Caesarstone Symphony Grey

I love the subtle variation without being too busy. Excellent on wear and cleaning (so far - it's been about 9 months), and it was the right fit with the SS appliances and dark brown cabinetry.

Cambria Somerset, installed in 2013. Light oak cabinets, painted and stenciled backsplash (wall color BM Putnam Ivory). DH and I were planning to go with laminate when we remodeled our kitchen, but couldn't find anything we liked. During our search, we came across a sample of this quartz, and fell in love. We are outdoorsy people, and liked the warm, earthy tone, and we think it looks great with our cabinets.

I love the ease of cleaning, though because the pattern hides crumbs/spills so well, DH often forgets to wipe down the counters after cooking.

This photo is a better representation of the color:

Casa Blanca just ordered it for our new kitchen( white shaker style) , now waiting to be installed. Hopefully it will look the way we want it.

LG Viatera - Nimbus with white cabinets and backsplash on the sink wall and peninsula (hoping to grout this weekend)Will be installing Cherry on either side of the range, across the room from the sink. After four coats of waterlox and a week or so to cure:

Cygnus Quartzite Leathered/Suede finish.

I LOVE it because it’s different and instead of looking like stone it looks like a beautiful wood top. I wanted the warmth of wood with he durability of stone. I am not a fan of super shiny surfaces so the leathered finish really sealed the deal.

Our upper cabinets will be painted white...

cool thread

I'll try to attach whatever I still have

it's Quartz..Cloudy Beige by Quartzforms..and its role was to be more or less easy maintenance(otherwise I'd do butcherblock)-and to go with the tile. I started with tile. I'm a tile person. That's my second choice tile btw..couldn't afford the first choice one. Can't forget it either lol

But yes, I just wanted countertop to umm..dissappear. I love accessories too so now the counter has more on it..the pics were taken couple days after we moved. But it's more plants, fruits, jug..blahblah.

Now. stones like cpartist's one..well these are able to sway me of course))

but would be a pity to cut smth magnificent like that for a small kitchen. That's a stone one doesn't want to mess with..one wants to look at it forever

in different light-green comes out more in the tile. it all has green undertone..or whatever one wants to call it. well except the floors lol

do I like my countertop? well. I like it well enough. I love my countertop in master since it has character, being a veiny marble or limestone or whatever it is-but that's a different thread.

Cabs are very warm greige..sink-Blanco silgranit in Truffle..floors..hard to miss..)) this is walnut. Too red for many people, just right for me.

cpartist - I love your countertop. Where did you get the Facination Quartzite? It is beautiful.

I have honed Steel Gray granite and honed Bianco Romano. LOVE them! (kitchen remodel completed July 2015.)

Close up of honed Steel Gray counter

dtrivino, DH and I aren't fans of super shiny surfaces either.

Lisa_a beautiful! I had polished granite in our last house and found myself OBSESSIVELY polishing it to a slick shine. I told myself that I refused to be a human zamboni in this house LOL!!

Thank you, dtrivino! I've always been a fan of the quiet beauty of soapstone and marble. I was delighted when I learned that granite could be honed so that I could approximate that look with materials more suited to a 1990s era home.

I agree...I LOVE soapstone too!! Hopefully I can get my countertops back to the beauty they had in slab form but that’s another thread/story entirely

We installed honed Ice Flake Quartzite 6 months ago. I wanted something that was subtle and serene since my kitchen is small and open to the family room.

it has a depth to it that doesn't show in photos.

@cpartist I would have been tempted to anchor that slab onto my wall so I could just stare at (I don’t cook enough to be able appreciate it on my island!).

Carrara honed marble. Installed it 5 years ago, and still loooove it.

Soapstone.

lisa_a: your honed Steel Gray looks so awesomely stone-y!

This might be the best thread ever! I love the variety of materials, colors and patterns already posted =)

Leathered steel gray. We have been living with it for almost 3 months now and love it. We built a log cabin and did not want anything shiney.

What I love is how everyone's stone works so well with their kitchens.

I guess I'm the outlier here- We went with good ol' Formica for most of our kitchen. We chose Basalt Slate in matte finish, and it looks a lot like soapstone, without the cost and maintenance. Our peninsula top is wide plank spalted maple, and I used the scraps to make a maple prep corner. I've lived with Formica for all of my 64 years, and it works for me. There some pics here:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3436435/diy-kitchen-reveal-abb?n=71

and here with the backsplash:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/at-long-last-backsplash-dsvw-vd~4983996

Love it, lisa_a. Thanks for sharing. I just recently selected slabs, and have been nervous about how it will look. Have this Honed Danby Marble (island) and Honed Negresco Granite (perimeter) on hold. Can still change my mind, and may browse the yard one more time before they fabricate. They are going on contemporary walnut slab door cabinets. Install hopefully in June (new construction).

Since people are sharing non-countertop parts of their kitchen that they love, here are 2 of my favourites -- my backsplash, which has a slightly wavy surface to reflect more light, and my awesome faucet - it was a splurge item for me (more than I'd intended to spend on hardware), but I love it. It's a Hansegrohe Metris.

I love this faucet too, Toronto Veterinarian..and I rarely love faucets, but this one is special. Amazing lines.

We installed Calacatta Quartzite in our small kitchen. We have always had dark granite so the lightness concerned me at first - lighter counter would be less durable? But I did test it. I tried scratching it with a piece of granite and not scratch. I put different liquids (wine, water, oils, spaghetti sauce, etc) and left them on and it did not etch. It's amazingly durable.

The back splash is a waterjet tile of granite, limestone and glass.

Currently counter shopping so I hope people continue to post on this thread!

Mushcreek, I think your Formica looks great. When I remodel I'm planning on using Formica. I'm hoping more people post pictures of their laminate countertops, I'd love to see them.

Lisa_a, I don't know how to highlight names but, would you share the brand of your vent hood? Is it over an induction cooktop? I've been toying with a similar look but was waffling on whether it would look "off", or not, because of the sleek cooktop paired with a chunky hood. I LOVE it in your kitchen. LOVE.

Thank you, alex9179!

My hood is a 42" Modern-Aire, PS-24, 600 CFM, over a 36" induction cook top. I learned about Modern-Aire from kitchen forum members, who kindly shared photos and feedback with me. Still, it was a leap of faith because there isn't a dealer in my state so I never was able to see one in person until mine arrived. (bought it directly from MA.)

I am very happy with it but I will say that when it first went up - before counters and other finishes were in - I kinda freaked because it looked *huge*! But once my kitchen was finished, it looked in balance with everything else.

I'm really happy with it, especially happy that it's not all SS. I was even happier when I learned that the powder coat finish was cheaper than getting it all in SS. It works well. I rarely use it at high speed. Not surprisingly, it's heads and tails better than my old 7" pop up downdraft. The lights are nice and bright, too.

I'll be shopping for a new kitchen counters in the hopefully not too distant future. The house I purchased has a beautiful kitchen but one major flaw - ceramic tile countertops. Yes, grouted ceramic tile. Sigh. Grout is already crumbling, and tiles are lifting where the faucet is. No, I would not recommend. Not ever.

Dtriviono, Cpartist, absolutely stunning quartzite! Never knew quartzite is so beautiful! Would you mind sharing the cost comparing to granite or quartz? What area is this from?

Dtrivino, did you finish the kitchen? Can you share more pictures? I personally like brown vs maple wood look more than trendy white vs brown, but that is my personal preference. One day very soon all contractors will have a field day with this white trend. I can’t believe it will look good in a year without extensive cleaning and maintenance, but no one will want to admit it...painted wood to me looks good only on molding and trim....

Dtriviono, Cpartist, absolutely stunning quartzite! Never knew quartzite is so beautiful! Would you mind sharing the cost comparing to granite or quartz? What area is this from?

Simona, mine was considered an exotic which puts it towards the top of the price range for granites. I can't give you the cost compared to granite or quartz because both those have different levels too. Are you talking about a level 1 granite or a level 3 for example?

Hi Simona! Our Cygnus Leathered 3cm Quartzite was purchased by the slab. We bought two slabs (126” x 77”) and paid $3500.00 for them. We paid separately for fabrication. We live in the Orlando/Clermont Florida area. We just fell in love with the warm wood look that these slabs had. We have not finished our kitchen but here’s it’s current state (messy post Easter lunch). We are waiting on new doors for our uppers which will be white (or some general shade of white)...

We love the direction it’s going in and aren’t concerned with design trends. Just happy loving what we pick =) <3

Also, I don’t think we’ll EVER be finished LOL!!

STUNNINGLY SUPREME IN GREEN!!! Being a lifelong lover of full spectrum green colors, I am madly in love with this kitchen. The use of this magnificent countertop is precisely how to showcase a unique and breathtaking work of art. The white, tasteful cabinets play pleasant contrast, not stark nor minimal, to such an eye-popping surface. Combined with the green wall color, the visual is an unexpected relaxing delight that invites all to gather and use many hours each day! Beyond beautiful! I personally thank the design team for creating my dream kitchen dining center! Much love and respect, Frances

oic57, loooooovvvveee the carrara! leela4, which soapstone is that and how have you kept it so light gray? I like the lighter colored ones that don't lean green at all.

Dtrivino, it is absolutely amazing!I honestly and sincerely envy you:) wish you many happy years on these countertops! I love it a lot! I did not see anything like this here, so I went with caldera.

Cpartist , I always compare to cheapest one:)

It's about 4-5x the price of the cheapest ones. :)

LG Viatera Alpha. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one.

Thanks simona! We had our fair share of issues with our fabrication but I’m still really happy with the overall look of it! Reminds me of raw wood with all of the knots and stuff without the maintenance =)

Would love to refresh this post !! I need inspirational photos

Especially my wood cabinet peeps. :)

Marine Blue quartzite --goes by numerous other names, including Van Gogh. Impervious to everything and I never get sick of looking at the patterns in it. So happy I chose it. I got it for $75 SF which made me even happier. Cabinets are Fabuwood and I love them too.