I have them, and when I tested the sample, NOTHING etched or stained it. The stone yard recommended that I get them in a leathered finish and I took their advice. It does LOOK more like marble to me than say a granite, and that is one reason I got them.

This is a glass my sample scratched. I didn't take pictures of the mustard, ketchup, lemon juice, etc, that I left one the sample overnight, but trust me, NO stains.

Mine has a fair amount of green in it that blends well with my cabinets that I had painted a a soft gray-green.

Shown with the fabric I did window treatments and made the inserts for the glass front cabinets above from.

Thanks for telling me about your experience. I too did some testing with lemon juice, tomato sauce and vinegar. No staining but did have etching. I do not know if the sample was sealed or not. Could you explain the finish that you have? Your Fantasy Brown looks awesome in your kitchen. Love your fabric! I'm glad that it is working in your kitchen. Thanks so much!

Hi, Beth,

I found another post that has some others who have leathered finish stones HERE. Mine is sealed.

How they do it is explained in this that I copied from a site called City-Data.com. "For those not familiar with "leathered" granite - The leather finish begins with a honed surface; then it is mechanically
brushed with diamond tipped brushes. (The interesting aspect of this
process is the brushes tend to remove more material in the softer spots
of the stone while leaving harder veined areas virtually untouched. This creates the uneven almost "weathered" look.) The process brings back the color
and closes pores of the surface (like that of polished); the resulting
surface is between polished and honed. It has more sheen and is less porous than a honed finish."

This may 'scare' you. :-) It's a picture I took of my sample for someone who wanted to see a leathered finish. I held it up to my kitchen window, and took the pic in line with the horizontal surface to show the results described above. This makes them look exaggerated, and even though it looks bumpy, I can put a sheet of paper on the counter anywhere, and write on it and it's just as if I was writing on a perfectly flat surface. It's fun to see and feel it, but it's certainly not a problem whatsoever. I saw from the post I linked above that it looks different on other types of stone, but in the Fantasy Brown, it follows the flow of the pattern in the stone.

I was drawn to this stone, as it looks and feels very marble-like to me, but my camera can't capture the bits of glistening sparks in it. (I'll try my phone soon). When I went to the stone yard, where they have walls of large samples, I was drawn to this as it looked so different from any of the other stones.

I live in Maine, near the coast, and it very much makes me think of the ocean swirling on the sand at a beach. One of my favorite things is the green that mine has in it.

Thanks for the explanation and the pictures. I will have to ask about this process. How much sheen does yours have, compared to a polished stone? I also love that your stone has sparkle to it-I love bling! What backsplash did you use? Again, your kitchen is beautiful! Thanks!

Hi, Beth,

Mine really has no sheen, and no bling - sorry to say. The little sparkles are mostly visible at night, but you have to look back and forth across the counter top to see them. I have a friend here who was just having a snack on the counter and I asked if he could see them. He looked across the area and back and pointed them out to me, but truly they're subtle. It truly appears like the photo above with no overall sheen to it. I'll try to post a photo of it here in the AM, if my phone can capture it.

My backsplash is very casual - PVC bead board that I have also used in two bathrooms. VERY easy to clean, and painted the trim color.

This is how I used it in the bathrooms.

Sorry to hijack Beth, but I just HAVE to know what color greenish paint my3dogs used on her kitchen cabinets. 3dogs do you have a reveal thread?

Beth, I understand your falling in love with that fantasy brown!

Hi, rebunky, It's SW Softened Green. These are the truest pics I have of it. In some lights it looks very different. Here's a link where you can compare it to some similar SW colors HERE. This was just a 'facelift', but it's shown HERE.

Beth here is a close-up of the counter - can you see the white sparkles mostly about halfway down? The lower left corner is just light reflection, but the other 'white spots' in the photo are the 'sparkles'. Hope this helps!

My3dogs, thanks for the pics. Your info does help me! Love your bath too!
No worries about "highjacking" or in any way contributing to this this thread. The more info the better!

The kitchen plans look so pretty! I have asked a couple of granite yards if they have any samples of marble that's been leathered, but no luck. I have been able to see granite samples that have a "suede" finish so that has helped.

I have polished Fantasy Brown counters being installed next Thursday. I cannot wait. I am a bit worried about staining/etching but my husband and I just feel in love with the FB. The stone yard we got ours from listed it as Fantasy Brown Marble (not quartzite). I am going to ask to keep the cooktop cutout section so I can do a bunch of stain/etching tests.

I have had Fantasy Brown Quartzite (that's what they called it where I bought it - MN) since Dec. 2013 and they have been great. No etching. No staining. Here is a portion of my island that gets heavy use for food prep. Love the movement and the variety of colors. As you can see from the many posts about FB, it goes with lots of cabinet colors.

wow ck_squared - that is GREAT that you have had no etching or staining? I wonder if it is a matter of the type of sealers some fabricators use? I keep hearing they etch, they don't etch?? I really hope ours won't etch or stain too!

That's awesome! it's a beautiful stone!

How does price of Fantasy Brown compare to other granites? Quartz? Quartzite?

Fantasy Brown is marble, not quartzite. It is the only marble that contractors in our area will use because it is much harder and more durable than most typical marbles.

What are you using to seal your FB?