give porcelain a second look. (just don't swing iron skillets around the edges and you'll be fine!)

these were a few of the calacatta porcelain slabs at my tile place

or brittanica gold?

is yours a suede finish? thats what I'm worried about

I have the real calacatta, polished on mine

But I was looking at those 3 other porcelain options first. and no, all of them were polished.

so beautiful

I think this was was neolith with the silk finish. but I'm sure you could do polished

I decided to go with the Antolini Calacatta with azerocare sealer

Porcelain is gorgeous - way better looking than most quartz IMO. But before deciding I suggest finding a vendor in your area that carries Mont quartz. For the life of me I don’t know why it’s not more widely known. Mont makes (in my opinion) by far the most realistic looking faux marble quartz anywhere. Miles better than Cambria. For the colors you are looking for, I would check out Mont Yukon. Fantastico and Fantasy are also beautiful, but they look more Carrera. For a Calacutta look, Yukon is the one you want. Don’t judge it by the Mont website, which is horrible and not representative of how nice it is when you see a slab.

One additional comment on Dekton - beautiful product, on top. But the sides don’t match the top. So when installed, the pattern on top will stop at the edge and the edge itself will be a solid color. It cheapens the whole look, unfortunately. If it wasn’t for that I would have probably purchased the Dekton.

lwfromny:

That's only true if you don't miter the edge. If the edge is mitered the picture on the top will continue down the side. The sharp mitered edge must be at least slightly rounded and when it is, the picture is removed making a small white perimeter edge. The larger the round, the less likely the inevitable and virtually unrepairable chipping, but the white gets larger too. Pick yer poison.

Have you looked at quartzite?

IMO why drive yourself crazy choosing counters that are not going to stand up without worry and get a beautiful polished granite that is practically bullet proof this Aspen White

@rachann61 I have not looked at quartizite- which one would you recommend?

THanks!

I have a quartzite, Taj Mahal, as a fireplace surround. It is ivory with gold and gray veining. Quartzite is very hard, only diamonds are harder. I do not have personal experience with it as a countertop material. I have seen posts where seams can be quite noticeable. Joseph Cornett, a pro, who commented early is a treasure chest of information about stone. When I was selecting countertops I was told porcelain was not a good choice for kitchens, ok for bathrooms. But Patricia Colwell has a great suggestion about using polished granite. That is what I have now and it’s been wonderful. I have Ornamental White, no gold, but it has garnet and sage. If I get stains from wine or blueberries I think and hope it with just blend in. Aspen white is pretty. That could be good all around choice

Aspen White is hit or miss being that the granite is so, so different from slab to slab.

Google it and you'll see all diff design and colors. getting one w/just the right about of gold with a lot of white is rare. usually it's just a blotchy mess. You'd have to view the diff slabs and see if you get a good one

TajMajal quartzite

Cielo quartzite

Sea Pearl quartzite

Aria quarzite

White Macubas

The Sea Pearl and Aria are breathtaking

I love the Aria!

Aria would be a great choice if you don't want to do a real marble.