Granite -- without a doubt. Get the hardest, darkest granite you can stand. A teen girl will use hair products, hair color, make up, lotions, etc -- and they WILL get on the counter!

(my college aged daughter is still at home, and honestly, her bath got a cultured marble 1 piece vanity top with 2 sinks. Kinda basic, but it cleans up well from anything. When she's finally moved out after college -- THEN a new granite top is going in that bath!)

I'm confused, is marble considered considered easier to clean than (light colored) granite then?

thanks pete.

janine.... marble is NOT a consideration. I have marble kitchen countertops and they are definitely not the right thing for a teenager's bathroom. Anything acid etches them. Marble is porous, so it's easy to stain. it scratches, and chips. It's GORGEOUS and I love it, but I would only consider it as a vanity counter in a bathroom that I knew only I and my husband would be using, very carefully..... definitely not for a guest bath or kids bath.

I vote soapstone.

You can work it with woodworking tools. Carbide sawblades in a circular saw, carbide router bits in a router. Sand it with sand paper. Drill it with the same.

Some soaps are harder than others, but most can be scratched. But scratches can be sanded or buffed out.

Soapstone is non-porous.

Around a sink it will darken with exposure to water, so you can accelerate that with mineral oil, etc.

I think soapstone can fit into most decors, vintage or modern.

Pluses and minuses to both materials.

But be forewarned, I am biased, I much prefer the more subtle beauty of soapstone to granite.

Thanks, mongo... I much prefer soapstone (and marble!) to granite, as well! Granite always seems so cold to me, even honed. I showed my DD some soapstone pics and she loved them, so we're going to go for it! As far as DIY or not, can you tell me what you think about this?:
A local place will sell me the piece cut to size, edges finished, and holes for faucet (and for drop-in sink) drilled for $150
For them to do the undermount sink cutout, finished, is another $150. That makes me think that making the perfect oval shape and finishing it must be tricky, huh? Maybe it's worth the extra $150 to have the pro do it?

Either way, it's less than the remnant granite, all finished, I was considering! Yay!

I'm late but just for the record......I vote soapstone! It's used in high school chemistry labs, I'm sure it can stand up to a teenage girl's cosmetics and hair products :) It's impervious and would be sooooo appropriate for an antique dresser.

Unless you have all the tools already, including router bits, that's not a bad price. But you miss out on the adventure!

One bit that makes it easy is a top-bearing straight router bit, a "pattern-making" bit. Probably $40 give or take $10 depending on the size you get.

Stacynail, what did you end up doing for the countertop? We're planning our master in a 109 year old Victorian farmhouse. I just can't bring myself to putting granite in it. Love soapstone -going to use in kitchen and think it would be perfect in our bathroom. Thanks!

I am also getting ready to pick a countertop for my girl's room. Would a white quartz top be a safe/good choice?

I have white quartz (ceasarstone Organic White) in my kitchen and two bathrooms, and so far (1 year in) nothing has stained them. Anything that needs a little more effort to remove comes off with a little Barkeepers Friend. I should add that we are NOT careful with the counters.

I think Stacey went with a remnant marble. She did a reveal post of this bathroom and it was great.

I just looked at an old post that Stacey responded to and she stated that she used a quartzite remnant. there is a picture of it on that thread, but I am looking for her reveal thread and will post it when I find it. But in the mean time this is Lavander's thread with a question about vanity, that Stacey responded to, showing her vanity installed. Stacey's post is part way down the thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dresser for Vanity?

Sjhockeyfan,

Thank you for the feedback regarding the quartz. I think that is what we will do!