You’ve made yourself perfectly clear, but I’m still a little incredulous. If you don’t want nicks, have you considered choosing a harder variety of soapstone instead of faux soapstone? Anastacia has a very low talc content and it is breathtakingly beautiful.

Not quartz but honed jet mist/ Virginia mist granite is a decent unoiled soapstone substitute.

Fake stone will never look like real.

Thanks @Patricia Colwell Consulting,

We're certainly open to using real stone if I can find slabs that work for us. I'm well aware of your feelings about fake stone from other posts.

I like our Silestone counters and we've had no issues at all. We currently have granite that will be replaced during the reno. It is very dated spotty granite that does not appeal to us but was there when we moved in. I've had granite in a previous home as well. We will look at natural stone but finding a slab that isn't too busy and has the colours we are hoping far may be difficult.

Do you have other suggestions for granites that we might look at that would be similar to the pictures I've shown?

thank you

Thank you @eam44.

I'm not familiar with soapstone options and most of the pictures online show them oiled/waxed which makes them very dark. I'll do some more looking and I do like the one you've shown very much although it has more prominent veining than I'd prefer. I'm sure it depends on the slab as well.

Much appreciated.

Thank you @deegw

That is really beautiful as well. Thank you for sharing. What I'm finding when searching online is pictures of finished slabs - granite with sealer or if soapstone oiled or waxed.

I think the honed or leathered look without sealer is what we're looking for and that slab pictured would be one that we would consider for sure.

I've been reading posts from folks who have chosen a slab and then it gets a coat of sealant or enhancer and all of a sudden looks nothing like the slab they wanted. That would worry me and it will be a definite conversation to be had with our fabricator when the time comes.

Thank you

There are many very hard varieties of soapstone. I have one, Belvedere, installed by M. Teixiera the largest dealer of soapstone in the US.

My counters are now over 9 yo, with nary a scratch on them. There is just one small chip…at the sink edge, which I easily disguised with a black Sharpie. The chip could also be sanded out, if I chose to bother. Of course, my friends with quartz and granite also have small chips at the sink edge, though theirs can’t be hidden or fixed without a pro.

Quartz companies do a really poor job of imitating marble and soapstone. Nobody will ever mistake faux soapstone as the real thing. Soapstone’s sensual matte finish alone, cannot successfully be done on a product that contains 34% plastic resins…as quartz counters do.

M V, our last kitchen had quartz counters, and we really liked them. But for this remodel, we went with Taj Mahal quartzite, and the difference in look and feel is well worth the extra cost.

If we had wanted a darker counter, soapstone was at the top of the list. Alas, our kitchen has no windows, and we used the counter material for the backsplash, so dark was out. Maybe next time!

I hope you can find a lovely soapstone that suits your needs!

This is Silestone Charcoal Soapstone in my butler's pantry. This is their standard sheen, not the matte finish.

Yes…and, no one will ever mistake your Silestone for actual soapstone. It’s totally lacking in the depth and beauty of nature’s creation.

One of the perks of being in the biz. Good for you.

Being aware and realistic about what one wants is important for long term enjoyment of an expensive home improvement. This forum is meant to connect people to share and help each other, not to criticize those that know what they want or have offered their own personal experiences.

@M V does not want a lot of veining in their counters. From my experience with two different soapstones that do not have heavy veining, one was medium hardness Old Dominion and the other is a very hard minimally veined Brazilian soapstone, leaving them unoiled was more work than I wanted to put in to maintaining a clean appearance. Every little drop of oil or even an item with very little oil would leave marks that required scrubbing to remove. Luckily I did not want to keep the soapstone at its lighter gray color so I did use an enhancing sealant on both types that I have had. The enhancing sealant evenly darkened the counters without the need to oil or wax, which I tried first and did not want to continue. Prior to using the enhancing sealant I tried a sealant without the darkening agent and while it did make water bead on the surface, it did not prevent oil from darkening spots. Point being, not everyone is going to be happy with the amount of work needed to keep some varieties of soapstone looking good if kept unoiled and just because the variety is harder does not make it easier.

I think that @The Kitchen Place's silestone looks great.

Yup, soapstone‘s surface naturally oxidizes and turns darker from both cooking and skin oils. Many of us soapstone owners embrace this patina, and just let the soapstone do its thing. We prefer not to put anything artificial on the counters, like enhacing sealant. That defeats the while purpose of soapstone, which is no fuss, easy care. Hot pots can go directly on it, without damage. Nothing can stain or etch soapstone. All patina is on the surface, and can be removed if you want to bother.

Rather than resort to the very artificial quartz imitating soapstone, as others have suggested, honed Virginia Mist granite is the next best thing. It’s natural, pretty bulletproof and is closest to a grey soapstone look.

"We prefer not to put anything artificial on the counters, like enhancing sealant. That defeats the while purpose of soapstone, which is no fuss, easy care. "

Owning soapstone is not a cult. There is no one right way to do it. And not all varieties behave the same. @darbuka I have discussed this with you here a few times and yet you stubbornly refuse to accept that you are not THE expert on soapstone just because you own one variety. Let others share their experiences and knowledge without so much criticism, especially since you are sometimes wrong (e.g. some of your past statements about sealants) .

I chose to use enhancing sealant because I wanted "no fuss, easy care." I tried every other option on my first counters and chose to use it a second time after sanding counters by hand since I did not enjoy waxing or oiling, it did not last and it left a slight tacky feel no matter how much I buffed it. The enhancing sealant did not change the look, feel, or function of the stone. If anything it left them more natural by not increasing the sheen the little bit that oil and wax do or leaving the slight sticky feel.

There are varieties that do not handle thermal shock as well and should not have hot pots and pans put directly on them. Read the research in this thread : <research links in comments>

@M V I am sorry that I do not have any suggestions of what stone to look at. If you do decide to look at soapstone then it is a good idea to get samples and see how hard they are, how much they show oil, how easy they are to clean, etc.

@The Kitchen Place

Thank you for the photos especially showing the counters with soft white cabinets. Prior to this I was almost positive that I would go with the Silestone charcoal that you have. I had previously seen it in their showroom and loved it. But I pulled out the sample and the colour is darker than I'd remembered. I've looked at other manufacturers for their equivalent and nearly all are black or nearly black.

I'm going to have to put some time aside to go and see options in person. Unfortunately the Cosentino (Silestone) showroom is only open on business days so it is difficult for me and my husband to get there.

Some of the slab showrooms are open for a few hours on Saturdays and many require an appointment.

They don't make it easy for those of us who are working full time.

Thanks for your input.

MV... just be aware that the silestone color can pull some cool/blue tones. In my showroom, it looked more blue, but in my house, it looks more dark gray. It will depend on the color of your cabinets, lighting.....etc. My cabinets are not a warm white, they are a stark white. It's called Arctic White by Shiloh. We had a display top in my showroom with medium cherry cabinets and the top definitely showed more blue.

I know you are looking for a soapstone dupe quartz, but have you considered solid surface, maybe something like Corian Neutral Concrete?

I've seen many brands that have the concrete look colours. We will need to see them in person. My first instinct is "I don't want concrete looking counters" but they may actually surprise me in person. They appear to be in the colour range we think we want so it is definitely something we'll look at when we can go and see slabs.

thank you

You might want to do some searching online and in the forums for issues with honed quartz.

Have read many threads over the years with complaints. Here is one ...

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6500462/honed-quartz-issue-and-maintenance#n=5

Virginia Mist (aka Jet Mist) is a granite that much resembles soapstone. This is the stone I originally wanted in my kitchen but didn't get; I still often pine for it when I see pics of it done well.

Here's a couple pics of Virginia Mist:

Ocean Black is another one, but it leans more heavily black then dark charcoal. Don't have any pics of Ocean Black.

"I love the look of natural soapstone, but I also know that I could not manage the nicks and dings that are likely to happen in a soft stone. We've had our silestone counters in for about 5 years - they still look like brand new and that is what we need for this upcoming reno as well. Every ding and mark, I would find upsetting - so I am sure that soapstone isn't the right choice for us."

I'm going to stand behind you on this remark. It is OKAY not to want soapstone. Like you, I would be upset with the scratches, dings, and nicks -- some people call it "patina", I call it old and beat up. Some people love it, some people don't. I have zero interest in working to keep a counter oiled, sanded, Sharpie-d or whatever to keep it from looking worn. Know thyself.

I prefer a natural stone, but quartz is a perfectly fine choice if that's what you want. I have quartz in one of my bathrooms and it looks great and serves it function well. Don't let anybody beat you up about it -- there are pros and cons to all countertop material choices.