Have you looked at honed granite - if you can find it- beautiful and not dated. I can’t find it where we are but if I could, it would be my first choice! Virginia mist or super white

I'm in the same position, kitchen remodel and three bathrooms.

I have a granite kitchen table for over 20 years. Nothing, absolutely nothing has stained or damaged it. I've put hot pots, cut bread dough, spilled hundreds of things on it and it still looks like new.

I love the look of quartz but know how we live. I still haven't decided but I'm leaning toward granite again for the reality of living.

Jane

I was in your exact same situation. Had black granite in old kitchen that was indestructible. For kitchen reno, originally picked a grey quartzite counter top. Then read on Houzz about problems with quartzite. Dozens and dozens of posts about staining, trying poultices to fix, etc. In the end we picked granite - Costa Esmeralda - and it’s the highlight of our kitchen. It’s a combination of grey with some green and blue undertones. Beautiful and indestructible.
And not busy or spotted, like some granites.

Why is your kitchen designer not helping you here? Pick whatever you love, and use remnants of other stones for the bathrooms. Not a single expensive material for all.

You could consider other materials such as concrete.

@Norwood Architects - concrete is a terrible kitchen counter material.

To the OP - as a regular on this forum, I have seen so many tales of woe about quartzite so I hear you about your concerns. I refuse to be a slave to my counters, so I like granite. To be honest, I don't really like the white granite you posted. There are other white granites, have you seen Alaska White or Viscon (aka Viscount) White granites? Both are very durable. Note that they do vary a lot slab to slab, so if you are interested in these granites, make sure to see them at several granite yards.

When we remodeled almost a decade ago, we went from tile counters to quartz. Our kids were old enough to cook, but on the young side still. Since we knew we wouldn't be able to set hot pots and pans on the counters anymore, we practiced (since we had time as we were remodeling) using trivets all the time. We all had to change our habits, and it didn't take long.

Fast forward to now, and my counters look fantastic. No stains, no burns etc... One very small chip along the sink edge. You can barely see it-banged a cast iron burner against it.

I say get what you love, and learn to care for that particular counter choice.

Oh, we also have quartz counters in two of our bathrooms and they look pristine also.

"That being said, our current home (that we will sell when the remodel is complete)..."

What a minute. You're remodeling to sell? Or are you living in a different house now and the remodel refers to where you will be moving TO when it's done?

My granite in a former home was bullet proof. I used a 15 year sealer and never had to re-do it. I could never find a seam but there must have been, because there were very long counter expanses. I’m thinking that the granite, Golden Leaf, had such a small, overall pattern that seams blended well. And maybe I lucked out with a great installer. It was a boring granite, one I didn’t choose, but i ended up loving it for those reasons.

we did "Sedna" granite in our kitchen and it looks brand new - 10 years in. its never been sealed and we have no issues with at all. i would go with granite. that being said, i have heard that the lighter colored granites do need to be sealed since they are not as dense as the darker granites. but check me on that.

i would NOT put granite in for bathroom vanity. it will, over time, develop water (lime) marks that are next to impossible to remove. Go with Corian for your bathroom vanities. they just hold up better than granite, which is crazy to say but my house is living proof. our corian vanity top with bowl (one piece) is over 25 years old and still looks brand new. there is just something about granite in the bathroom that for me is a no-no, YMMV.....

FWIW: i agree with the horror stories about quarzite. and i am just not fan of quartz, some are pretty but just not my taste.

First house had Corian in kitchen - No problems

Second house had granite in kitchen & bathrooms - No problems.

Third house came came with granite & tile counters - no real problems other than we hated them, so we remodeled.

Third house remodel had quartzite in kitchen, granite in guest house and outdoor kitchen, limestone in one bathroom, quartz in 4 bathrooms, corian in one bathroom and garage - No problems with any of them.

Fourth/current house was a custom build and I used quartzite in kitchen and outdoor kitchen, quartz in 5 bathrooms, laundry and mudroom - No problems with any of them.

We have White Macaubus Quartzite on the kitchen island. We haven't had any of the problems that some people have complained about. Red wine ring was on the island for 10 days when we were out of town and all I had to do was lick my finger and wipe it off. I was about to panic, but it was no biggie. Maybe it depends on the type of quartzite, or maybe the stone yard is calling something quartzite when it's really marble. Or perhaps I've had no problems bc it's on my island and not next to my stove where there would be more chances of the oil stains. I do remember testing a piece the stone yard gave me. I sealed one half of the sample and put blue painters tape down the middle leaving the other half unsealed. Then put all kinds of things on it, leaving stuff on it for days at a time, including oil. On the unsealed side the oil soaked in, but a poultice lifted it out. The oil didn't soak into the sealed half of the sample. Once tested, I felt comfortable choosing it.

On the perimeter we have leathered Antique Brown granite which "reads" as a soft black, not brown. I like that too. We have white cabinets so the black counters are a nice contrast. Leathered is an interesting finish, not honed and not polished, sort of in between and feels nice on your hand when you touch it. And it reflects light in interesting ways at night when it's dark outside and the lights are on inside. Not sure if that would also happen with different type of granite or light colored stone, but definitely with this one. Impossible to capture in a photo, but a lovely effect.

In the rest of the house we have:

- 2 upstairs/kids' bathrooms: white quartz. Girls were schooled in NOT putting a hot hair styling tool on the quartz (they had a silicone pad to put things on).

- office/guest bathroom: granite

- master bathroom: marble. It has some etches but no stains. I love it and don't care about etching. I would care about staining, so that why we didn't put marble in the kitchen.

If you are going to put in a dark counter, have you thought about soapstone? I haven't ever had any in my house, but people who love it REALLY love it.

Note: Our kids' and office bathrooms are small. So instead of buying whole slabs or getting charged the normal per-sq-ft price by the local stone yard, I went to a remnant place that is near me. My cabinet builder told me about it. There were all kinds of remnants and I knew how much we needed. I found a Ceasarstone Frosty Carrina remnant, paid about $75 cash and carry and stuck it in the back of my van. I took that to the fabricator and they did the install. For small bathrooms, this is a real cost saver. I was able to do both kids' bathrooms with the remnant. Same story for the office bathroom, found a piece of granite that went with the decor of the office and got that one for about $50 cash and carry. If you ask around (painters, fabricators, cabinet people, etc) they can probably tell you where a remnant place is. For the kitchen and master bath I picked out whole slabs at a local stone yard and fabricator used almost all of it in fabrication. There was almost nothing left.

Hi @momof4! Did you ever decide on your counters? I’m in the same place you were and the comments have been so helpful, so I’m curious what you picked? Maybe share a photo? :)

I appreciate your concerns about the durability of quartzite and the look/feel of quartz. We could not find a quartz we liked--The lighter colors look particularly "fake" to me, and we tested numerous quartzite samples. Many quartzites are very porous and absorb liquids, including oil, which makes them look discolored or stained. We also looked at Costa Esmeralda granite, which was beautiful and durable but we could never find the blue/green colored slabs we liked. We were told some lighter granites can be prone to staining too--so watch out for that and test the slab before you buy. We went with Taj Mahal quartzite, and it has been installed for about 9 months. Nothing seems to stain or discolor it, wine, coffee, sauces, etc. There are a few tiny pinhole imperfections in the stone--that we could easily repair. But honestly, I'm the only one who knows they are there, and I will likely just leave them alone. Good luck choosing!

@brn33 Hi! Thanks so much for the update! I was actually considering Taj Mahal quartzite! Good to hear it’s been good so far. 👍🏻

I think we need reminding...there are plenty of "quartzites" installed that are actually marbles mislabeled as quartzite. So when you hear about all the staining and etching of "quartzite", etc..that is the possible culprit.