Will this (countertop) plan look right?

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

Hello all. Embarking on gut remodel of kitchen. All along I have been planning on white perimiter cabs with soapstone, and medium gray island with quartzite. I think it will look fine BUT I've also planned on a slab backsplash (no grout lines) with the same quartzite that's on the island. Now that I've begun to look at stone yards, I'm worried that the soapstone counter with solid quartzite backsplash will look busy or peculiar somehow. My plan was to use white macaubus. Will it conflict with the soapstone? I'm open to any suggestions for making this work or even an argument against this plan. The cabinets are white shaker inset with exposed hinges. Ceiling is 9 feet and doing a 15" stacked upper on top. The overall look I'm going for is transitional with contemporary elements. Not sure if that's a real style category, but it best describes the feel I'm going for. Thank you all in advance for any input!

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11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

Would you wear black pinstriped pants with a white pinstriped shirt? No. You'd do solid for one or the other. Two stones with movement can look great as counters in the same kitchen. Not as a backsplash against a counter. It's too much noise.

There ARE some relatively solid soapstones without veining, which could work. But if you want the veiny ones, then no, make a new plan.

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Comments (8)

mama goose_gw zn6OH
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
That will depend so much on the individual slabs you choose. Soapstone and white marble are a beautiful and popular combination, as in the houzz pic:

Soapstone Counters with White Carrara Marble Full Backsplash · More Info

If you do a search on 'soapstone and white marble,' there are a lot of pics available. (A similar color combo to soapstone and white quartzite.) I think it can be gorgeous!
ck_squared
11 years ago
Sounds pretty much what my sis-in-law did in her kitchen except she used white beveled subway tiles on backsplash. The dark perimeter counter is a dark brown almost black leathered granite and her huge island is white macaubus on gray cabs. Looks gorgeous.

My only concern with your description is how the macaubus will look on the wall/backsplash. Could look busy...
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Melissa Kroger
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you Sophie for confirming what I suspected. I suppose I will look for a uniformly black soapstone or else rethink my options. I've never really considered any alternatives, but I'm pretty open to anything that will look good and be relatively easy to care for. My KD is now suggesting honed or leathered absolute black, but I'm not crazy about it. I would even consider Quartz if it would look the best with the white macaubus.
muskokascp
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I have both soapstone and white macabus quartzite in my kitchen with the quartzite as a backsplash but paired with the quartzite counters. For your plan it will really depend on the slabs you pick but a quieter soapstone is a good suggestion.

I am trying to post a picture from photobucket and I'm doing it as I always did in the old GW but I am just getting the html code and not the picture...can anyone explain this?
Melissa Kroger thanked muskokascp
Melissa Kroger
Original Author
11 years ago
Muskokascp: I would love to see a photo if you can figure it out. I post them from either my photo roll on my phone or from an idea book, and I'm not very tech savvy. I think my mission now is to find a quiet soapstone with little veining that is on the hard end of the scale and doesn't have much green in it. If not, it's back to the drawing board!
Jillius
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I have always loved the effect of the contrasting slab backsplash in this picture:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/f3/b2/95f3b2c1fe643e85e3c16e2758e143ae.jpg

And, really, it makes sense to have your prettiest/most interesting stone displayed vertically. That's how you see it best!
muskokascp
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
melis - I haven't figured out how to post the pictures from my photo bucket but I did find this old thread which shows you my kitchen and the way I used the white macabus and soapstone together. The soapstone is a hard variety called Original PA but I think the quarry is done and it is no longer available which is too bad because it really is a lovely soapstone with no green undertones plus it's very scratch and chip resistant.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2673034/pictures-of-your-3-different-colored-countertop