Here is a picture of a really nice slab from the internet.

I am in So Cal and saw slabs of White Macabus at Stone Mart in the N.Hollywood/Burbank area. I don't understand why they are forcing a credit card payment to look at slabs. At the stone yards I visited in North Hollywood, they assisted with us with looking at all their quartzite slabs in stock without pressuring us.

There is a treasure trove of really good slab yards in the Burbank/North Hollywood area. Prices are pretty competitive. You should check out Stone Mart (can be spendy, but GREAT showroom and very experienced staff - lots of celebs shop here), Stoneville, Empire Marble & Granite in North Hollywood and Marble Unlimited in Van Nuys.

Bedrosians is another one, but I was less impressed with their selection and service. They have multiple locations in So Cal and a few in the OC (Anaheim and Orange I believe).

The slab looks great to me, beautiful. It requires a fair amount of effort (and some risk) to move slabs, so I can kind of understand that they want to know that you are serious before they move in heavy equipment to move the slab. I only saw the top slab when I picked my LdL as well, they told me that the slabs beneath were virtually identical. As long as your deposit is fully refundable and you're dealing with a reputable business, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

That certainly looks like LdL, but still request a small sample and test it to ensure that it doesn't etch (assuming etching bothers you).

Thank you for the advice pipdog even though I am more near Orange county I will try to get out to the places you mentioned.

Sochi, which slab do you like? The first or second? I like the second one I posted because it is much cleaner with no veins and all lines are parallel. Thank you too.

First question I have > Are all of these names of slabs the same? "Luce Di Luna Granite aka White Macaubas aka Calacatta Beazil".

I was just updated from the company tonight and they did verify by email that I can cancel up until before the template people come up to my place. The cancel tonight was just to stop my credit card from being charged. So now I will keep this and be able to look at the slab next week and still have time to cancel and get everything back if I need to. The first picture I posted above is what they are selling and the second one was found on the internet which is what I really want my slab to look like. I told this to the company, sent them a picture and was told they can search and try to find me a better slab that looks like that. I can wait for a better slab to come that possibly looks like the second slab provided I have the time to wait. I was previously thinking that this could be done anywhere you go and he verified that. I think most people do not know that. It is impossible for any slab yard to carry every type of marble, granite, quartzite, etc. no matter what size they are. I think that most people search around some and end up picking something that is currently in stock at a slab yard that they may not be totally excited about. In reality you can search the internet for pictures of slabs and pick something out more ideal with a "wow" factor and then present that picture to a slab yard to possibly get a match for you, provided you have the time to wait (which I may have). $3,700 is a lot to me to just settle for what is currently in stock.

I am posting some more pictures of that slab with the flooring I will be using (bamboo � natural color) and another picture against a marble slab with the glossy white cabinet color that I have. You can see more close ups of the veins which I really do not want. I also am posting a display from Ikea that my cabinets will look like and it gives an idea of possibly what I want with my bamboo flooring and stainless steel appliances.

What do you think of the bamboo floor and glossy white cabs going with this type of quartzite? Is it a good match for a contemporary kitchen? Do you have any ideas to help out? I want to try and get away from the cold hospital sterile look and I am attempting to try and bring some warm color by matching the bamboo color in the slab and/or backsplash. Sorry I do not have the glossy white color against the slab at the moment.

My goal in the end is to have people see my kitchen and say "Wow, what an awesome kitchen" instead of "Nice kitchen".

Any help would be appreciated because this has been really a tough part of my kitchen remodel.

Thank you.

More veins.

White cab color and bamboo against marble.

Ikea cabinets.

Pipdog,

Can you compare the Orange County slab yards vs Burbank/North Hollywood? I live in OC, so I'm curious if I need to drive up all the way to LA rather than driving to Anaheim area.

I am in the San Diego area. We have many stone yards here and the prices are very competitive. I've been to Amazon Stones (link below) many times and they have slabs of white macauba for less than $1400. You can also get your fabricator to price out slabs for you. Have them call around and see which stone yards have white macauba in stock or have them en route. Fabricators get a slight discount from what you would pay directly to the stone yard.

If you are in SD, Tutto Marmo has beautiful quartzite slabs too. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: White macauba at Amazon Stone

I am going thru Costco to purchase from the company they work with in this area

One other idea is see if you can go through the company that Ikea works with in your area, since you're getting Ikea cabinets already. They might be willing to honor the Ikea discount. In NorCal it's a company called United Marble, and they had a huge yard of stone and engineered slabs. I bought my Caesarstone through Ikea and it was fabricated by United Marble.

One thing you might want to consider with the Abstrakt cabinets is adding a bit of warmth, either with wood, accessories or your wall color. The quartzite is gorgeous but to me seems a little cold.

Sochi didn't post a link to her beautiful quartzite, so I've taken the liberty of adding here in case you haven't seen it.

I used the Abstrakt cabinets on one wall of my kitchen and decided on a walnut butcher block counter there rather than the Caesarstone or marble.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sochi's quartzite

LGardner2 - it really is a question of personal taste. When I was looking for quartzite (3 years ago) I probably would have preferred the 'clean' look slab you are searching for. I ended up with slabs probably in between the two slabs you posted. Now my favourite sections of my counters are the more complex sections, with the vertical lines that seem to descend and shatter the horizontal lines. That "complex" section of my counter is the bit to the left of my round prep sink (in the thread that annkathryn linked to).

There are multiple names for the stone. Luce di Luna seems to be the common name for the stone here on GW a few years ago. Now I see Macaubas more often. My slabs were called Quartzite Bianca. I pretty sure they are all the same thing (from Brazil).

SDMomof2 � Thank you for the advice. I will follow up with that. Perhaps I should try and find a good fabricator in my area and try that approach.

Annkathryn - I will try that with the company Ikea works with if I can. I think I can still get 20% off. Yes I am very concerned about if I am making a mistake and having my kitchen turn out to look cold instead of warm. I am trying to learn but so far have bought all Ikea white glossy cabinets. Not sure if I can exchange some at the moment or not (they are still in original boxes). Would it look better to have darker cabinets on the base and white glossy on the walls? I have been going back and forth in my mind between darker countertops or lighter. Darker will give more contrast. I am looking at lighter but then have the problem of trying to keep a warm overall look to the kitchen. The white macaubus seems to have some light gold/brown in the veins but not sure if that is enough to bring in a warm look. This is not easy. How do other people do this to get that "WOW" type of kitchen?? Do they hire a good designer or would a good fabricator know what to do?
Thank you for the Sochi link.

Sochi � You have the "WOW SO AWESOME" kitchen that I want. How did you know how to do that? Did you hire a designer? You have a great sense of doing contrasts. I love it. Can I hire you to do my kitchen? That slab that they were trying to sell me seems to have too much broken lines that look more like cracks than just veins. Your lines seemed like more shifting and much smoother. I can post another picture. I am afraid I made a mistake of getting all glossy white cabinets. My kitchen is small and gutted at the moment. I have the idea to knock my dining room wall out to open the kitchen/dining area. The Ikea cabinets are still in the boxes. Now am trying to figure out what to do to bring in warmth into the kitchen. Should I try to exchange the base cabs for a darker base and keep the upper walls glossy white? I am not sure if I can do that but maybe I can as long as they are still in the boxes. So far I have all white Ikea glossy cabs, natural bamboo flooring and stainless steel appliances. Any ideas from this point to bring in warmth? Annkathryn did suggest some things. I am trying to keep my costs down and do as much as I can myself because I may sell the place. I do want under cabinet lighting controlled by dimmers. Gee there is so much to learn about kitchens, much more than I ever imagined.

Any others in my situation or have any thoughts on what to do?

Thank all of you so far. Again, this is not easy.

Here is a photo taken from the other side and you can see that when there is more light on it that it can look better and not as gray and cool.

Does this picture look more like the counter is warm or cool?

I would be very, very leery of paying to look at slabs. I've never heard of anyone anywhere having their card charged before they're even allowed to look at slabs. That would send me running to look at different stone yards.

We looked at several stone yards, and we were never asked for a credit card. One place did want our name and phone number, but all the others let us just wander through. We also saw a few slabs of Macaubus more like your second example. If that's the look you want, then I would keep looking until you find it.

marvelousmarvin, I don't know the Orange County yards, but I've also looked in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley, and Burbank/N. Hollywood has the best selection I've seen so far (compared to SF). Stone Mart had a nice selection of marbles and quartzite, including Madre Perla, Taj Mahal, White Princess, White Macabus, Blue Macabus, etc. when I looked.

I am trying to learn but so far have bought all Ikea white glossy cabinets. Not sure if I can exchange some at the moment or not (they are still in original boxes). Would it look better to have darker cabinets on the base and white glossy on the walls?

You can exchange all drawer and door fronts at Ikea any time, but if it's more than 90 days from your purchase you have to take a store credit rather than have the funds go back on your credit card. Ikea is terrific about exchanging kitchen cabinets (don't ask how I know...)

As far as dark/light, I'm linking a thread below with some discussion about that. It's totally your preference, whatever you think would look best in your kitchen.

I agree it seems odd to charge just for looking at slabs, I've never heard of this.

Here is a link that might be useful: please help decide where to do walnut/white

Thanks LGardner2. I did 'design' my own kitchen and I'd love to help with your space, but we're a little too far apart for that I think!

You asked "how did I know to do that"? I found inspiration pictures on-line (I love Henry Built kitchens, for example, and Danish Modern kitchens) and I interpreted what I liked most about those kitchens, with advice along the way from Garden webbers and my brother-in-law (who is/was also my cabinet maker). That is what I do for all my design projects, I research, research, research, find what I love, then get advice on how to best "channel" the look for my unique space.

I too think that you likely can take the IKEA cabs in boxes back if you want. If you are looking for a warm kitchen, I agree that glossy white cabs, SS and white/gray quartzite might not be the right combination. With white cabs I'd lean towards doing a wood countertop (which would probably be quite a bit less expensive than quartzite). My counters are probably the 'coolest' item in the kitchen. I have lots of wood too, which makes all the difference in warming up a space. I think you need SOME wood if you want warm with white cabs. Alternatively I find painted cabinets (in various colours, not white) can be very warm looking too. I do like contrast, that is why I went with walnut and white. But not everyone does.

If I were you I'd take an hour or two and pour over HOUZZ looking at modern kitchens or IKEA kitchens. You'll see all white, white and wood, all wood, with various counters. What look appeals to you the most? Save images of your favourites, then review identifying the similarities amongst the ones you really like. All these combos are pretty tried and true and likely okay for resale.

It's a matter of personal taste whether the more linear or more complex graining is nicer. It doesn't make those slabs inferior. I recall one thread where someone was trying to decide between some very linear veined white Macaubas slabs and some with slanting and perpendicular grain lines. IIRC, more people liked the less linear slabs.

I personally prefer the less linear slab rather than the one you found on line. One question though - there are a couple of black blobs or rectangles on the slabs - is that a marking in the stone or is it a label of some sort (it seems to have a very square corner at the right side of last picture you posted)? I don't particularly like that if it's a stone marking.

They should be willing to move slabs for you to look at the one you are buying. If you can cancel the order and get your charge back then it makes little sense for them to require processing the charge before moving the slabs. Perhaps they want to make sure there is money to buy them?

We went on a week day when the slab yards aren't as busy as on the weekend and they moved slabs for us. Bedrosians even trucked slabs from one of their Bay Area yards to their Sacramento area yard for us to look at. Those were the ones we ended up buying.

Whether that is a good price for the slabs depends on size because stone slabs are usually priced by the square foot. Prices over $50 per square foot are common for many of the quartzite slabs.

pipdog,

When you talk about better selection, did that mean that those slab yards were more expensive since that meant they had to carry more slabs and thus have higher overhead?

It sounds like you are working with too many middle men. White Macaubus is not cheap. I know Ikea cabinets aren't expensive, so you may be shocked at the price of this quartzite. They probably want a deposit on that type of stone because of the cost of it. Another thing, you're going through Costco. You're going to pay even more money with that middle man. You should google granite fabricators in your area and deal with them directly. Chances are White Macaubus is going to be a bit of a stretch. Try looking at Supreme White, it's a less expensive quartzite with that white/gray marble appearance.

I am going thru this in Florida 2023 but I need 3 slabs. This is maddening & a lot of $$$. Atlantic Blue quartzite & I can’t find it anywhere else.