We put it soapstone…a very hard variety, Belvedere, when we renovated our retirement home almost 6 years ago, We also didn’t want a kitchen that looked like everybody elses…no white painted cabinets, or fake plastic marble counters.

We love the sensual matte finish, how easy it is to clean, how it is receptive to heat and won’t suffer thermal shock, and how resistant this variety is to scratching and chipping.

My one piece of advice, is to make sure your soapstone is installed by a soapstone expert, not by some guy from a stoneyard that mostly sells granite, marble and quartzite. Soapstone is not fabricated the same way other stones are…it’s not polished, but rather it needs to be sanded to a particular grit. Ours was purchased at, and fabricated by M. Teixeira, the largest soapstone supplier in the US…their NY/NJ location.

I have Silestone quartz soapstone in my kitchen. Easy clean up with soap and water, really maintenance free too❣️I had my kitchen renovated a few years ago. The Silestone still looks as good as the day of installation.

I am a fabricator. Given your description of wants I'd suggest soapstone is by far the best choice. Quartz is out because it is artificial and does not "keep in a kind of farmhouse/Craftsman synthesis" at all. Soapstone was the 1st stone countertop material because it could be worked by the tools available 100 years ago AND it has a unique beauty complemented by exceptional durability. I love doing soapstone countertops. my 2 cents

I vote real soapstone for you. I had Virginia Jet Mist granite honed to look matte and it was a practical and beautiful option for our space. We had a busy family with kids and their friends in and out of the house. Spilled milk or olive oil and various uses from coloring to projects with Elmer's glue. I could not afford soapstone at the time so chose the granite. But I think based on your wonderful description of how you will use the counters, you seem like you would just love the look and feel of Soapstone. Keep us posted this spring when you finally get them.

@kculbers…ah, but your Silestone fake soapstone will never look like the real thing, as it’s mostly plastic, it’s shiny, and does not have the sensual matte finish that soapstone does. Additionally, Silestone ”quartz” is negatively affected by heat. It can melt, or burn just by putting a heated dish from the microwave. Soapstone will not.

Soapstone all day. Not even a choice with what you’re asking for.

Soapstone! I want to use it in our “to be renovated“ kitchen but we live in an area with not many choices as to stoneyards and I doubt if they are experienced in soapstone installation.

My cabinet maker’s show room has a soapsone counter on a display. i’ve always loved the looks of soapstone but was never lucky enough to feel it before seeing it on display. Oh my gosh, soapstone feels so wondrful!

Soapstone will be appropraite for your home, it looks gorgeous, feels amazing, amd sounds like it is a real workhorse.

Darbuka, I adore your kitchen and smile every time I see it!

Thanks, @Holly- Kay!

"...but your Silestone fake soapstone will never look like the real thing, as it’s mostly plastic,..."

It is 66% quartz, and 33% resin.

When i do my kitchen over im just going to copy Darbuka’s. That kitchen would look terrific in your house too.

Of course I’m kidding about copying, but that kitchen is my absolute favorite on the forum.

I went with quartz for my craftsman - basically a solid dark color and I keep kicking myself for not doing blue soapstone. It hasn't gone in yet and I keep thinking should I just forget about the quartz and do the soapstone.

If I hadn't already purchased a custom light fixture that accents the counters I would.

darbuka, that's beautiful, thanks! I took a look at the M. Teixeira website, and I see what you mean. Now I not only want to get soapstone, I want to splurge on the soapstone sink.

On the Mohs scale of hardness: soap stone is 1 to 5. Silestone Quartz is 7.

May I offer an alternative to the sink? Stone sinks are crazy expensive, cold and they aren’t as easy to clean as stainless. I go this one and love it. The color blends with the stone and scrubs up nicely. It’s not as cold as stone, but regardless, I use a little basin by Joseph Joseph because the sink is one large bowl.

Terraza 33" L x 22" W Farmhouse Kitchen Sink
https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/ruvati-terraza-33-l-x-22-w-farmhouse-kitchen-sink-ruvt1585.html

"When i do my kitchen over I'm just going to copy Darbuka’s." Hey that's my plan too :)

theresen--

Please tell me a little more about that Joseph Joseph basin. I see it has a drain, but how does that work if your real sink only has one drain and you already have something else in the sink?

I just sit it inside like a bucket. The drain isn’t necessary, but is handy instead of upturning a bucket. I’m used to having a divided sink and having one side filled with soapy water, so this gives me this function, but I love having one big wide basin too. It’s so much nicer for handling large pans, etc.

I love the look of soapstone but ultimately decided against it for the kitchen. I would never be able to accept the patina that can develop. Do a board search and the thread with a bunch of pics will pop up.

@porkchop_z5b_MI…The nice thing about soapstone is, you can have as much ”patina” as you like. Unlike patina on marble, soapstone can be brought back to its natural state, or close to it, with just some Bon Ami or Comet, the scrubby side of a blue Scotch sponge, and a bit of water.

Soapstone doesn’t stain or etch. All cooking oils, and the like, stay on top of the stone, where they oxidize. Thats what makes the stone darken over time…especially in areas next to the stove. But, it isn’t permanent, if you don’t want it to be.

^^ Yea, but that's too much work for me to be bothered with. I've also read it can scratch very easily (some varieties less so than others), and we're hard users of the kitchen -- it just wasn't the right surface for us, beautiful as it is. I've got enough housework to do, I didn't want to add oiling and buffing out scratches on a stone surface to be yet another thing on the long list of chores to do; I'd probably grow to hate it. So I'll just live vicariously through you :0p (your kitchen is one my all-time favorites on the board)

@porkchop_z5b_MI…Lol, I hear you.

As for scratches, the variety we got, Belvedere, is about the hardest soapstone on the market. The only scratches we‘ve ever gotten, was from DH dragging a cast iron pan off the rangetop. I lightly used one of those rough green pads on the area, then applied some mineral oil, and blotted with a paper towel. Two days later, you couldn’t see it.

But, I understand…some folks are patina people, and others aren’t. I have granite in my bathrooms, which I love, and also in the laundry room. I just didn’t want anything shiny in the kitchen. I learned about soapstone on the old GardenWeb. One visit to M. Teixeira gazing at the beautiful slabs, and touching them, and I knew it was for me. Patina be damned!

I have soapstone countertops; oiling/ waxing ( which is not needed daily or even weekly) is OPTIONAL. Lots of people do no more than clean it, and it looks beautiful. It’s commonly used in chemistry labs= it wears really well.
From what I read about quartz in these forums, it is not problem/ care free for many; your results may vary.

No quartz. Looks so fake. Go granite or soapstone. I would have loved to do soapstone countertops in my log cabin. It came down to money. We went with a leathered steel gray granite. It's in the cheapest category of granite but we love it.

I agree with all those who commented about Darbuka's kitchen. I have said it before. My favorite of all the kitchens I have seen on here. I love everything about it. It's warm, welcoming and timeless.

I'm going to throw in, slate. I believe in PA you might have access to several varieties. I originally wanted slate over soapstone because I didn't like the talc look and didn't want to oil. I ended up going with marble ;^) Marble also fits the time period considering the furniture of the time and misfitted kitchens. I had dark wood counters before the remodel and decided to go light.. Good luck, there's never a perfect choice ;^)