My first thought is, how are you cleaning such a large island?

Are you asking for pros / cons on Danby vs. quartzite? Danby has fairly good reviews on here, but it is marble. So make sure you understand how it etches, stains, cleans, etc. It is beautiful, though!

I have quartzite counters, the stone yard labeled it as Mykonos quartzite. It is light, light gray with white, taupe and black (or dark brown or dark blue) veins running through. I love it. I have not had any problems with my quartzite counters. You will read a ton on here about staining. Make sure your fabricator knows how to install quartzite as my understanding is that there can be silicone bleeding that the quartzite absorbs. I'm sure if I didn't say that correctly, a pro on here will school me. We have experienced water marks when we've left dishes to dry on a thin dish towel. Those have always dried up within a few hours and the "stain" disappears. No etching from oils, acids, tomato sauce, etc. Basically, I couldn't be more pleased with our countertops.

You may want to take a look at Taj Mahal counters. They are more gray now than the creamy TM from a few years back. Good luck in your search!

Megs1030 - good question on the cleaning!! :)

Yes I am looking for info to help sway me one way or the other - based on aesthetics I prefer the marble - I guess I'm wondering if the Danby + Stoneguard is "good enough" for daily wear and tear (understanding there may be chips, etc) vs going for Quartzite.

I'm learning here that quartzite can be hit or miss. I've been keeping a list of quartzites that people have had good vs bad experience with (knowing I need to do my own test too). Just looked up Mykonos and it is beautiful! Adding to the "good" list.... Most of the TM I've seen have been too beige for me but am keeping an open mind. Thanks!

Live_wire_oak - this is great advice. Just tested. For me this is still a comfortable width (I am taller with a long torso), but I need to consider that I may not be the owner of this house forever. It sounds like it makes sense to find the slab early then, and adjust the island (continent!!) accordingly. Great thought.

@Jennifer Schoch - Following to find out what you decide. - I am just beginning my renovation plans. Don't even have the architects full drawings yet. However, I have wanted marble for my counters for years. I don't like Quartz (looks fake to me), and I can tell that Quartzite isn't marble. I've decided to roll the dice and learn to live with the patina. From what I understand, the Danby marble is denser then some Italian marble so staining is more difficult. Etching however will happen which is why I'll get a honed finish. Have you seen the Stoneguard? I've heard it can look like plastic on your counters. Perhaps that was a while ago, or a different product. Let us know what you find out and if you can see it in person. I'd love to see a before and after photo to see if I can tell the difference, but not going to the stone yards just yet.

Hi Design Girl - will keep you posted! Stoneguard has come out with a Satin product that I think is more promising than the glossy version (which I agree, can look a bit plasticky.) Less so than other products. I'm working on trying to find a sample. I know there are some before and after photos of Stoneguard on here somewhere, let me see if I can find them.... Previously Azerocare (similar Italian product) was rising in popularity but then lots of people had problems with it.

Design Girl - Here's the link to Joseph Corlett's before and afters! Can you imagine if we can use marble like we want, without worrying about etching and staining? Still have to be careful as marble is soft and I believe the coating can still scratch. Seems too good to be true??

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5453190/is-stoneguard-worth-it#n=2

Did anyone end up using the stone guard or similar product?

Bump. Wondering the same thing-can users of stoneguard comment on their experience?

I don't have Stoneguard but I had the same design dilemma and went with Danby honed countertops. It's barely been a week so I can't comment on durability but so far I LOVE them! There is one etch already in full disclosure, but I don't think anyone but me would notice unless I pointed it out.

Update: We also went with Danby and I LOVE it - it is holding up pretty well actually. A few etches where something wasn't wiped up right away, but we don't particularly baby it like we did the first few weeks. If it was just me, I would be ok with leaving it as is. But I do hate having to ask guests to be careful - so we are having MORE Anti Etch applied in about a month.

@Jen S - Let us know how you like it, and if you find a difference in the look or feel after it's applied.

Hi all - This is an update for all w/ the same dilemma (especially Design Girl!) We had our MORE Anti Etch scheduled today, after a couple months wait. The installer mentioned the texture may not be the same as the original Danby (ours is called honed but has almost a leathered finish with some natural depth and shine). This made me a little nervous so I asked them to just do our small bathroom first so I could see how the finish turned out. I'm glad I did - it's not horrible but I could tell the difference between the honed and the natural Danby. The MORE makes the surface look dull and the marble loses its dimension. I decided against doing the MORE Anti Etch on the rest of my Danby.

@Jen S - Thanks for reporting back. What you have described is exactly what I had heard would happen. I'm going to live with the etching and patina over time.

Agree Design Girl - I had read similar comments but was still unsure, so this worked out to try out a small area. In the kitchen picture (next post!), you can see more of the natural sheen of the marble (without MORE AntiEtch). In the bathroom vanity pictures you can see the finish looks more flat & I also don't love how you can see some defects in the MORE AntiEtch in the close up.

This is how my kitchen (natural Danby) looks:

@Jen S - Thanks for the pictures. I can see what you mean. Enjoy your counters. My project has finally started and I'm going out next week to pick out the slabs.

@Design Girl @Jen S bumping incase there were any updates or if you found another product? I am in the same boat as well.

@Aleia K - My kitchen is going in on Monday and Tuesday, appliances Thursday, and the template for the Danby will be Friday. It will be a few more weeks before it is installed. I'm not prepared to spend that kind of money for something I think will make my beautiful stone look plastic. I haven't heard of anything that will not make this happen.

Have been in my home now for about a year and very pleased with how my Danby has held up. Yes it etches, but the etches fade and they don't really bother me anymore. I did do that one bathroom with Anti-Etch as mentioned above, and it's ok, but I agree with Design Girl.

Design girl - any updates from your kitchen? Would love to see photos

@Neha Jain - Should be able to post some shortly. The fabricator can't find the slabs I originally selected (sure he sold them to someone else) so I had to select different ones. It actually was a blessing as I think I like the new ones better. I'll post pics when hardware and counters are in.

@Design Girl - Well that is great that you found slabs you like even better! Can you imagine the horror otherwise! Good luck and post pics when you can :)

I myself have been going crazy trying to finalize the countertops, I swear it keeps me up at night. Currently the needle is at either soapstone/honed black granite for perimeter and danby for the island. Considered quartz strongly, all stone places almost seem to steer you in that direction these days, but my heart wants marble.

I grew up in a house in India with marble floors everywhere, even marble halfway up the walls and it is impossible to “baby” a floor! Most of my school projects (think markers, paint, glue, scissors etc) were done sitting down on that floor. Obviously stuff was dropped, spilled and sometimes left there for hours. If it left a stain/mark, no one in the house had a fit. Just mop it up and move on. 30 years later, the marble was still beautiful.

@Design Girl - How are your counters holding up?

@leawi - The fabricator suggested I use a sealer called HydroShield. I contacted the company and someone came out to apply it. It cost me about $500. I use HydroShield's recommended cleaner to clean the counters and so far they have held up very well.

They’re beautiful!!

@Design Girl Gorgeous kitchen! Have you noticed any staining or etch marks with the new sealer? @Jen S how are yours holding up?

I, too, am considering Danby with stone guard or a sealer but I would definitley need some sort of protection as I dont trust that clean ups will always happen right away. Your posts have been super helpful!

@Sabrina Saucier - I have not noticed any staining or etch marks yet. I am fairly careful but have missed some things and don't have any staining at all. The sealer I used protects from etching on water or oil based things, but not acid. Therefore I am very careful when I cut a lemon, etc.

@Design Girl

Thanks for all of your help with the Danby marble. The details you so willingly shared allowed me to purchase the Imperial honed after initially getting some outrageous quotes. Our countertops were installed yesterday and I am in LOVE! I will post photos once the kitchen in completed.

Our countertops will be sealed in two weeks. Did you notice any color change with the HydroShield application? I've heard that some sealants bleach out marble.

Once again, thank you!

@Design Girl - I LOVE LOVE YOUR KITCHEN! Do you have more pics? Thanks!

@Cheryl BKaun - I am happy that the info I shared allowed you to get what you really wanted, and I am so glad you are thrilled with them. The reason I chose the HydroShield was because I was able to see someone else's Danby ( the same as mine) and there was NO color change, or any different feeling in the stone. I have been very happy with the sealer. You do need to use only soap and water to clean the counters, OR the spray that they leave you with. Feel free to reach out with any other questions.

@Sally T - Here are some additional photos of my kitchen.

@Design Girl - you are the best. I am SWOONING over your kitchen. Do you remember where you got the pendants from? And the faucet? I love it so much!

@Sally T - Thanks for your kind words. The faucet is from Rohl - the Holborn pull down in Satin English Gold. The pendants I ordered from Cordero Lighting in Charlotte, NC. You can customize the fixtures and I really wanted to have white cording and a white ceiling plate. They were fairly reasonable ( I think about $400 each). The ones I had been looking at from Serena and Lily were way more money and had black cording which I really didn't want.

Hydroshield is a great stain and oil repellent. We have a few dealers who offer the option for surfaces, mainly for engineered stone, but you still have to be concerned regarding acid etching for those sensitive natural stones like marble.

https://houseofhargrove.com/marble-counter-magic-solution/

@User - I am surprised one even has to use a sealer for engineered stone. I am VERY happy with the Hydroshield. They were very upfront that it would not prevent etching from acidic things. I simply haven't seen anything that prevents etching from everything that does not appear plastic or change the look and feel of marble ( and I've seen them all).

You would think regarding engineered stone. We have protected many of them for the reason of the chemical make-up of the engineered stone (not all, but definitely products like quartz) has faults. Depending on the source it comes from, they mix them with a certain percentage of stone and that's where it occurs. Enter oils and some don't stand a chance.

In truth, TuffSkin provides more than what some countertops need, but we do recommend to seal all countertops with something. Dense stones like granite or even porcelain (yes) should be sealed as well. They don't need penetrating sealers like hydroshield or a structural sealer like TuffSkin, but there are some great Dense Stone Sealers to seal them.

@Design Girl can you tell me where your hood is from? Is it wood or metal? love it.

@Addition - My hood was custom made from the cabinet maker. It's a combination of wood and an MDF V-groove. They also made my V-groove back splash. I found that the custom cabinetry was the same price as what I could purchase elsewhere and were much better

made.

Well nobody that I know who’s had either StoneGuard or Tuffskin applied by a high level dealer had said that it looks fake or like plastic. Design girls opinion is the minority.
We have done hundreds of jobs

@Design Girl - I love your Danby countertops!! Are they the Imperial Danby? Still happy with the protection from the HydroShield? Thank you!!

@Design Girl - I love your Danby countertops!!! Are they the Imperial Danby? Are you still happy with the protection with the HydroShield? Thak you!

@Wendy Doran - Thank you. They are Imperial Danby and I am very happy with the HydroShield protection. I am fairly careful but the HydroShield protects the marble from everything except etching from acidic foods. I'm careful with lemons, orange juice, etc. I do use their cleaner or use soap and water. I have NO staining and I can't see any etching either. Good Luck.

@Design Girl - Thank you for your reply! So happy to hear you are still very happy with them. I'm hoping to install Danby in my next kitchen but like so many people a bit nervous, so hearing positive comments is great.