do you know if cambria quartz or caesarstone have the same chipping problem?

We just finished our kitchen remodel 2 months ago. We have almost identical colored cabinets... Espresso and linen by Marsh. And dark oak floors. We went with the Cambria Windermere and we love it. Looked at a million pictures of that countertop, and it still looks even better in person. So far very happy with Quartz product. It was definitely one of the more difficult decisions of a pretty big renovation.

Love your story board. Love the 2 original quartz choices but like the Aria best.

Quartz is super easy to care for and has none of the upkeep or problems of granite and marble.

You have great taste so just do what YOU love!

(BTW: I have Silestone and LOVE it. Not sure what the comments are about chipping as I have never had any problems.)

3662a - i didn't find as many complaints about Cambria in particular, but take a look at this link for universal pros/cons of quartz http://countertopreview.com/reviews/21-2/

Helpful comparison chart. Quartz stacks up pretty good!

my preference for countertops is wood. It adds warmth to the space that rock/concrete is missing. It is also biodegradable if someone switches it out later. I cringe at the thought of how much of the land is being chopped up to make "pretty counter tops" that will go out of style and end up in a land fill later when the craze is over. But I never get tired of seeing the wooden counter tops.... I got butcher block from Ikea, but there's lots of other options out there... And mostly way cheaper than rock
http://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=wooden+countertops&v_t=webmail-searchbox

I love butcher block and seriously considered that!

I too think the island crowds the kitchen. However, if you decide to keep it, I like the wood option. If done correctly, it not only eliminates seaming of stone, it also provides the warmth and intimacy of a dining table. Something comfortable to gather around while people are in the kitchen.

One other small piece of advice to add to Jason Conaway's great comments about living with your materials for a while. Don't forget to look at the materials in the orientation that you will be using them. Cabinet wood, backsplash material, and paint chips should be vertical and countertops and flooring should be horizontal. It can make a big difference in how they look!

Just finished remodel, used Cambria Seagrove

Have you considered Dekton? It's porcelain, very popular in Europe and is now available in North America. It has 0% porousity so it will never stain, you never have to seal it and it is heat resistant to 6000 degrees. It is harder than granite and it is light weight. It comes in large slabs and is way cheaper than granite or quartz. Cosentino.com distributes it.

Never heard of it. I will check it out.

I struggled to find a marble looking quartz for my island and looked at other products like the Dekton as well. However, I was really set on quartz and it's marvelous features. I have white cabinets around the kitchen perimeter and their counters are covered with Silestone Tao, a matte black. The island is 12' long by 4-1/2' wide with matte black drawers on both sides underneath. I finally went back to my first choice of Caesarstone London Gray and I couldn't be more pleased. It has the smudgy pattern and is very interesting when studying it, and yet it doesn't demand all the attention in the room. I used a gray veined marble tile in a multi-sized pattern as my backsplash. I did the remodel a year ago after extensive research, and it is still a joy to work in. good luck.

About the island... To keep from having to seam the top, maybe consider sticking with a simpler rectangular island but rotate it so that the long side is parallel to the sink wall. It's okay to have the extra space in front of the refrigerator (and oven if left in original location) - maybe even desirable when the door is open and somebody wants to get by. It gives easy access to a prep area from the sink, a long side for seating that is not in the path of travel, and a better view than the point of the island from the adjoining room.

Also, the angles of the breakfast nook make it a great place to use built-in banquette (sp?) style seating. You could extend the bench away from the table toward the door to make a convenient place for extra seating.

Luv those suggestions, Bethpek!

For anyone curious about tracybubs' mention of Dekton by Cosentino (makers of Silestone quartz), you can also check two more brands of "sintered stone." There may be more brands?

sagesurfaces.com calls their sintered stone DuraLosa, available through Lowe's. I didn't see any marbles, but it's worth viewing a very short video on the product itself, showing literal fire directly on countertop. It also says 100% recyclable.

This other one is neolithcountertops.com Lots of collections there, including a calacatta and estatuario marbles :) under the Classtone collection.

Sintered stone is supposed to be much cheaper, but I have zero experience. My interest has become very piqued!

I looked at the neolith and porcelain that were just coming to market. As I remember, although they had great images, they were thin - 1/2" or less and would have to have an edge added like laminates. I checked the neolith site and it said they were 1/2" thick and 8lbs per foot.

I'll have to check out the suggestions from spisland, thanks!

BarbaraJ

I have Fantasy Brown Quartzite and I love it! Each time I walk into the kitchen,I am still thrilled to see it! This is after two years! The colours softly swirl and blend and make me feel happy. We chose the prettiest part for the counter top and the rest was cut up, since we have many surfaces in our kitchen. You can google it and see what I mean. Cream, white, beige, dark brown, sand, it's all there. Maybe you would love it too!

Sorry if somebody already said this, but be sure to get physical samples of all the materials you are considering, rather than dealing with a sample for one and photos for the others -- you want to judge the tones against each other in person, in various light, etc. Photos are useful for seeing how things look from a distance, but you need to see at least a bit of the thing up close too.

Here's a top contender for our backsplash.

I like it. All very complimentary.

When choosing a backsplash consider how easily you can clean it.

We recently installed Cambria - 3550 Braemer in a townhouse kitchen we remodeled and it looks great.

We recently finished our kitchen remodel and love Cambria !! We used the Bellingham on the counters & island !! Looks fabulous !! We also used the Cambria Braemar on bar area in our open concept design kitchen family room and used a white glass tile on backsplash !! I had many sleepless nights with making choices . I love the finished look !! Good luck !!

We love quartz as well. Your choices look perfect. Have you looked at Cambria Brittanicca? It's one of their new patterns.

Check out Compac Black Ama quartz. I just used it for my kitchen. It goes well with white, gray or even a light beige. It also has a few bits of silver thrown in. It also comes in brown and white. I'll try to send pics soon.

Pics look great!

I do like the Brittanicca , it was not available when we made our choice. My concern with that pattern would be how the consistency of design would look on my slab. It is beautiful ! I originally wanted Torquay but my husband didn't want an all white look. I'm very happy with the compromise !! Bellingham has great flow and Ethan Allen was able to make great choices in furniture fabrics to really bring out the colors in the Quartz !!

Janice, it turned out beautiful! I like your idea of using a different counter on the butler pantry. I may do that.

You can write Cambria and get samples that are 12" x 12" that you can use to see if you like your pattern. We used Cambria Bellingham and I love it.

I like the lighter (whiter) countertop. Keeps the kitchen from being too heavy, and lighter counters and easier on the eye, and to work on.

has anyone used or thinking of using the sintered stone countertops?

spisland brought that to my attention. sounds like a great product, but very thin. might be an option for bathroom/shower, but not what I want for a kitchen counter.

Used Cambria quartz in my kitchen. It was put in in Dec. The pattern is similar to some of the pics posted but it has some bling in it that I love. The name of the pattern is Berwyn and its described as "random and free flowing". I sent for a sample which was free but the shipping was $25.00. Well worth it. The piece they sent is 12" square and I use it now under the coffee pot. Also I would encourage you to go see your slabs. We did this (2hrs trip one way for us) I called ahead and they had 3 slabs. We looked at the first 2 they got out for us and I asked to see the 3rd one. That was a winner! Just because its manmade doesn't mean they will be exactly the same. Good luck!

We used Cambria Praa Sands. Very similar to Bellingham.

kathleenabd, absolutely beautiful!

How exciting! I am a huge fan of Quartz and I would consider wood countertop on island for a great contrast. I love a great neutral tile laid in a chevron pattern for an easy to clean backsplash. Go with your gut! When you look at samples, etc.. You will know when it's the right choice. If you are still uneasy or not sure of a choice , it's probably means it's not the one. Good Luck! Pick what you love.

I'm using LG's Rococo in my kitchen remodel - I had been dead set on Carrara marble until I saw how beautiful quartzite could be.

Zodiacs new London sky is another pretty one. Less pronounced veining. More subtle. And a less grey background

I also used Aria on my island. Everyone has positive comments about it. As u can see, I used a grey Quartz for the rest of the kitchen. My cabinets are canvas too

This is wine river granite. Your cabinet choices are pretty much the same as what I have chosen (also white and peppercorn in oak) keep in mind that quartzite (not Quartz) is still porous. Especially the lighter ones. Let us know what you choose!

kimorpat, I have the LG Aria in my master bath with a dark walnut cabinet base. We put them in 2 years ago. I absolutely love them and there have been no issues. They look very expensive. We also used some of the slab as a decorative seat and ledge in our shower.

dreamscapes108, would you please elaborate on this chipping? I'm having quartz with an undermount sink installed and am now very concerned. Is the chipping due to dropping things near the corners or ? You mentioned comments on Houzz and blogs. Do you have links that I could read up on? Thanks

I like the LG Aria quartz. Thicker would be "overpowering" as you say you don't want and "smudgier" would look muddy. Your cabinets are beautiful!

Hi Kimorpat! I love your ideas & your kitchen is going to be amazing. I can't tell for sure but your kitchen seems big and also big enough that you could do a few different countertop styles/colors. Have you considered doing that? Especially if you are going with an island.

I would warn anyone considering Compac quartz that
the color of what is delivered can deviate quite a lot from the samples.

For
example, I bought a Compac quartz countertop in color Carerra and
although the sample in the shop showed quite a true white background,
what we was delivered was more beige-y gray. A true disappointment after
spending a lot on my dream kitchen.

The company has no technical information available on how different its colors may be so if
you think about getting quartz from Compac you apparently need to go look at the
slabs, as you would for a natural stone. To me, this kind-of defeats
one of the benefits of engineering quartz I'd read, which is what you
see is what you get.

By the way, Compac has been very dismissive of my concerns.

Good to knowmariejose124. I'm amazed in this day and age of blogs and forums that companies still dismiss the concerns of their customers. Don't they realize if someone is displeased and posts a comment, such as you have, what that does to their reputation?

The materials chosen are lovely, but so much depends on other factors in your home, specifically lighting, sun exposure, flooring and paint color. However, based on the cabinet choices and the LG quartz they compliment each other nicely. I think you made a good decision! I would recommend doing a tile for your backsplash instead of using the quartz material. It will add more interest.

Love the first one!