I oiled my perimeter counters and did not oil the island. In the beginning, the area next to the stove would be darker due to the oils from cooking, and the area around the sink would be lighter due to the extra detergent used there. After 3 years everything was uniformly dark, including the un-oiled island.

We have had soapstone counters for 5 years. Ours is a softer variety, and was also honed at the quarry to a pretty high grit, so it does show scratches and nicks. We love it regardless. We really wanted a light grayish counter for our kitchen:

However, for some (unknown) reason, in April I decided to change things up and oil/wax the counters. It gives an entirely different look to things:

DH really likes the counters dark. I'm okay with it now, in the summer, when things are so light an airy. But we live in the PNW, so come winter I will probably let them go back to light. We'll see. HTH.

No recent pictures, but agree pretty much with catbuilder. After almost three years without oil, the counters remain fairly dark, although not the stunning dark look as freshly oiled. As day to day use goes, mine are slightly darker next to my range form cooking splatters, but I can soap and water that to lighten it up any time I want. I have a 6" backsplash that typically remains somewhat lighter than the counters since it gets no surface use. I don't mind the contrast, but I can oil just the backsplash if I want more uniformity.

As I've mentioned in other threads, the nature of soapstone is a living surface, like leather or un-laquered bronze or brass, or a natural butcher block.

I have considered using Fantasia as a tile backsplash. I think it is a lovely stone. I didn't choose it for a countertop because the sample I got from M. Tex. didn't stay oiled for very long. You could watch the oil disappear. That might work well for you, though, if you don't plan on oiling.

I had Fantasy ss from M. Tex. It is gorgeous! I oiled for a bit and then it pretty much stayed dark.

We've got Beleza soapstone. We don't oil it -it has slowly gotten somewhat darker over the last 4 years.

Unoiled:

Oiled:

Maybe you should contact kolky about her white soapstone counters and see how they are holding up. It is an incredibly busy stone so you have no chance of using a marble bs with it, unless you go for Thassos marble which is essentially white. I don't know any of the geology of the stone, but if it is a true soapstone it will be completely non-reactive to acid and it won't stain.

I oil ours 2-3 times per year. Main reason I started doing so was that one side of the island was becoming darker than the other due to everyone sitting on one side with attended finger prints, etc. It was noticeable. The master bath has not been oiled and is substantially lighter.

As another point of reference, here's our powder/laundry room SS vanity top. Unoiled but cleaned often for 8 yrs. Hasn't seen kitchen-type use, but lots of little hands washing up before meals & plenty of sunscreen/hand lotion/toothpaste, etc. have set on this slab. You can see the faint little round spot (@ 1 o'clock) where the soap dispenser leaves a mark.

This slab appealed because of the active veining in an otherwise quietly done up white & grey room.

eam thank you but from what I have read, that isn't really soapstone, but some other kind of stone- no soapstone is white like that. amck2 that is a beautiful countertop. good to "see" an unoiled older counter exactly as I would like it. The soap dispenser area has a mark because soap takes off oil, right? That sounds like a good thing to me- I can wash it with a spray bottle filled with grease cutting soap solution daily to keep it as I want it.

Here is mine at age of 9 months; it had already reached about 75% of its eventual darkness. It is the Church Hill variety (one of their several VA quarries) from Alberene.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j255/Sombreuil/renovation/DSC02441.jpg

Looks somewhat like mine. It is very soft. I fabricated it myself and made the sink. It is sanded to about a 60 or 80 or 120 grit, what ever I had handy. It helps with the scratching not stand out.

My pics aren't posting. I'll try later.

won't take 2 in same post:

Enduring, that is beautiful!!

enduring those are gorgeous! And kudos to you for DIY-ing!!! I love seeing the first pic because I am planning on blue-gray lower cabinets so it is nice to see the look together. How is it holding up unoiled?

It is just fine unoiled. I have soapstone that is oiled in my kitchen and after the first couple of oilings, 4 years ago it is still dark. But in the bathroom it just stays this lighter color. It is a different variety and naturally lighter stone than in the kitchen.

Both are soft as I can scratch with my finger nail. On the hardness scale that would be about a 2. There are harder stones, but I don't have stone tools so I stick with the softer varieties and fabricate my own stuff. The bathroom stone just gets wiped down and has stayed fairly consistent since installation 3 years ago.

I have a remnant piece on hold for my DH's office I just put in. I used IKEA cabinets along one wall. I hope to pick it up in the next week. There is a ding in this remnant, but you can take ground up stone and make a slurry of stone and epoxy and fill the ding. Once dry you just sand it down and you can't really see the repair.

Cookncarpenter really says it best when they stated ..." the nature of soapstone is a living surface"...

from green mountain soapstone handbook regarding why soapstone darkens:

WHY IS IT RECOMMENDED TO OIL SOAPSTONE?
Since soapstone is non porous, nothing penetrates the surface. When any liquid is spilled or applied to the surface, the stone darkens because
the light is refracted off the stone. The stone will lighten when the sub-
stance is removed from the surface either by evaporation or cleaning. In
order to avoid an inconsistent color or tone, we recommend applying
mineral oil to the surface of the stone.

enduring, I LOVE your floor!