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shareher

Please--help me pick a slab for island

Shareher
12 years ago

I need help picking the stone for our island. We have bought soapstone which is black and quiet for the perimeter counters and are looking for a light colored stone for the island. We have decided against marble and are looking at alternatives. I found 3 quartzites of interest and one light granite (much more budget friendly). Which do you think will look best? The kitchen will be fairly traditionally styled--off white shaker front cabinets, wood floors, schoolhouse pendants. Please give your opinions on which you think would work best (or any other ideas).

Here is the superwhite quartzite:

Luce di luna:

White river granite:

Mother of pearl quartzite:

Comments (31)

  • athomesewing
    12 years ago

    I love the white river! Then the superwhite.

    I would be concerned with the amount of yellow, or gold, in the last sample. One of your "off white" cabinet doors next to the slabs might provide the best answer. The white river appears to have some dark grey flecks that might complement the dark soapstone.

  • dragonfly08
    12 years ago

    I think any of these slabs would make a beautiful island... though, I am partial to the super white since it's what I'm also using (we will also have a little soapstone in a small counter run on other side of kitchen) and that is a gorgeous slab! There was a recent thread about lots of the current super whites being more gray and chunky, rather than swirly, marble-y like the one you've pictured.
    If you're doing a cream, then that last quartzite would be lovely with the tan/brown hues.

  • jgopp
    12 years ago

    Even though I'm partial to super white since I have it...I really really like the Luce di luna. Though it may look a bit too contemporary for the type of kitchen you're building.

  • mydreamhome
    12 years ago

    Since River White is on my island & I love it, I am a little biased. The SuperWhite is very beautiful too. Between the two, did you have a preference on the direction of the pattern flow? The SuperWhite flow seems to run parallel with the short side and the white river flow runs parallel with the long side. I am partial to running the flow parallel with the long side of the island. If it was me, I would consider flow of the stone & the price. I don't think you could go wrong with either one, though. Good luck & hope this helps!

  • a2gemini
    12 years ago

    I like the flow of the white river but need to look next to cabinets and how it integrates with the rest of the kitchen.
    Good luck!

  • Shareher
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the comments. I hadn't really thought about the pattern flow--thanks for bringing that to my attention.

    I'm torn. I like the superwhite but I worry that it is too cool and gray since the rest of my downstairs is painted warm beiges and browns. The luce di luna was stunning in person, but I also have concerns that it will look too contemporary. I've scoured the web for pictures and have seen it in many modern/contemporary kitchens but few traditional kitchens. But it could be stunning. I think the mother of pearl has too much of the golds, but I still like the white river. After spending so much time and money, I want to make the RIGHT choice.

  • clarygrace
    12 years ago

    The White river is stunning! Good luck!

  • herbflavor
    12 years ago

    mother of pearl quartzite-hands down-that's a really special piece.

  • annac54
    12 years ago

    If at all possible, I would take a cabinet door and see how it looks against the slabs. I love the white river and superwhite second. I would want to make sure that the off-white cabinets don't look dingy against the stone. The superwhite looks like a very cool white. Don't know if your off-white cabinets are a warm or cool type of white. You probably want the basic tone of the colors to be the same, either warm or cool. Have you thought about having the island painted a different color, maybe a light grey?

    Just throwing these things out there. since the images are not quite the same as seeing it in real life. You can browze the images at Houzz.com and see if anything there is similar to the look you're going for.

    Good luck with your choice.

  • babs711
    12 years ago

    I second Anna. Since you're using off-white, you definitely want to see your cabinets against the counter. You want to do this with ANY cabinet.

    I like the white river and think with your warm tones in your house it will work best. Super white is next. I also considered LDL for us at one point but realize that it's much more contemporary than our space will be. It's super eye catching and gorgeous but not the right fit for our space. The mother of pearl doesn't have as much interest IMO.

  • remodelfla
    12 years ago

    Definitely need to bring your door with you but I think I agree about the MOP quartzite or White River. I think the quartzite has warm tones that will tie to the wood floor. I adore Super WHite but that slab, though beautiful, is shades of gray. Even the white is a very light gray. Though I do like the movement in the White River more then pattern of the quartzite.
    Oy... that wasn't very helpful, was it!?

  • dianalo
    12 years ago

    Not only do you need your cab door but you need a sample of your soapstone too to see how the veins work with the patterns of the other stone. I love them all but the last one. The gold spots look like stains to me....

  • Shareher
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    The cabinets are being built and painted on site so we can modify the color to match the slab. I was just planning on white cabinets, but nothing too stark. We brought a sample of the soapstone with us, and all of these slabs worked well with it, I think.

  • michelle16
    12 years ago

    I just saw something today called noble white quartzite, it had mostly white backround with some hints of tan and grey, but alot less of than the luce di luna, which they also had.the price was only 53.00 a square foot, so I'm wondering if it is really quartzite, because I thought I heard from the forum that the quartzite's were more than granite, unless I am mistaken?

  • Shareher
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    We are still waiting to hear the actual costs, but we were told that the quartzite was 3X the cost of carrara marble.

  • Bunny
    12 years ago

    The superwhite by a mile. Too bad it's so $$$.

  • mmhmmgood
    12 years ago

    Superwhite or white river, depending on how they work with your budget and how they work with the cabs. Beautiful stones all of them!

  • rmcdaniel
    12 years ago

    I love the white river. They are all beautiful but that's the one I would want to look at every day!

  • Shareher
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Does anyone have pics of luce di luna in a traditional kitchen?

  • bellajourney
    12 years ago

    Wow, what gorgeous options!

    I like the Superwhite and White River best. The Luce di luna is beautiful too, but seems a little too modern for a traditional look.

    Best wishes!

  • Shafercoco
    12 years ago

    So pretty! I vote for luce di luna or the mother of pearl. We are doing Super White since everything in our house is in "cool colors" but I LOVE the others.

    Do you mind me asking where you are finding such lovely Super White? I am in Texas. Thanks!

  • Shareher
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Shafercoco--The slabs are all from Omni Surfaces on Clay Rd in Houston. They only have one left of the SuperWhite but are supposed to get a new shipment in 2 weeks. Good luck!

  • joaniepoanie
    12 years ago

    My choice in order of preference super white then white river. The other two are a little blah and with soapstone counters, white cabs....there needs to be a little pizazz in there....make the island sizzle!

  • lisa0527
    12 years ago

    We have mother of pearl quartzite counters. I don't think it would look quite right with soapstone, unless the soapstone is quite green. It's a pretty warm, greenish, taupey stone with minimal gray, I'd go with the super white FWIW

  • prill
    12 years ago

    Love the white river.
    Love the flow of it.
    I think it would look beautiful with soapstone.

  • beekeeperswife
    12 years ago

    Since you have the warmer tones of beige and browns in your house the mother of pearl might work best. If you go with the SW or the White Macabus (or Luna) then you will find yourself redecorating around it.

    The pearl is gorgeous. The River White is hard to tell from the pictures, but it might be warmer than the first 2.

    Can you share where you are located, or more important...where are these slabs? I have my fabricator on the hunt for SW, he has a few months to find them but I love to annoy him and say "look, I found some more".

    Also the thing about the Luna is the stripes, will you be using this on the perimeter? I ruled it out because my perimeter will be a U and at some point the stripes will have to run from the wall to the edge, that would bug me. But for an island only--fabulous or if you have just a straight run of counters.

    Sorry for the long post.....but do share where these are located, please.

    Good luck with the pricing

  • brianadarnell
    12 years ago

    You can't go wrong but I love the superwhite. So beautiful!

  • cjc123
    12 years ago

    I have super white so am a "lover" of it! wink wink. However, I want to share that creams don't go well with SW. We lucked out that we were replacing all the windows in our home at the same time as the Kitchen. The contractor hooked me up with a local Benjamin Moore paint store that the owner had a fantastic custom mix of "anderson window white" It looks AWESOME with the super white it is a grey based white. I painted all the window trim, crown, base and door moldings this color. "LOVE IT!" So, please take some paint samples with you to the stone yard so you are not sad to have to go whiter than cream. Cindy

  • Shareher
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks to all for the input. Just got the pricing in this am and it's better than I expected. For the slabs (not including the fabrication and installation) LDL-27/sq ft, river white 12.50/sq ft, superwhite 15/sq ft.

    Beekeeperswife- These slabs are at Omni surfaces in Houston. The current batch of superwhite is probably sold out (they might have one slab--will let me know tomorrow), but they are expecting another shipment in 2 weeks. Someone in NY just bought the whole crate that they currently have (maybe minus one).

    I like all of these slabs, but am leaning towards the superwhite or LDL. I think the LDL is a really cool look, but I'm also scared the stripes might be too strong. The room is already much longer than wide, so it might accentuate the room shape. The superwhite is very pretty, but I'd want the slab with the least gray and maybe some taupe. Probably OK to change paint color in LR or DR if I find a slab I really like.

  • cjc123
    12 years ago

    I forgot to mention that our family room that is open to the kitchen is painted Bleeker Beige and the Dining Rm (next to kitchen) is Alexandria BM. Wanted to share as your OP was about other rooms being beige/brown. Good luck!

  • Barb Metts
    8 years ago

    This is a very old post, but wondering what you got? Did you get the super white? Have you been happy with it? I am getting soapstone perimeter cabinets and looking for an island and worried about the super white etching and holding up to four kids. I love the look. Beautiful.