Show a photo of the kitchen ...

Yup. We need pics.

This is a Leathered Taj Mahal (Link) we install in Hermosa Beach, California. my clients loves it!!

I prefer some contrast. To me, Taj would be too blendy with your cabs. Reads bland and boring.

While Taj has become ubiquitous on this forum, Australian Pearl is not a stone that’s been posted here often enough that I’d remember what it looked like. I’m not going to google. Would be helpful if you posted a pic.

Since you have a countertop (not to your liking of course ) Why don’t you wait until you find something that you are ”gaga”” about ? I wouldn’t rush on something as expensive as that.

Here are some shots of Australian Pearl. The gray is actually more of a blue gray and I will have blue in the adjacent LR. They did say it is not as hardy as TM, so that has me concerned. Thank you!

if AP is a marble, then you will have issues with it.

be very careful when a stone place tries to sell you something as quartzite. it either is or it isn't. no such thing as " it's not as 'hardy' as Taj". If it's not hardy like taj, then its not a quartzite. period.

do the scratch test or lemon juice test on a spare piece if you have doubts. quartzite will not scratch or etch

I think taj or even Perla Venata would be a better option w/your cab color (and don't get the 4 inch piece up the back if doing a tile)

Perla is also a quartzite mined in Brazil like Taj. they are pretty similar.

Taj Majal

IMHO the Australian Pearl has a lot of gray that would not look good with your warm cabinets.

Our cabinets are also warm white (SW Alabaster). Our original granite was Verde Butterfly which is very dark green, nice if you like a contrast with the cabinets. After 20 years we were ready for a change so we replaced it with Snowfall which is lighter. Pics below.

Verde Butterfly:

Snowfall:

My suggestion is way off from your idea, but if you can make a trip to a store that sells caesarstone quartz, take a look at Lagos Blue. I have it in the wet bar and I loved it from the start. First of all it is not blue (why the name?) but when you look at it closely, you see little clouds of blue. Bottom line is if you are doing blue in the next room, it could work.

I, too, think the kitchen would look warmer with a darker counter.

This is Blue Lagos.

In my wet bar:

@Beth H. :The Sales rep did say there was dolomite mixed in the AP and therefore possibly more upkeep than TM even though it is labeled as quartzite.

@Overland Remodeling & Builders: That’s a lovely kitchen.

@K Laurence: Yes, I could wait, but how many new quartzites are going to appear and when? I have no idea how many new stones arrive on the scene each year.

@Kas4: Snowfall is pretty—I’ll check it out.

@Onscape: Never considered going darker…..food for thought.

There are some (IMHO) absolutely gorgeous green granites, as well as soapstone.

Ugh. The Lagos Blue looks so like plastic. Exactly why the OP says, ”I really want natural stone.”

Look at Cielo Quartzite

boy's bath · More Info

Cielo Quartzite is a highly durable and elegant natural stone known for its unique blend of soft blue-grays, whites, and occasional gold or brown veining, quarried primarily in Brazil.

It can lean taupe. Just depends on the slabs.

While not my idea of fun, and I'm sure you'd much rather get it over with, you are lukcy to live in a metro area with so many places to visit. Hold out until you find something you really love.

@Shasta - I love your cielo quartzite.

Also think about what backsplash you might want with each of the slabs that you look at.

I have white cabinets (BM Chantilly Lace) and Taj Mahal quartzite. I was tiling a large window wall over the sink run, from counter to ceilings that are 12 ft and I wanted something different for the backsplash. Subway tile wasn't going to give me the look I wanted. Took me 5 months of bringing sample into my finished kitchen till I found what I wanted.

Taj Mahal counters with a marble mosaic (white marble is honed and brown marble is polished, so you get a subtle sparkle from certain angles).

For the most part, the Taj Mahal just looks beige, unless you are right over it, so going with a plain white or beige tile for the backsplash would have made my large kitchen look quite bland.

Think about the whole look and not just one item.

As Beth has commented above, I wanted to caution you re: Australian Pearl. My understanding is that it is a marble (or at least, related to marble). I did a test on a sample piece - it etched like marble does + scratched. I didn't put it through stain tests because once I knew it etched, I knew it would stain unless it was sealed properly (and I didn't feel like sealing it).

The slabs were very pretty - just make sure that you receive a sample to take home and test for yourself.

Some of the white/gray quartzites are hard and will pass the glass scratch test, but they are also porous, and those are the ones that will stain unless they are sealed on a regular schedule.

You can test for how porous a stone is by taking a chunk and having the raw edge sit in a few inches of water. You will see the water wick up into the chunk within hours/days, so watch how fast/slow it wicks up, to judge how porous it is.

I left my chunk of Taj Mahal sitting in the water for around 2 days and no water was absorbed.

Look up old Geology threads by karin_mt for more easy tests you can do.

The two large stoneyards we’re considering do not do samples. I thought this was strange, surely they have plenty of remnants they can cut up. Of course a sampe isn’tbgoing to be the same as the slabs on the floor but you at least get an idea in your space. MSI gave us quite a few samples of quartz but perhaps it’scdifferent with natural stone?

" perhaps it’s different with natural stone?" Yes, samples are harder to get with natural stones. My most recent visit (for a friend's counter), they only had a few samples available. Stoneyards probably want to retain larger remnants for resale and it's been many years since a stoneyard sales person was willing to break off a chunk of a slab for a sample for me. It's understandable, as they want to sell the whole slab and it probably helps to keep it as big as possible. It's also unfortunate, because a test can save a lot of heartache when a stone is discovered to be porous.

chispa mentioned the geology threads; here's number 6 of 6, which includes links to the previous 5. Link

Here's an article about testing written by the same person (a geologist.) Be Your Own Stone Sleuth.It has some tips for testing at the stone yard.

I had done enough reading here to know that although I loved the look of many light quartzites, the risk of porosity / staining was too high for me. Luckily I had grown to love many of the dark granites on saw on here, and those are generally denser and less prone to staining than lighter stones.

It's an expensive decision, so I'm glad you're doing research!

It certainly is a personal choice. Frankly from what's been offered here I am liking your laminate most of all. Light and doesn't draw attention to itself. Your current back splash brings the look down, but opposed to a bunch of grout lines and tile removing the calm I would run the counter up the wall as back splash. It's such a seamless calm look if the counter isn't bossy.

I, too, like your laminate. It's practical and will last a very long time so long as you treat it right, which it looks like you do! I wouldn't be in a hurry to replace it. I'm not a fan of four-inch strips against the wall, but that's purely personal. There's nothing wrong with them, and if it's doing what you need it to do, then again, there's no need to rush your new choice.

I'm not saying you shouldn't want stone. But the finding the right stone is worth taking your time over unless another consideration is driving you to do it now. And maybe even then.

You need to inject some life in there -- your light-colored contenders are just too blah with your cabinets IMO.

I'd either go darker or a color, or darker and a color. There are some beautiful green granites, and a few blue ones, too. If you're not up for that, a charcoal grey such as Steel Grey granite would look good, as would a black like Jet Mist/Virginia Mist (black and white are a classic combo, you just can't go wrong there).

Elluviga- "The Sales rep did say there was dolomite mixed in the AP and therefore possibly more upkeep than TM even though it is labeled as quartzite"

See? this is what I mean about sales people and stone places not knowing what the heck they're talking about.

Dolomite is marbles first cousin. In no way is it a quartzite. can't be. quartzite is made of quartz. dolomite is made of calcite and dolomitic marble. They are worlds apart. (a simple google search will tell you)

That AP should NEVER be labled as a quartzite.(and I bet they priced it like a quartzite, didn't they?)

Like I said, either stone is quartzite made of quartz, or it's not. Dolomite is it's own category. (dolomite is a bit heartier to etching than marble, but it will still etch and will still stain. on the MOHS hardness scale it's about a 3-4. Quartzite is an 7-8

Dolomite and quartzite are both durable natural stones, but they differ significantly in hardness and maintenance. Quartzite is a hard, metamorphic rock that is highly heat and scratch-resistant, making it ideal for busy kitchens. Dolomite is a softer, sedimentary stone (harder than marble, softer than quartzite) known for its marble-like, white/grey aesthetic, but it requires regular sealing and is susceptible to acid etching. Dolomite vs. Quartzite Comparison

• Durability & Hardness: Quartzite is much harder and more durable, making it more resistant to scratches and chips.
• Maintenance & Etching: Dolomite is prone to etching (dull spots) from acidic liquids (lemon, vinegar) and requires regular sealing to avoid stains. Quartzite is generally more resistant to stains and etching.
• Appearance: Both often come in white and gray shades with veining. Dolomite commonly looks similar to marble, offering a softer, classic look, while quartzite can offer more dramatic, varied colors.
• Cost: Dolomite is typically more budget-friendly compared to the higher cost of quartzite, which is known for its high-end durability.
• Mislabeling: In some cases, dolomite is mistakenly sold as quartzite or marble, particularly "Super White," so a scratch test is recommended to verify its hardness.

Just by their definitions and make-up, they CANT be mixed w/one another. It either is, or it isn't

Quartzite is a natural metamorphic rock that begins its life as ordinary sandstone. When that sandstone gets buried deep underground and subjected to extreme heat and tectonic pressure over millions of years, the individual sand grains fuse together into a dense, incredibly hard stone.

The result is a material composed of 90% to 99% quartz crystals, silicon dioxide (SiO₂), locked together in an interlocking crystalline structure. This geological transformation is what gives quartzite its defining characteristics.

Dolomite, also known as dolomitic limestone, magnesian limestone, or dolostone, is a sedimentary rock composed of calcium and magnesium carbonate

How about this?

Geology: Quartz = quartz. It's a mineral. It exists naturally on Earth.

"Quartz is a mineral composed of silicon dioxide, existing in a variety of formations from crystal to granular forms. In contrast, quartzite is a metamorphic rock formed from quartz sandstone that has undergone intense heat and pressure. This process transforms it into a dense, durable stone, making it a popular choice in architecture and design." — https://rockhards.com/articles/quartz-vs-quartzite-differences/

Countertops: Quartz = quartz crystals bound up in resin with added pigments. It's an amalgam of largely synthetic materials. (Or as Patrica Colwell likes to call it, plastic.)

When I planned my renovation, I didn't know how the kitchen & bath industry had sneakily re-defined "quartz." I thought it was stone. And so I chose quartz. Mind you, I really like my counters. I used the same material on all my windowsills, and I like those, too. I tend to be gentle on my counters—I always use trivets and cutting boards. So I'm not worried about their longevity, and I have no regrets about what I have in my home. I knew I didn't want granite, and I don't regret that, either. I do regret my ignorance, though. I wish I'd been better informed.