I’ve never had slate countertops, but put soapstone in our last house and I’ll never have anything else again. The ability to put anything down anywhere and the face that it is completely impervious are huge advantages. Plus, it’s beautiful!

Dishdrawer across from stove is awsome if you like to clean while you cook (or if you don't). Unlike a normal DW, it won't bang your shins or get in the way if you leave it open.

I would go with the soapstone. Undermount sink wins. :)

Had soapstone in last house 1890 Victorian with teak on part of the counters and marble on another . Antique windows for glass cabinets 4 ’ tall. So I understand the hodgepodge!!! Love soapstone and we used it hard for 14 yrs. was perfect when we moved. I had it in the sunroom as well and two reclaimed SS sinks as well.

This 1920 house we just restored 2 yrs ago and have soapstone again and had a soapstone sink custom built. You will love soapstone. Maybe use the slate for an outdoor kitchen with a sink in it or for a potting shed

"The current cutout is too deep to modify for an under mount sink."

I'll be the judge of that please. What are the dimensions involved please?

Thank you all! So far this is very encouraging and I think soapstone wins. @User Love the idea of using the slate for an outdoor kitchen, thank you for suggesting it. I've had a little time today to play with the island in sketchup:

I'll work out the proportions but I'm enjoying where this is going and feel less worried about the DW/stove issue.

@Ali would love to see pictures of the cottage! location? sounds so wonderful.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC sure thing! It's about 22 1/2" wide and 18 1/2" deep. I have not found an under mount sink ~19" deep but I'd like to hear your thoughts!

@User We're in northwestern Connecticut :] It's all torn to bits right now but I'll follow up with photos someday.

Gee...I hope yellow for the cabinets is in the plans. :)

@Fori Yep! Yellow island has been the plan, I like it with the black countertop!

@Fori @Ali I love yellow! My kitchen is dark green walls with yellow accents! My ss island

I would go with soapstone. My biggest regret is I didn't put my foot down and get soapstone instead of quartz. I like what I have, but green soapstone would have suited our 1910 home better.

I did order a 48x12 piece as a shelf on the kitchen radiator and I love it!

@User Lovely-- and actually have green floors! A great combo :]

Great idea @Sherry Brighton I bake bread would be nice and warm! we had to remove the radiator to get more room but hooked up a Myson hydronic toekick heater. works GREAT and really warms the kitchen.

Ali:

How big is your sink base cabinet please?

Soapstone! ALL DAY LONG! No regrets!

Also - I got this sink. In the black stainless. It blends with the soapstone and is easy to take care of. They have under mount and drop in styles too. I’m just sharing the brand and finish.

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

Ali:

Depending on the size of your base cabinet, I'd suggest undermounting a top mount sink. This allows you to make the cutout larger and have your faucet on the sink deck.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC Got it! Thanks. Our sink cabinet can be whatever size we want, it's not set yet. With the deck underounted-- do you find that area behind the faucet hard to clean?

@Therese N thanks! The black stainless looks great, I'll keep it in mind.

I anticipated that too, and had the fabricators create a splash to help me keep it cleaner. I took it all the way up to the sill. Our carpenter modified the trim to fit. Works beautifully.

A recessed faucet deck like JC posted is really nice and keeps the sink area much tidier. I have always liked that feature and have had it in many tiled countertops in the past but it is hard to find the right sink for a tile-in job these days or I'd have a tile counter now.

(Managed it in a bathroom with a drop in sink tiled in though.)

I love soapstone, it classic and a great neutral. I chose Silestone soapstone for my countertops.

"With the deck underounted-- do you find that area behind the faucet hard to clean?"

No.

We just received the soapstone and do believe it is synthetic, sadly. We were told it was real, reclaimed from a high school-- but again, the price was right. We'll have to decide if we want to use it or some other option.

@kculbers are you able to refinish your countertops if they chip or scratch?

I have had my Silestone counters a few years. No chips, no scratches, no t
Regreshing needed!!

@Ali… what makes you think it is synthetic? can you share a picture?

@makmartell No veining, doesn't scratch with a fingernail, bubbled/poured texture on the bottom. It is very heavy and chips grey..but doesn't feel waxy. I'll post photos in the morning! We might be interested to use it if we can determine if it contains asbetos (it's an old lab table).

Interesting! will watch for pics tomorrow.

My DH is a lab scientist from the ’60’s. There are no soapstone lab tables. they are a myth. its a manmade poured epoxy resin. Im sorry its turned out to be a diappointment

Pretty sure our sink is made of that material. I picked it up back in the early 2000s as we were hunting at salvage places for items for the farmhouse we were building. I was told it was from a school lab. Poured expoxy resin sounds right. Mine has a smooth bottom and I'd need dynamite to chip it. I love it - it cleans up like a dream and nothing damages it. Here's a photo.

Final Countertop and Backsplash · More Info

Barncatz: beautiful kitchen and sink!! You are the ultimate recycler!!

🙂 When I dragged it home, I thought it was maybe slate, and then DH pointed out a thin molding groove on the top edge. It was great getting confirmation from @User about the origins of our mystery sink.

@User Yep, it's a shame they advertised it as soapstone, I asked as many questions as I could before it was delivered but it was hard to tell from photos (they weren't great, I think the damage made it look real in the photos). He swore it was soapstone. We also didn't know it came out of a school until it was dropped off. So now we decide if we want to use it! It needs some TLC if we do want to use it:

@barncatz yours looks amazing! Thank you for sharing. The under mount sink is definitely the same epoxy material.

Ali- if it came out of a school and it is rather old, it may well be real soapstone.

I am older than, well old. Way older than trailrunner's husband and we all scratched up our lab tables. All our laboratory tables were soapstone.

I know that schools now buy a synthetic black product for their lab tables.

I don't know what you have, if it is real or not, and if it is real soapstone if it was coated with something. After all, depending upon where it was used, it literally had blood and guts on it.

And maybe even fetal pig.

OK, now that you are picking yourself off the floor....

So a coating making it impervious is not so bad.

The question is, and what is important to your use of it in your kitchen, is it still impervious to acids and heat?

You can see if there is a rough raw edge of it, and show a photo of the rough raw edge to a PRO like Joe Corlett here on Houzz, and also test it as suggested.

Also, look at the underside of the counter, it would not have received the coating if one would have been applied. Test that too, the way you tested the top, and do it in good light. Try some lemon juice too, get a screeching hot pot and put it on both surfaces and see what happens, try a steel wool pad on both surfaces, try to oil both surfaces.

Take lots of photos, make a notebook.

I like the ones with the black and white marbled cardboard covers and the graph paper insides.

Be a scientist!

If you think it is really soapstone that had a coating applied, ask if the top surface can be sanded to remove that coating.

Thanks @loobab! We're taking a close look at it to decide if we want to use it for what it is. I'm not too worried about what could have been on it, especially if we refinish it :] We don't have much to lose at this point..but I would prefer a natural material.