Hi, houzzers

My husband and I are in the planning stages of a new build. The style is "Swedish Farmhouse" (Or perhaps Swedish Country House, according to some more knowledgeable folks). Threads available with some pics here and here.

We spent some time recently with our builder at one of his usual kitchen design places. I haven't gotten anything specific from this KD as yet (and have another I think I would rather use, but I'm trying to keep a bit of an open mind). In the process of walking me through some choices, we began talking about countertops. I'd like some sort of stone on my island (where the sink will likely be, as well), and had been inclined toward soapstone. Mostly because my experience with it as a lab countertop was very positive (anything you can dump acid on and set on fire in the same class is pretty durable. Unlike me as a TA - that was my last semester teaching!) However, I was told that to use natural stone, the yard would require me to use the entire slab. Therefore, in this case, I might be better off to use quartz - the fabricator will only charge me for the amount of material required. This makes natural stone quite a bit more costly. :-( Thus far, I haven't been THAT fond of most quartzes - once it was pointed out to me that it often seems blurry and grainy, I couldn't unsee it. The island is 4'x10'.

Now, I like the look of marble, but I'd be rather hard on it. So I did take to the Aurea stone, particularly the Lincoln or Paragon. The finish seems slightly less polished than some of the others? Which I prefer, since I don't really like the super high polish look. Of course, it was one of the higher priced options available.

As another bit of background, Cambria has become so popular locally (thanks to Costco) that the fabrication time is running 12 weeks plus. My builder warned me about that, and suggested possibly avoiding that product, as it could throw a monkey wrench in the build timeline. Especially if I go with the local custom cabinet guy (who does use a catalyzed finish), since templating would happen once he had the boxes installed.

So - do I:

1. Talk to a local granite yard that is currently in the midst of a remnant sale in the hopes that maybe THEY wouldn't charge me for a full slab?

2. Go with the Aurea stone?

3. Is there another product I should look into? (No granite, pls - not my vibe at all). Something reasonably hardy (I currently have Wilsonart solid surface, so I'm at least used to protecting it from heat. I am NOT so good about stains. I would like to stick with something that has the thermal properties of stone - I do like to do some pastry work and the usefulness of stone as a heat sink is a factor)