Pick if you want the green or more black/blue. It does not get sealed (unlike marble and granite). However you might want to oil or wax it (which makes it darker). Not everyone wants that maintenance if you like that look.

Many people, even pros, don't really know much about soapstone unless they have had personal experience with it. It sounds like you've done research and know yourself well enough to know that you would be fine with it. I would encourage you to get samples and use/abuse them as they might get used/abused in your kitchen. There are differing levels of softness with soapstone in addition to various "colors."

We've had soapstone counters since we remodeled our kitchen 8 years ago. I love it. I had not heard of it except with respect to use in fireplaces. It is a light gray blue color, and a softer (although not the softest) variety. A few years ago I started to oil it, and kept it oiled/waxed for about a year, and then took it back to its original "naked" color. It was not a hassle to keep it dark but I prefer the lighter color.

We are not shiny fancy people (ha) so it fits both our personalities and our kitchen. I don't think you're "missing anything" as you described; you just haven't dealt with anyone who has experience with it.

Just from reading on the board here, I would say to work with a fabricator who is familiar with soapstone. I’ve seen some stories here of people having trouble because their fabricators overpolished the soapstone.

Soapstone is about as perfect a countertop material as they come. Stop letting people talk you out of it; trust your gut (and your research.)

Also, look for a harder variety. My soapstone is a 5 on the scale. We have had it for 3 years, and it doesn't have any dings at all. The scratches are super minimal as well and disappear with oiling. The only thing I find annoying about it is that we do get water rings. I doesn't bother me on a day to day basis, but when we are entertaining, it looks a bit "messy." But I would use soapstone again tomorrow if I had to choose all over again.

^^^I was going to say what Mom2sulu said. Not all soapstones are the same. There are different varieties of soapstone, and some are softer and some are harder. Do your research, and find a good fabricator to help you choose one that won't scratch/chip as easily as others.

About water rings, I have read that some people feel if you don't oil the soapstone you won't get rings, because oil and water don't mix. I don't have any proof for that, it was just something I read. I know that many people prefer the more charcoal color of unoiled soapstone, while many prefer the darker color of oiled soapstone. The good thing is you can experiment with which one you like.

We are going to look at soapstone this weekend. Our back-up, if we decide against it, is a honed granite or something that may look similar to soapstone. Will all places give you a sample to take home and try out? Thanks for the responses!

Not all places give samples, but most do. If you like the idea of a soapstone from the USA, look for one called Church Hill or Alberene. It's quarried in Virginia.

I have had a matte soapstone counter top for a year now. It has been fine so far. It gets water stains that are easily removed. If you are looking for a noble look that may eventually get some wear and tear marks and will season with time, the finish that will evolve, soapstone is an excellent choice. It would not be a suggestion for an obsessive compulsive perfectionist as it may have some uneven look here and there with regular use if you don't obsessively maintain it. I cook daily all of my meals and I like it. I wipe it ever so frequently and as needed but do not waste my time polishing or scrubbing it.

If you are anywhere near Philadelphia area, Bucks County Soapstone is phenomenal. They only work with soapstone so their installs are perfection. They have a mobile fabricating unit (they used to anyway) and I think travel pretty far in spring, summer and fall. My seams are literally invisible and although my stone is soft is one of the softer one (Santa Rita Venata-quarried out a few years ago), my ten year old counters are beautiful.

My town's middle school is over a 100 years old and has beautiful soapstone lab benches as it is completely indestructible (other than scratches).

You can get the look of soapstone by using virginia mist or via lactea leathered. However, I love soapstone.

Are you planning to oil it or leave it dry?

I have soapstone counters. They are not fragile at all. Yes there can be a chipping issue. It is no big deal for me. They look and feel of them can't be beat (though I love marble too ;-) The leathered granite works well too. Virginia mist and Via Lactea as mentioned above. Boxerpal had the Virginia Mist in her drop dead gorgeous kitchen before her current one. I would not hesitate to go with that either if you are concerned about chipping.

I love the oiled look so I will definitely want to oil it. I have seen some of the black granite that looks like soapstone and would be willing to go with one of those if needed. But, my preference is soapstone. I love a real-world, lived-in look so some marks on it won't bother me. I'd love a counter top that looks like it's much older than it is. But, the water marks worry me a little so I'll try to get a sample this weekend. Thanks so much for the helpful responses!

I have to chime in and add that I think most in my family would consider me OCD and I still love the soapstone, water marks and all. Again, it only bothers me when guests are here--I don't mind wiping up the marks as they occur naturally in my home--no big deal. But when guests are here, I don't do it--I mean, then I would look terribly OCD wiping up after them all the time. Lol.

But the tradeoff for the look and feel of them on an every day basis is worth it.

A picture of my soapstone.

I love the look of soapstone also but my husband wanted shiny granite. We compromised and went with a lightly leathered granite. My first choice was Via Lactea...it is beautiful. For $2000 less I found a leathered Black Pearl. I don't have any issues with water rings or scratches/chips. I really like the look and I love the feel of it!

We just had this slab reserved. It's called American Black in a leathered finish. The soapstone look with the maintenance of granite. I'm super excited about it.

Hi Keiko - would you mind telling me if this is one of the more costly kinds of granite? I'm wondering where the soapstone-looking granites fall on that scale. Looks beautiful!

osugal, it really depends on your area, but in general I found them to be upper-mid ranged. Around here we were quoted $2500 from one fabricator (way cheaper than everyone else) and $3500-4000 from the others for our 53 sqft kitchen. It helps to find it in the leathered finish already, since it's an added price to have the slab leathered. You can call around to different suppliers and see the names they might call it. Negresco, Via Lactea, Virginia Mist, Jet Mist, Black Mist, Black Antique can sometimes be called different names, but they might be the same stone.

Love and countertops are a stone salesman's best friend.

"But we're in love. He'll change for me, I know it...."

I've had my soapstone counters over five years now, and still smile every time I enter the kitchen. It's bullet proof and beautiful, and mine is a softer variety "Mariana" from Brazil.
As Sammy put it;

"Soapstone
is about as perfect a countertop material as they come. Stop letting
people talk you out of it; trust your gut (and your research.)"

Our countertop/stone people recommended Aqua Grantique. It is a granite that is quarried in Wisconsin. We love the look and function and the leathered/honed finish is so inviting in our kitchen. We are really glad that we went with it. Our guests rave about it every time they visit.

Aqua Grantique Granite Countertop · More Info

Craftsman Kitchen · More Info

Spec House to Craftsman Makeover · More Info

milesdog - your kitchen is gorgeous! Like the OP I love soapstone, but I'm not as confident that I'd be OK with chipping and water stains etc. How is your granite with fingerprints/staining? I've read many posts on here about how leathered black granites show fingerprints....

I do notice water marks (around the sink). I really don't notice hand prints (we don't have kids). Per recommendations from the installer I just use soap and water when I wash and then dry with a towel and it looks great. It really has not been a problem.

Thanks for the feedback! I live in MN and would be nice to get somewhat 'local' granite :)

You may be able to see it live. We went to the Twin Cities a couple years ago to see it at Stone Holding. We are in Southwest Wisconsin and thought the same thing about local stone.

https://www.stoneholding.com/showrooms

I love soapstone - we have it on a display and it holds up really well...

If you want to go with more of a granite - look into Jet mist - it's beautiful too

But if you saw a soapstone you love, then go for it!!

Get the soapstone. DO IT. And tell your kitchen designer to shove it because it's the best and she doesn't know what she's talking about.

You know those black-top tables you had in your science lab in school? Those tabletops were soapstone. It might be soft, but it's DENSE and also impervious to just about every sort of chemical spill, chemical reaction, heat and fire, whatever. That's why they put soapstone in science classrooms - you can do all sorts of horrible dangerous experiments on it and it will be unaffected. You don't even need to seal it. If it gets scratched, oil it or buff it out. Since it's so dense, it won't get scratched very deeply.

If soapstone came in white/light gray, I would 100% get it for my future kitchen remodel. My problem is that my kitchen doesn't have an abundance of natural light and I want to-the-ceiling dark wood cabinets, so it would just be so DARK with dark cabinets AND dark countertops. But I'm still considering it in spite of that. My second choice is marble because of its look (I love the flowing vein patterns in both soapstone and marble the best - granite patterning is way too coarse and gritty for my kitchen's taste), but marble is not nearly as good of a working surface as soapstone is, so that sucks for me.

I have had mine 10+ years. I have a couple dings. Sharpie covers them. I oiled 2-3 times the first year. Once a year about 5 years and not since. They stay dark, no water rings. I love the feel of soapstone. Hot pans off of the burners or out the oven doesn't harm them.

I just got honed Via Lactea installed in my new build. I noticed above that you asked about cost. My countertop company labeled honed Via Lactea in the B group with A group being the least expensive.

Here are pics of my honed Via Lactea

We just put soapstone in our kitchen and we love it. I just wipe it down with a damp towel and water rings disappear, takes no more than a minute. We like it so much more than granite. Here are a couple of pictures natural

and oiled

When we redid our kitchen I was looking at Stormy Black because it's one of the harder varieties. Problem was, it didn't have the same soft feel as the softer stones and I ended up falling in love with one of the softest stones (Barroca). I can scratch it with my fingernail. I have a bunch of "circles" etched into the stone where my DH has opened bottles of wine. I have a bunch of chips where something has hit the edge of the counter when the DW was being loaded. I have scratches where I've used my bench scraper. I have all sorts of water marks from glasses being set down, from drips at the tap, from lids from my pots that are set down on the counter, Sure, the water marks dissapear with time, but are you okay with that? Are you sure?? I don't know of any other counter that will get beat up the same way. If you say yes, I say welcome to the club!

^ sherri nailed it!
If you can embrace the patina you are a soapy. Think of soapstone like old jeans or work boots, or a saddle, the older they get the better!

Another soapstone lover here, but a newbie (5 months). I researched on GW/Houzz and decide to use this. I've done the counters and sink twice, but only because range backsplash and window area was installed a few weeks later. You can apply with your hands, and it leaves them oh so soft. But the best part is it does not transfer from the counters to your clothes or onto your hand/cabinets, etc.

I also did a soapstone single 36" sink with windows over counter and the soapstone covers the small backsplash and top of window sill. We also have a large sculptural backsplash of soapstone behind the range. This was taken right after installation and application of soapstone sealer, so nothing decorative on counters (note to self: take new photos!)

And as if that wasn't enough.... DH and a friend welded a table for grill and egg, and we did soapstone on it (top and lower shelf). We also replaced the basement kitchen counters with soapstone, with full splash behind the sink.

I go over with damp paper towel when needed (about every other day). DD1 is living with us, so there is a lot of prepping/cooking. We absolutely love the counters.