tile! We are installing Aria on white cabinets in the next few weeks and are thinking a light gray tile backsplash with glass accent. Will post pictures of counters with white cabinets when installed.

What color are the subway tiles in the backsplash?

The color is Tender Grey - the item number is U761-36, but I don't know the manufacturer.

Sorry for the delayed response.

Update on the Aria quartz!

Hi All-

I just wanted to let you all know that we have had some trouble with are quartz from LG. Almost immediately after installation I noticed a "scratch" on the surface, it was only visible when the outside light came in from the window at just the right time of day. There were 3 of them, all curved lines parallel to each other about 2-3 inches apart and about 8 inches long. They cover an area about 1.5 ft by 1.5ft on the corner of our island. I am able to feel the scratches when I run my finger over them but otherwise you can't really tell they are there, unless the light hits it just right.

I called our installer right away, they sent out an inspector. He took one look and said it was a manufacturer error from when the slab was created. So he put us in contact with LG's warranty department. After about 6 weeks they sent someone to look at it. He was very nice but politely explained that the scratches were caused by the polishing equipment and nothing he could do in our house would repair them to our liking, as a matter of fact he said the repair would be more visible than the initial damage. He also mentioned that he has seen this before on several LG quartz coutertops. He recommended a full replacement. Which means - moving our appliances, possibly having to take down and put our backsplash, sink removal, etc. It is a huge undertaking and we are not excited about it.

A month later we were finally contacted by the warranty department via email, aside from that one message to which I have replied 4 times now we have had no additional contact. Four months later and we are still awaiting a resolution.

I love our countertop and I do love the way it looks but I wanted to let you all know that working with LG has been an incredible headache and we are still without a solution.

Hi, we are re-doing our kitchen (finally!) and I am looking at the Viatera countertops. I like Everest but worried the blue flecks will make it look too "Barbie's condo". When I look at colors on the Web site I like Aria very much but from comments it seems like there is a lot of tan it the Aria? No dealers around me have Aria samples. Has anyone seen the Rococo in person, that looks nice too. I am doing a white cabinet/grey tile wood-looking floor with a subway tile that is tinted very slightly light blue for the back-splash. Any and all suggestions appreciated, this is really not my forte. Thanks!

Also, I see another posting about LG Hausys not honoring the warranty. Has anyone else had a problem with them? Am considering going with Cambria instead of LG as I dont want a headache down the road after spending all this $$.

LG Viatera Aria is creamier than Rococo which is whiter with grey veining. They both are attractive. Minuet is also attractive and has a softer veining than Rococo.

Final update on the LG Hausys Aria warranty. In the end LG was great about it, it was just a drawn out and very long process, almost 6 months! They admitted that the scratches were manufacturer defects and would be covered under the warranty on the product. In the end we chose a discount over replacement as the replacement would have been another headache and process. The scratches are only visible if we point them out and I worried that removing the counter top, stove, sink, backslash, etc would just result in some damage of something else. Additionally, their discount was a reasonable amount right off the bat and we didn't really negotiate much at all.

I am in the process of updating our small kitchen that gets very little natural light. The honey glaze over the custom built solid oak cabinets gave it a too warm and dated look. We had natural red oak flooring installed several years ago. The light beige Formica countertops had been painted using a paint kit which made a big difference although anything other than those light beige countertops would have been an improvement. Last month after getting several quotes to redo the cabinets I decided I would use that money toward new Quartz counters and apron front sink. So I did the cabinet refinishing myself. Thankfully our cabinets were in really great shape. However, it still was a labor intensive workout. At one point I asked my husband if it was possible to sand off fingerprints. I have never done so much sanding. Thank goodness I had a small orbital sander to do the larger areas. The cabinets came out great!! The upper cabinets are Benjamin Moore's White Dove and the lower cabinets were painted with their Mill Springs Blue that is a bluish green. Now I am tackling the countertops. Up until this week I knew I would be choosing Silestone's Artic based on the sample from their on-line gallery of colors. I walked into the store with measurements in hand and when I looked at the actual larger sample tile there was a HUGE difference. Instead of a more white pattern with lots of depth and texture giving. It a granite-like appearance, I was looking at a sample that wasn't even close to the on-line sample. Had to be a mistake. As it turns out, it was not except for the fact the Silestone on-line gallery is way off the mark on this one particular piece. I actually have Silestone countertop in our master bath and the on-line sample image matched perfectly to the store sample. I checked several more samples at other stores, they all matched. Instead of a whiter pattern the Silestone Artic has much more gray overtones and the pattern looks much different. (Note: We had several folks to compare their store samples to other Silestone's on-line designs and they all matched up except for Artic.) This is a side-by-side look of the two samples for Silestone's Artic. The left one is from Silestone's on-line gallery. The one on the right is picture of actual sample tile. A big difference.

I am now looking at LG's Aria and I really like the layers giving it nice depth, almost granite-like. The darker veining is more a darker charcoal gray to black. The overall piece is creamier than I had wanted but it is a very nice stone. I would like to see a sample of their Everest before I make my final decision. Whatever you do, be sure to look at actual sample tiles or even better, the slabs, before signing the dotted line!

I decided on LG Viatera's Aria that should go well will the bluish green lower cabinets and upper cabinets with Benjamin Moore's White Dove.

This is bottom cabinet door with BM's Mills Spring Blue and LG's Aria Quartz for the counter

The new Kohler apron front sink in white has been ordered and will have to be installed before template can be done for new counters.

I think that should look very pretty together! I was the one that started this topic but ultimately I chose LG Viatera's Minuet, which I am very happy with! But I heard from others that they really love their Aria countertops. I only switched because after I posted the question I found my "inspiration kitchen" which had marble countertops, white cabinets, and Encore Silver backsplash. My brand new kitchen has Starmark's Stratford-style cabinets in Marshmallow Cream (some with glass fronts), the Minuet quartz (as a perfect marble substitute- looks even better than marble in my opinion and doesn't stain), an Encore Silver backsplash and a Kohler apron front sink. You will love your Kohler apron front sink! I can finally fit my big pans into the sink to soak and it is so easy and comfortable to use. Good luck with your remodel- bet yours will look really beautiful, too!

By the way, my Minuet doesn't have a single scratch or manufacturer's swirly marks ("curved lines parallel to each other"), as was described a few posts above, though the sample actually did have that exact same type of mark. (Minuet & Aria are from the same manufacturer.) But my countertop came out perfect. I also picked out my slab in person which I highly recommend.

We are building a new home and I looked at many samples of Quartz. We like both Rocco and Aria and Aria was the winner. Below is are pictures of it on the island just after it was installed.

Everyone that sees this loves it. I had granite in my last kitchen and this is absolutely beautiful much smoother than granite.

It goes with everything. Stainless and tumbled marble.

Can those that have the product in their home tell if the product shows dirt, dust, fingerprints, crumbs or cat paw prints? We are replacing our dark granite counter tops. The old counters showed dust and dirt 1 hour after cleaning them. Ugh!

I have 2 bay windows in my kitchen. Obviously, there would have to be a seam behind the sink in this photo. Input on how that would look?

The sample of Aria I saw was white. My cabinets are a soft creamy white and my floor is oak stained nutmeg. I don't have any true white in my house. Is Aria the right choice? Or is there something else I should look at?

Kpizarak, the Aria sample I got definitely had alot of cream and beige in it, and was very pretty, and would probably go great with your kitchen. However, I ultimately went with LG Hausys Minuet, as I ended up copying another Houzz kitchen (which used Encore Silver backsplash tile). In my inspiration photo, they used carrera marble, and the Minuet was the one quartz I felt was closest to the real thing. I absolutely love the Minuet (I think it is better than marble!), and it is completely indestructible and never stains. So I feel certain you would be happy with the quality of the product if you got the Aria, since it is from the same line. (I attached a photo of my renovation to my small, challenging kitchen, though you can't really see the countertop that clearly. The room hasn't been re-painted yet). Hope this info helps.

I love my Aria countertops with brown corian sink!

kmtod1 and garnet145, Could you both please give me your opinion on the color of the dark veining in your Aria countertops? Do you think they look black or blueish purple in color? I brought home a sample and I saw black and I was surprised when I asked my neighbor for her opinion on the sample and she said it looks like dark bluish purple to her? Thanks

I was wondering the same thing - I think it's dark blue.

No it is white with black and silver grain

Thank you, Cindy for the info on the color of your Aria countertops.

I just installed LG Aria in my kitchen and I would highly recommend you look at another manufacturer. Within a week our countertop had marks on it and the company refuses to do anything about it. I am so disappointed. I was encouraged to go with another company because of LG's reputation but I loved the color. I wish I would have listened to the professionals.

What type of marks? Did they come from daily use? I'm having mine installed next month, and now I'm nervous!

Yes, Kathy what's the story with the marks?