we have soapstone in our kitchen with medium stained cabinets. For our tile floor and backsplash we used Autumn Slate. Our house is very open with a lot of medium stained pine, but all of our windows and trim are white, so I thought our looks might be similar. The Autumn Slate is VERY durable and easy to care for. We've had it for 12 years now and have had no trouble with it at all and no regrets....just a lot of compliments! As far as fixtures, the oil rubbed bronze looks great with the soapstone and slate, but so does brushed nickel, depending on the look you are going for.

Wood is such a versatile material basically anything would work.

Even before reading hillsdale's excellent suggestions, I was going to suggest slate to you. It comes in a variety of colors and sizes. I would select a slate with some green in it, mixed with reds and browns. I would do either chrome plumbing fixtures or black ones, and I'd use black cabinet and door hardware.
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID

Hi there!

Being a tile manufacturer I think we can help you!

The soapstone and red pine combination is beautiful. Good choices! Next step I believe would be the tub surrounds. For that I would recommend a Ticul Limestone or Marbella Stone (my personal preference).

Below are some images of the Marbella we carry. The reason I chose this stone for your bath is that it is embedded with ancient corals, crustaceans and shells which gives it a rich and lively feeling that would balance your space.

The Ticul Limestone would also be lovely, but brings a little bit more warm tones to the space and with the cabinetry, floors, and countertops being darker, I think the tub surrounds should keep in the lighter shades to make it a standout unit.

We offer many more options too and would love to help you make the right decision for your bathroom without going over budget!

Hillsdale/Caroyln, The slate is a wonderful idea and one I will need to kick around in my head. Where to use it though? Backsplash? I also need to introduce a more durable/water-friendly floor surface in front of the tub and in front of the shower (which is a tiled 5'x4' room with two heads). There will be a small 3'x3' prep space in front of the shower entry that needs a tile or similar floor. I like the maintenance free finish of brushed nickel for the fixtures but am worried that it will be the only "cool" finish in the room, since everything else is warm. I am drawn toward more natural muted tones, so I like the idea of autumn slate but would like to force myslef outside of my comfort zone on this one and introduce a bold color (e.g. bright yellow, french blue, candy red... or similar). This brings me back to the main dilema - do I leave the walls white? Grey? Cream?

DM Descos, I really like the Marbella (and can see why it is a favorite!). Would it be too much to combine the Autumn Slate and Marbella Stone in one space? Or would you use the same material from the tub surround as a backsplash for the adjacent double vanity? Guess I should mention that the tub and vanity share a common wall (tub is perpendicular to that wall).

I would use the slate on the bathroom floor. What tile is in your shower? For your wall color, I'd take a color from your slate and lighten it up. At the paint store you can find paint strips showing your slate colors. Pick some up, compare them to the slate to be sure you have the right colors. Then look at the lighter shades on one of the strips and there's your paint color!

Brushed nickel would be fine for your plumbing fixtures if you don't like chrome or black.. Oil Rubbed Bronze is fading in popularity. I do like black hardware, and it should look great with chrome or brushed nickel fixtures.

I'd have to see pictures of your kitchen to comment on backsplash material, or at least pictures of samples of the cabinet color and flooring.

Hello again!

If you choose to use the Marbella Stone I would use it for the entire tub surround and backsplash. It would look fabulous backed up against the soapstone counters! One way you could think about tying the two together would be to continue the line of the backsplash to the opposite wall (by tub) and drop the tiles down to meet the surround. Ive attached photos of this kind of application for a better visual for you.

I also agree with Carolyn when she says that the slate would be great for flooring. Because both of these stones are natural (and Marbella is fairly understated in color/pattern) I don't think using them together would be an issue!