Another view.

That Calacata Bluette is stunning, wow!

firsthouse, hope you don't mind, thought I'd share the pics i took at IRG with you and others interested..

princess white-- probably not as subtle as your original kitchen's but quite gorgeous.

this pearl venato which they told me was quartzite looks like crema marfil marble

taj mahal came in satin or polished finished, this is a pic of the satin

an FYI to those in the bay area, super white is currently on sale
{{!gwi}}

there was this granite called green waves that they have in abundance at IRG, which I have to research more, but it also looks like marble, but greenish and very pretty

Those are some gorgeous slabs. I am loving that Taj Mahal : )

Michou and Kim:
Keep sharing!!!!Love it!
Am definitely headed toward All Natural and Venice later this week to see what they have. I am liking the slabs that Kim found much better than the White Princess from DaVinci right now.

HI All, I'm totally jealous that you can find these slabs!

I've been looking for Calacutta Oro or Calacutta Crema Delicato for 6 weeks now ( I'm in the Washington DC area).

I'm hoping to find a slab that is truly ' taupe-y' in tone of veins and cloudy white.

What I'm seeing right now are lots of busy slabs with lines and dark erratic lines.

I"m installing Riff cut White Oak cabinets with a low profile Shaker panel.
The white oak will have a wash of soft gray brown.. very. Restoration Hardware.
The Island .. walnut. NO panelling at all.. as it's softly curved and shaped like a comet. !!

The white color of the marble on the island is critical

I'm considering concrete for the perimeter counters.. something that resembles Limestone- Lagos Azul.

I'd love your thought and suggestions.
I'm using a 48" Wolfe range ( yes.. I'm a serious cook) and rolled steel hood.
Modern, transitional, industrial - loft style .

Not sure where all the Calacutta oro has gone. Help!

Thoughts on concrete ? What would you use as back splash behind the Wolfe?

Wow all soooo beautiful. Boo who why do they hae to be such a nightmare to take care of? Sob. Yes I'm in the staining and etching would bother me camp.

What a great selection in your slab yard, where are you located?

How's the selection of quartzite porn at that place; any photos to share? Thanks!

Any idea how these slabs handle the "etch" and "scratch/glass" tests? I was going to go to IRG on Saturday and didn't make it.

I got a slab of honed Calacata Oro from Da Vinci. I couldn't get a piece of it ahead of time to do the stain/etch test, but they gave me a tile to play with.

My marble's been installed for 4 months and no etching so far.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stain test on calacata oro

I think all of the marble etches...it's the price of doing business with marble! I have decided though that I don't think it's going to bother me. After looking seriously at it, having quartzite (which I loved), and now having had 6 years with both marble and quartzite, I think I am over the "perfectionist problem" and can live with marble kitchen counters.

It's just that the White Princess is still so darned beautiful!

Michou, Kim, GWlolo and I are in the same general area: San Francisco greater bay area. There seems to be a lot of different white slabs available here whether marble, quartzite, granite or similar. We must have much of the Calacutta Oro over here....many slabs at DaVinci.

Logistar: I too like the look of the concrete and have used concrete for various things but not a kitchen counter. I have a friend who has an island in that same color you are speaking of and she has had very little maintenance on it. Only time there was a problem was when a bunch of oil got spilled on it and it stained it for a while...I think it went away though on its own.

Any idea on the cost of the super white at IRG?

kinei, IRG quoted me either $29 or $30 for the super white. it was the lowest price of all the quartzites I priced out. if your fabricator passes on the discount to you, then you can probably get it for a bit less than that.

firsthouse- beautiful slabs, how nice they put the price right on it, so many places keep you guessing. What area/state is this? thanks, mIchelle

Logistar, give Granite Grannies a call out here in Upper Marlboro. They're actually just south of the Bowie line. I LOVe them. They let me pay on time (ahead of time, that is) and install when I've hit 1/2 way. They'll also order and do anything you'd like. They don't blink at unconventional.

Now. About that porn.
Ladies, you know I live alone.
I think that's about as close to sex as I've gotten in more years than I like to admit.
Whew! Think I need a shower now.

OMG the Karibib Blue is beautiful, and pretty cheap too! Is it 2cm or 3cm?

michelle16 we're on the Peninsula south of San Francisco. Most granite yards here price by the square foot. You buy the slabs and have your own fabricator pick them up for fabrication.

I ran across some Super White at a local yard in Los Angeles a few months back. They quoted me $16/sq foot. Pretty good price for this slab:

I had something that the slab yard called "Super White" priced out at $19.20 retail. However, it etched and did not scratch glass. At another slab yard, White Macaubus was $35 per square foot.

Pipdog, I tried to email you but couldn't see that option or figure out if it was available (but did see your bday is the day after mine - love March bdays!). Where in LA did you see the Super White?

I saw in another thread that you recommended slab yards in Burbank/NoHo (specifically Stone Mart, Stoneville, empire Marble, Marble Unlimited, Bedrosians). I intend to start calling on those to check availability for White Princess & Super White (& I think White Macaubus...am starting to get those all confused!). I would appreciate any leads you have on those stones in the area should you come across them (I'm in the LAX area specifically). Thanks in advance.

Oh and to my Nor Cal neighbors, keep the slab porn coming!

To quote Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally," "YES! YES! YES! YES!"

Hi Nancy, those are all good places to start looking. The Super White was at Bedrosians, though I prefer the slab yards in North Hollywood and Burbank. I think they have more competitive pricing (StoneMart excluded, they are spendy and service a celebrity clientele) and are generally more knowledgeable about the stones. best of luck in your search!

Pip: That's a BEAUTIFUL SLAB at a great price!!!!

Not to throw cold water on the excitement here, but keep in mind that many of the Super Whites are marble, not quartzite. So do your homework before you fall madly in love!

Ok, now you can go back to drooling...

gooster, are you in norcal, if so, can you tell me which slab yard you went to?

pipdog, it seems the pricing in LA is better than up here. that is a gorgeous slab too!

firsthouse, i was just browsing for remnants on CL and lo and behold, saw this CL ad for a princess white remnant. it looks pretty nice too. alas, too small for my bathroom... a great deal for somebody IMO

Here is a link that might be useful: princess white ad

Pipdog, thank you for the info about the slab yards. I need to make a trip out to Burbank and NoHo. But first I need to convince my kids that looking at slabs is fun for everyone.

Karin_MT, thank you for the course correction on Super White. I am most definitely not a marble person. I LOVE the look, but after having limestone in my main bathroom for the last few years I'm confident I need to find a non-etching/non-staining stone for my kitchen. Back to the search for White Princess and White Macaubus.

Here's a slab I encountered today. The slab yard guy claimed it was quartzite. The label said "marmore blanco pinta verde". I fear it is marble. However, when I search online for that name, I come up with a pretty different looking stone (they are mostly white, with some green).

In any case, I find it beautiful. A lot more grey, like Super White, but with some crystalline chunks and some blue-grey patches.

I'm smitten. I'll be back with a glass for the scratch test. It did not scratch easily with my car keys.

that is a beauty gooster. I love the movement in that stone. This thread is making me want to start another kitchen project! I need to look away!!

Gooster: That's a real beauty! Hoping it's not marble. I love the blue spot on it!

Wow, Gooster. It looks like snow drifts. That is totally gorgeous.

NancyJLA - I think White Princess may be a synonym for Super White. But no matter what the name, just be ready to do the scratch test and that will steer you clear of marble.

wow, gooster, that is so beautiful! the blue spots are like jewels!

I think I didn't answer michoumonster's question: I saw the allegged "super white" at Medimer in Sacramento. It was the more boulder-ish variety (I can post a pic). What the "rock whisperer" has dubbed "snow drifts" (I like the name) was at Tez. This one was in Sac; I did not see this slab at their south sf store, but it may be in Burlingame or Oakland.

This particular stone definitely has jewel-like crystals of bluish stone and some swirls of blue grey. The rest is pure grey and white. In addition to a scratch test, I must verify the size -- it may be too small for my island.

My rock collection of NorCal is growing!

gooster, thanks for the info. alas, sacramento will be too far for me. But there is a Tez nearby so I will check it out. I wanted to add, that as I was going thru all my slab pics that I actually had seen a stone very similar to yours, but not as pretty blue. but the one I saw was labeled pinta verde blue at a slab yard called Otto Marble in San Jose (i think they have another location in Stockton). hope it can help you figure out more info on your slab.. here is a pic of it

in my hunt for slabs, I went to Pietra Fina today and I found my luce di luna slabs. yay! For those interested in Princess White or marble, I think the princess white here was very much like firsthouse's original slabs. and the marbles were stunning! but sorry, i didn't take many photos today because I had my twin toddlers with me who were running around all over the place and making me too nervous. but they have pics of their slabs on their website that I think are fairly accurate.

good luck to everybody in finding "the one"!

Here is a link that might be useful: pietra fina

Thanks Michoumonster! I used the name on the slab to google around and found some more grey slabs. The price on the slabs you found was better than I was quoted. They are all labeled as marble. The scratch test did not go well, as well. I'm still tempted to learn and live with the marble and the "patina".... But still, I think the search goes on.

I've been meaning to head to Pietra Fina! It is a bit further "south" and "inward" for me. I'm so glad you found the SOYD (slab of your dreams). I saw the White Princess on their website but feared it would be too pricey. I saw some luce di luna at an Arizona Tile, but they had only one and the nearest available stock was out of state.

Aww, now I kind of wish I hadn't read this thread. I'm getting quoted $90+/sq.ft. for Super White at my stone yards.

$90/sq foot?!?! That's cray, as the kids say.

gooster, the quotes i got for white princess were $50/sf at IRG and $60/sf at All Natural Stone.

iris714: That is cray-cray. My material cost is $16 and installed I am looking at $60 to 65 sq foot -- but this batch (or at least the samples) happens to etch. The Antartide was the same price. The Pinta Verde Blue was $33 and White Macaubus was $36 (materials only)

Gooster: Sorry to hear that the scratch test didn't go well. I know that many of these so called quartzites are not what the slabyards say they are. As Karin_mt discusses, many of them just don't really know what they are selling. Thus the incorrect labeling.

I think DaVinci was selling the White Princess somewhere around $38-$48 if I recall. So, $60 and $90 seem high.

Just an FYI, I'm in the midwest, so that's probably why my quotes were so high. I wish I was back in SoCal, so that I would have more choices like all of you!
LOL @ pipdog and gooster - it does seem cray-cray now that I've seen this thread. And all of the Super Whites I looked at were labeled as marble and didn't pass the scratch test. I also looked at Antartide/Antartica and those were $115.

iris714: $115 including installation or without? even with, I know any number of fabricators who might drive across the country with some slab contraband.

firsthouse_mp: I've been teaching slabyards all over northern CA about the glass test and the acid tests. I think one place didn't appreciate me reviewing my test results with some other potential customers nearby.

You go Gooster! Makes me proud.

gooster - Ugh, don't tempt me! :) The $115 for Antarctica is just for the stone.

That's really lovely, consistent graining. $115 per square foot is inconceivable. The stuff probably wholesales at $10/sq foot. Attached below is a slab of Antartide retailing for $19.6... not as pure grey and white, and with larger veins.

Gooster that slab of 'quartzite' you posted a few days ago has to be one of the most beautiful slabs I've ever seen. The movement is to die for. Really.

If it looks like that in a photo I can only imagine how it looks in person. LOVE.

I'm between SF and Sacramento - where are these great stone yards?

hobokenkitchen: Isn't it lovely? It is likely a marble but I'm tempted nonetheless. I wasn't even looking at the blue tones but they already have my brain thinking about the blue-grey paint that would go on the walls to accent the slab. Slab 2 had even more of the blue-grey crystals while Slab 3 was bookmatched to 1.

kailuamom: There are a cluster of slabyards in Hayward (Pietra Fina, Bedrosians, MSI, several others), San Leandro (haven't been), and the South SF/Peninsula (IRG in Brisbane, DaVinci in San Carlos, Tez in SSF & Burlingame, Fox in SSF - plus a few more I missed). In the Sac area, Medimer is in north Sac, just off I-80 near Fry's. Bedrosians is in Rancho Cordova, near Arizona Tile (also in Roseville). Domus and Natural Stone are near each other in South Sac. Planet Granite is a remnant specialist in north sac if you need just a slab or partial.

There are many, many others scattered in and around NorCal.

$115 per square foot is inconceivable. The stuff probably wholesales at $10/sq foot. Attached below is a slab of Antartide retailing for $19.6.

gooster - Ouch, those numbers are painful to read! Jeez, I'm thinking it would probably cost me less to fly out, pick out a couple slabs and ship it back!

iris714: A more serious idea is to take a trip to the nearest large metro area and shop there. You can contact shipping companies or even use the online service (I was trying to see how I could move some White Princess). It would save a ton of money.

Here is a link that might be useful: Example of Job Bid

Gooster: Is that Antartide marble or quartzite?

firsthouse_mp: I think it may be marble. They didn't have any samples and I could not get a scratch going on my glass. It was labeled as quartzite, but I'm now shying away from the mostly white slabs so I didn't test it further.

As I did, I did find some more of that Blanco Pinto Verde Blue at Tez Burlingame. There they called it a marble and the price was $13 less a sq ft! I saw a lovely pale blue and white swirly marble called Namibia Sky at IRG. And as referenced earlier in the thread, they have some lovely Princess White.