living with marble and soapstone: our countertops 8 years in

Working with clients on a regular basis when it comes to their homes, and online, we see a lot of questions on the topic of design. But perhaps the most controversial {believe me, we have a lot to choose from} is that of countertops.

For our own kitchen design, we used both soapstone and marble. We’ve received a lot of recent questions on how we feel about it. The truth of the matter is, we still absolutely love both stones. This is a post I prefer to update often because things change, and stone ages. Accidents even happen. So today, we thought we’d cover a little on our countertops. Living with marble and soapstone: our countertops 8 {When I wrote this post three years ago, it was 5- now updated it to 8!} years in.

Once upon a time, our kitchen looked like this. Four separate rooms on our main level, we raised the ceilings and knocked down walls to better serve our family. So the kitchen was changed to this. 

The stone on both countertops is from Polycor. A little backstory: We love Polycor’s stone so much that we were honored to pay a visit to their quarry in Tate, Georgia, a few years ago. It was quite the experience, and I felt pretty tiny once my perspective was changed. {See below} It’s crazy to think about a stone straight from the earth in our own homes. Read all about the specifics here.

While we always want our clients to choose what is best for them and their lifestyle, I personally tend to be biased toward natural stone. It’s incredible to have something that comes from the ground, right on your countertops, as a functional piece. It’s actual living artwork.

To me, this is what makes it so unique and timeless. 

The entire process is really quite fascinating, from the earth to your home. I also wore my hard hat better. 

So, once these pieces were installed, we were smitten from the get-go. {Ps. Yes, we switched out the barstools if you’re wondering why the change. You’ll see both here, as we’ve taken quite a few photos over time.} 

I’ll go one stone at a time below, but just so you know, I was given some pushback on this when designing our kitchen. People even made comments after the fact. Good thing it’s not their kitchen. I stayed true to myself after doing all the homework. {Kind of like our floors} Years later? No regrets. Even after a few little mishaps. 

Just a few things about marble in the kitchen: 

I’ve shared this before, but I always give my clients this analogy. There are two ways of looking at a home. There’s the American way and the European way. 

The American way is everything shiny and new. Nothing imperfect. Think granite. Or Quartz with a sheen that reflects in a modern way. There is nothing wrong with this. It’s a preference. 

Granite, in its own right, can be beautiful, and we’ve installed it as well. {I personally love black to imitate soapstone with less maintenance if a client prefers this route – we’re always looking for ways to make a space both functional and beautiful – and also timeless.}

Here, a client used a combo of Granite {back countertop} + Quartzite {island} 

Then there is the European way. Cozy. Traditional. Repurposed. Natural stones in timeless installments, an old ice cream shop countertop that tells a story, or ancient architecture. It has nicks and scratches and just is. It’s organic and beautiful. Timeless.

It all depends on which approach you want. Every single countertop, from DIY concrete and butcher’s block to quartzite and marble… {even the old-school Formica peels and dents and melts, people}, comes with its own pros and cons. For instance, I wouldn’t leave a puddle of coffee out on any of them. Nothing is perfect. You still have to care for what you have. 

So it all comes down to what you want in a kitchen. Think about your lifestyle. Think about your personality type. Think about what you really want. 

People tend to think that quartz is the perfect answer. You can choose quartz for low-maintenance properties, but if you let your kids play hockey inside, it will still chip. And you can’t put really hot things on top, unprotected. It will burn. You can opt for concrete or butcher’s block, but it can easily retain spots from something as harmless as water if you’re not mindful. And you can opt for Marble, but you kind of have to let go of that notion of perfection and just be okay because it might etch and chip. My point? Choose your own adventure, because nothing is perfect. 

For our own renovation, we chose both soapstone and marble. This freaks some people out. I will redirect you to what I just wrote above. I broke down the whole care-for-it thing, here. 

It’s amazing to me how opinionated people can be about marble. I once sat through a design meeting with a potential client and a relative who was, for some reason, in tow and decided to argue with me when I offered marble as an option for said client’s kitchen design before even hearing me out. She was definitely stuck on a preconceived notion of all things marble; it wasn’t her house, and we weren’t marrying anything that day. {SHE DOESN’T EVEN GO HERE!} What I’m trying to say is that people are honestly offended by marble, and they’ve never even lived with it. #youneedtocalmdown

Most of the time, if they have lived with it, it was the cheap stuff that comes on a pre-made vanity. So keep that in mind when your contractor’s daughter’s aunt’s dog has an opinion about your countertop selections. Because everyone does. Fun times. 

countertop right beside the offending mark – unedited photo taken with iphone

When we lived with our kitchen for a while, we really babysat it at first. We fussed over everything a little. We were nervous when we fried bacon. We were definitely Cam and Mitch with their white sofa and reckless friends.

Our marble is simple to clean. It has had subtle etching happen over time, which also eventually fades into the background. It’s easy and beautiful in our kitchen. It will withstand the test of time. We’ve left coffee out by accident with spills, and things happen. It has a few imperfections and I am fine with it. 

Do please note, that I would never pull a hot item out of the oven and sit it directly on the marble. Heat is for soapstone. It is more likely to cause scratching on marble, than anything else. 

A sweet reader asked me to share a photo of etching on my countertops the other day, and I had to tell her I didn’t have one to share. They’ve faded. Any “etching” you see in these photos are lighting and shadows with the quick iPhone photo I took. I can assure you I have none. But I do have something else to show you below, in the name of real transparency. And this one, my friends, was user error. 

offending mark {I had to zoom in} 

I’d recommend being really careful of leaving produce on your countertops. In the same vein of not leaving spilled coffee on your countertops, don’t leave produce to spoil, either. You know those overly ripe tomatoes in the summer months that make great sammies, but also go bad very quickly? I had some in stored a strainer on my counter. One went bad, seeped out, and left a ring around the container. I was sick. Once the acid was introduced, it just left this awful ring. Lesson learned, and nowadays {aka now that I’ve calmed down} you have to look for it to even see it. I have to say, maybe it’s my imagination, but this ring has gotten better over time, as well. At first it was a solid circle, and now it’s just 1/4 of one after lots of cleaning. I just love my countertops, but I’m also pretty realistic about them.

Cleaning: these days, I just use water with a little bit of soap, and a paper towel to wipe down those surfaces. The less you do, the better off you are, to be honest. 

On living with soapstone, our verdict is the very same. Even all these years later. I don’t regret choosing such a beautiful piece with gorgeous movement. I’d argue it’s one of the centerpieces of our home. 

I covered more of the ins and outs of it all, along with maintenance, here. We’ve had a few scratches over the years, but they either a. disappear on their own over time, or b. can be lightly buffed and waxed so that they disappear. All of them have been the former. Soapstone, by nature, is antibacterial and will not burn or stain. So you can pull things right out of the oven and sit them down on the countertop. We love the ease of cooking this large surface has to offer. It actually requires very little maintenance once you get past the “softer” part. Acids and Alkalis will not etch it like they will marble or other stones. 

It’s a whole lot less babysitting than people tend to think when it comes to a natural stone.

Cleaning: Again, I simply wipe it down with regular soap and water. Easy peasy.

So the verdict, all these years later, is that we love these two classic choices for our kitchen.

The three best pieces of advice I can give you when choosing stones for your own home are: {In this order…}

1. Know Thyself. 

Know what you’re willing to work with, and use. Know what you prepare regularly in the kitchen, {or how you use any surface where you intend to use it}, and what your needs are for that space. {Know what your budget is, too.}

2. Have a good consult with a stone expert. Bonus if they are also the fabricator and know their stuff.

Your designer should be able to hook you up with a great stone person. A fabricator or someone who works in stone. They live, eat, and breathe the stuff, and know the ins and outs of everything. Do you want to cut Christmas cookies on your light-colored stone and not worry about staining or scratching? Do you want to have guests over and not feel as though you need to babysit bottles of wine? There are options for all lifestyles, so just know that it’s great to do your homework, first. Have a knowledgeable expert who can help you with that. Snobbery is so 2000s, so be wary of a stone supplier where the people act like they’re better than you and won’t answer any questions. That’s dumb. They’re dumb. Their prices are also probably ridiculously steep, and they’re not worth your time.

3. NEVER use a Clorox wipe on it. {Guilty, but just don’t.} Soap + Water are all you need. 

We hope this was a little bit enlightening today, with all things countertops, and living with marble + soapstone. Do your research to figure out what you truly want. You won’t regret it. 

8 years in, and we still love our timeless choice. Remember that every option has its pros and cons. You just have to be your own biggest advocate and do that homework. We hope this helps shed some light on the subject!

Psssstttt… still not sure about marble, but want a natural stone that’s not quite as high maintenance with a similar “look”? Check out our bathroom reveal here for more details, because we highly recommend quartzite! We’ve been very happy with that choice in our bath, butler’s pantry + laundry room. {Our clients have in their homes as well}. But read more here.

Again, do your homework because it will still etch if acid is introduced, but water doesn’t affect it, and let’s just say someone left their straightener on for an entire day and kind of forgot…

It was FINE. SHEW. I didn’t even tell Jamin. 

Let us know if you have any questions… we’d love to hear!

Have an inspired day!