One of my clients used Lagoon in her white kitchen on the perimeter and it looks beautiful. She has a cherry wood top on the island.

Ariel looks much more subtle, but before you decide, try to see whole slabs of each--they look so different than the small samples you have. Is the wood the flooring? Your choices are so pretty, and your kitchen will look great whichever countertop you choose!

Thanks, Diana! The wood is actually my dining room table. The kitchen flooring will most likely be a geometric black and white cement tile.

I did in fact look at slabs of both. They were both beautiful. Ariel's markings come through a bit clearer in the full slab, but it is still very subtle compared to the Lagoon. All looking at the slabs did is reinforce that I love them both, rather than make it easier to choose!

The lagoon looks much better.

Lagoon will have much greater impact when all is said and done. But it truly is a matter of your taste.

If you like them both, then maybe the Lagoon is preferred since the backsplash tile will be so neutral. As for your flooring, the cement tiles are great! Please post some photos when you are finished!

Since you are trying to achieve a "marblesque" look, I would ask you which type of marble are you trying to replicate? Thassos is pure with little veining and Carrera with grey veining. Which are you more attracted to? Both are beautiful in their own way. I would recommend the Lagoon on the fact that your back splash is very minimal. Bring some life and movement into the kitchen.

Have you looked at Caesarstone? They have a pattern that looks exactly like marble. I have Silestone Yukon Blanco that I love. It has been down 3 years and looks as good as new. A friend recently installed the marble look from Caesarstone and it looks fabulous. I wish they had it when I was shopping.

LG rococo, if you are going to be thorough in your quest for marble lookalikes.

Of course we love both of these colors and have seen some beautiful kitchens with them. However, the other responses make a great point. Do you want a little greyer overall impact on the space (Lagoon) or a more fully neutral look (Ariel)? We've seen white subway tile with grey grout and Lagoon tops and it really tied everything together nicely. Whatever choice you make, we'd love to see the finished project!

HELP! Could any post photos of finished kitchens with lagoon, ariel or snowy ibiza? We have white shaker cabinets and are looking for countertops to compliment. It's difficult to decide so many options...thank you!

Carrienations - any photos of your kitchen with the countertops in??

I prefer the look of the Lagoon. Especially with that awesome cabinet color.

Snowy Ibiza

What did you choose? My exact delima right now with both Lagoon and Ariel! I'd love to see a photo of your finished project =)

I was going to say that Lagoon has a lighter marbling than your sample would indicate, and reads as almost gray in person. Obviously, it's faint from a distance and more clear up close, as your photos show.

Thank you. We have decided Ariel as its more white and I think will work best with our colour scheme. Thanks for your replies

Be sure to post pics when it's done...I'd love to see the finished product!

We used the Lyra because it was brighter than the Lagoon, once we brought home the samples to decide in our windowless kitchen. Always bring home the largest samples to decide. We too are very happy with our choice.

@carrienations It looks great! The white backsplash tile looks nice with the Lagoon! Can't wait to see more photos of the final product!

Would the Bianco Orion or Lagoon go better with Carrera Marble hex mosaic flooring and white subway in my bath? Is one more white/grey than the other?

Carrientations, your countertops look great with your cabinets! Stella_bella_boo, I would love to see what Ariel looks like in your kitchen! I'm either going with Lagoon, or Ariel to compliment the Shiloh Polar White cabinets we have on order. The Ariel looks warmer to me and a little softer than the Lagoon, but they're both beautiful. It's so hard to tell what will look better when all I've seen is a slab standing upright. I wish there were more photos of Ariel online.

We are so happy with our choice. Ariel is subtle and looks great but not in your face especially as we have it waterfall one end. We have veneer over cupboards over a window splash back so lots of green as warmth within the kitchen

Thank you for sharing photos of the Ariel. Your kitchen looks amazing! I imagine your window backsplash is beautiful too. Ariel is the subtle look we're trying to achieve, so I'm sure this is the one!

Are you anywhere near Gold Coast? We went and had a look at the actual slabs to compare.

I was able to see full slabs at a distributor warehouse in Michigan. I was definitely gravitating towards the Ariel for its simplicity.

Sorry just assumed you were here in Australia. Honestly I love it. If you want anymore photos or to ask anything let me know. It's easy to keep clean with having the vein. Plain white would be beautiful but a nightmare to clean. You'd have to polish it down each time. We've had heaps of comments too

I love, love, love the Ariel! Can you say what white paint color you used with it? Beautiful!

Lexicon quarter

Hi Stella, we have the same dilemma trying to decide between Silestone lagoon or Ariel. Are you able to show us some more pictures of your kitchen? My concern about lagoon was how it would go with white cabinets. Your Ariel bench top seems to go better with the white cabinets (ie matches the cabinets a little better).

That was our concern too

Wow Stella that's nice. great job. definitely leaning towards Ariel now. Thanks for posting this. Did you use lexicon quarter on your walls also?

We are leaning towards Silestone Ariel too. Any advice on backsplashes that would complement it?

Ariel

Lagoon

Yes, you are correct. Those are nice projects from other Designers (not projects that Design Intervention has done) that I found in the Houzz PROS profiles to show you what they look like right next to each other. They are incredibly similar so it's a matter of personal taste.

If your going to do a black and white cement tile (love that btw) you might want to go with the silestone. I think it will ultimately be a more cohesive look with considering the other finishes/fixtures.

Stella, Thanks so much for posting pics of your waterfall island with Ariel. Seeing these really helped me make my decision to go with Ariel in our kitchen. I love the simple, warmth, neutral look of Ariel. There aren't many pictures of Ariel online, so this was very helpful to see.

Some reviews of marble countertops pish posh the idea of marble not being durable, other reviews go to great lengths to explain the opposite. As with reviews online, there was GREAT varying opinions, and my mind exploded. So, I decided against marble, even though it was a key component to my "dream" kitchen design for years.

I literally viewed all of quartz marble lookalikes, sometimes in large sample size, others actually installed in showrooms. Price would vary from $79-$125 per square foot installed, depending on which way the wind blew. After a while, I realized, mountain out of a molehill. Sure, there were differences, but when it comes down to it, none look exactly like marble and they mostly look incredibly similar.

About half of them have circular splotches/splatter that real marble, carrera, calcutta or otherwise, NEVER have. So out those went. Then for me, I was looking for a carrera sub not calcutta or other, so out went any with brown or golden or red veining. That left me with maybe 10 with varying degrees of white and greys. Some read more grey overall, some more white, but you cannot really guarantee what your slab will look like 100%.

I realized that at this point, I was overthinking. The differences were so negligable, that ultimately, I let price dictate. Despite being a materials snob (so I thought), I went to Home Depot, which was having its usual 10-20% off countertops sale, at least, our local store always seems to have a sign out front having some sale. This time, it was 20%. I ended up with the Snowy Ibiza at around $69 a square foot installed. Considering many of the others were $100 and up, and none of them I LOVE as much a real marble, I really couldn't see going any other way. It was still over $3000 on countertops, which is a huge chunk, versus $5000 or more for another quartz that once installed, with small kitchenwares and other stuff on top, makes all the ideas of veining, greys versus whites, etc, a non issue.

DONE.

Couldn't be happier. Snowy Ibiza has some true white areas and deeper grey ones, with all grey tones in between. It is less blended grey than others. But it also has a translucency to it that some of the other samples lacked. Some look like the veining is just slapped on top and not really throughout the stone itself. Snowy Ibiza is not like this, which I think makes it look more like real marble. Price not withstanding, I really think this is one of the better carrera subs. All and all, I highly suggest this one.

Amanda- We applaud the incredible logic you used in coming to your decision! We frequently have clients that "fall in love" with a concept that doesn't really fit their budget and like you found, can have the look they want with another product if they will just let go! Kudos to you and I'm glad you shared your excellent analysis!

Haganmoore will you please show pictures of your kitchen and counters? Thanks!!!

Amanda - thanks so much for your advice - I am going through this right now and am coming to the same conclusion as you did. Can you post pictures of your Snowy Ibiza counters or let me know how they are holding up? I've looked at hundreds and am coming back to this one because of what I have heard about Silestone quality being better than other quartz (was also looking at Polarstone Quartz, a lesser name but very realistic marble look.)

Haganmoore.....what backsplash did you choose? We have Ariel and I'm looking for a white that would compliment! Thank you!

We are also looking at Ariel, does anyone know the slab prices?

@Amie Martyn, correct me if I am wrong, it will change from one fabricator to other ( they sometimes add the transportation cost but I think it is in between $61 and $71/sqf without installation)

@acm and @carrienations, I admire your kitchens by using Silestone Lagoons. If you allow me to use those beautiful pictures in my blog spot ,my followers would be delighted.

Sincerely, Debra Dee from solacehomedesign .

I truly regret installing Silestone Ariel. It has no marble look at all. It just looks like a dirty countertop. I hate it.

Our backsplash is currently going in at the moment so excuse the difference in pictures— we went with Ariel. Changed the recess lighting to LED and it made a HUGE difference!

I am highly considering getting the Ariel but I need help ?? I have only seen an Ariel sample size smaller than a notebook's size !! Is it a white countertop with subtle grey veins as I think see ? Or is it 'cream color ' with a variation of color veins ?

im going with farmhouse style kitchen, light walnut hardwood floors , alabaster' from SW shaker cabinets , floating shelves and subway 3x6 calacatta Oliva marble tile (subtle grey & white & light shades ) , pantry barn doors in Benjamin Moore HALE NAVY .

should I go with ARIEL or 'PLAIN' white countertop? I want my backsplash to standout !!

But don't know about the WHITE COUNTERTOP??

Help??????? Im in DOWNEY CA , any silestone showroom near??

You need to see slabs, not showroom. Showrooms are for "It's gonna look kinda like this."

https://www.silestoneusa.com

Rosie-You can go on their website and see where their dealers are located in your area.

your pic of lagoon doesnt look like our sample of lagoon...ours looks more like your sample of ariel??? Hmm