island, i guess i am a bit TKO like many others here, and researched everything to death.. right now, I am starting to feel burnt out, so not as much..
when looking for countertops, i hate to admit it, but i pretty much "stalked" GWers who posted anything to do with white macaubas. LOL! hope the list is useful to you!

good luck!

Funny mmonster! Now that you've passed on the names I'll take over the stalking!
Can you (or anyone ) give me some info on how they do the built up edge? Looks great, so chunky substantial. Does it require a special type of install? Is the whole slab sitting higher so doors and drawers clear the countertop? Is there a plywood top under the quartzite?

LOVE!!!! My perimeter counters are quartzite & I LOVE them---the look of marble but I like how they are maintenance free

Gorgeous! What kind of wood is your island?

Gorgeous! What kind of wood is your island?

island, most slabs in my area are 2cm, so most homes around here do a built-up edge. there is a plywood layer that lays on top of the cabinets. then the counters lay on top of the plywood. at the end of the counter is where the fabircator glues an extra piece to make the edge thicker, giving it the look of a solid thicker slab.

southernmum, my island is walnut wood.

oh that turned out so so pretty. I love it!

Michou, my island will have the same edge as yours -- 2.25" square mitered edge. The perimeter counters will be 2 cm - no build up. I like the looks of thin counters in pictures of European kitchens, and I didn't want to buy a 3rd slab just to have mitered edges everywhere. I am a bit nervous to see how the thinner counters turn out. My counters are being installed 1 week from today!

Gorgeous!!! Looking forward to seeing more ; )

I went to see a slab yesterday. They told me it was a quartzite, but I didn't test it. Blanco Rhino is the name.

Peke

I posted the wrong one. I meant to post the Calacatta. Is this what you were talking about with the linear veins? Is it the same as the White Macaubas?

peke, that looks beautiful! what i meant by more linear stripes are these

Oh that is gorgeous, and so luxurious with the thick edge. Beautiful!

Ok that is definitely different that I had imagined. I love the Rhino.

michoumonster - now that you have had your counters for awhile, are they still holding up as you had hoped?

Hi Laura, i wish i could give you my experience, but unfortunately we have not been able to move into our house until just this week due to so many contractor issues. I have to admit we have not cooked or used the kitchen much at all. I am still cleaning and unpacking and noting things that still need to be done (like a working furnace, and dishwasher, lol) We are still not finished, but we got the ok for occupancy.
So far, our sloppy GC totally abused the counters (he put wood stain, his tools, and anything else on my unprotected counters) and they still look great and no stains or etches as far as I can tell-- wish i could say the same for my floors though. I can give you a better report in a month or so once we are settled.

I can't wait to see more pictures of the counters! It is simply gorgeous!!!!!

michoumonster - if you have the time and are willing, I would love to see the rest of your kitchen and hear how your countertops are holding up. Thanks!

michoumonster - your counters are so beautiful! How are they holding up?

anj2000 and gotham, thanks for asking, i will be glad to give you an update on the counters after using them for about 4 months now. they have held up beautifully. they are totally low maintenance. i have cut lemons directly on them with no issues. no etching or staining from tomatoes, etc. either. i am not the most fastidious housekeeper and so just wipe them with clorox wipes or windex spray a couple hours after cooking with no dire results.
the only thing that does not wipe off easily is the hard water deposits, which i then have to use vinegar and scrub really hard to get off. but the vinegar also has not done any damage to the stone.
my counters are polished, so i think that helps with the cleaning. my whole family has really enjoyed the counters and we get lots of compliments from guests on them. everyone thinks it is marble.
i wouldn't hesitate to use this stone again or to recommend them to anyone. HTH!

Thank you for posting your absolutely beautiful quartzite! It is exactly what I've been looking for! Thank you also for providing specifics like cross-cut and the various stone names. I have been driving the stone ppl crazy asking for various stone names...cross-cut is the key.

Oh my goodness, thank you sooooo much!

I'm planning on soapstone perimeter countertops. I wonder how this quartzite would look honed? Would anyone have any pics? How do you think soapstone perimeters and polished quartzite on a small island look?

My remodel began just a week ago and the countertops is the only thing I have not selected yet.

michoumonster, thanks for the update! So glad to hear that your gorgeous counters are holding up so well!!

michoumonster, beautiful counters! I see you're from the Bay Area, can you share which yards carry the white macubas? I'd love to take a look, especially at the crosscuts.

Beautiful ! I love that swirly pattern on the macaubus that is cut that way.

mags, I have the stripey version of the macaubus on my island and leathered antique brown on the perimeter and it looks good. So I think the combo of macaubus and soapstone would look great. My leathered dark counter is sort of soapstoney looking from afar because it's not shiny, so that's why I am saying I think your combo idea would look great.

roo, i got my slabs from Pietra Fina in Hayward. They also carry it at IRG in brisbane. many other yards have the stripey slabs though.

It's beautiful! I love the mitered edge, and have the same on my granite :)

Thanks, michoumonster! Can't wait to take a a look.

Michoumonster, I saved your pic to my Pinterest a long time ago (inspiration for my wht macaubus countertop!) and need to choose a prep faucet ASAP. I just saw your pic again and love your island faucet - can you tell me what it is? Do you like it and does it have a spray function? Thx in advance!

Hi Nancy, my island faucet is the kohler purist prep faucet. they have a taller version also.
i linked it below. i do like the faucet. it is fairly easy to clean the sink with it because it is a pull out model and the spray is pretty strong. one other thing i like is that it has two buttons so you can switch from spray to regular without having to turn off the faucet every time.

Here is a link that might be useful: kohler purist faucet

Hi Michou, thanks so much for the info on your faucet. The funny thing is that I recently bought 2 of the Kohler Purist bathroom faucets for my boys' bathroom but somehow I didn't see the similarity with the one in your picture. Yours will look perfect in my kitchen...I'm off to buy it now. Thanks again for the quick response!

Hi michoumonster, I am a first time poster, but am researching white macauba and really would love to see what you went with as a backsplash. Any finished pics to post? Thanks!

Hi Jessica, sorry I never posted a finished kitchen reveal because our kitchen had gone straight from construction to messy, with nothing in between, lol. The backsplash is a fireclay tile, london fog, if i recall correctly.

my stone has a slightly green/grey blue tint that can look a little different depending on lighting.

sorry, for the sideways pic, but it automatically loads that way on here, and i don't know how to rotate it.

here is a pic without undercab lighting

I love the full slab! I also love the island and the mitered edge. What a beautiful stone. I also love the picture of the slab with the linear lines. Please show us a reveal....

Wow, michoumonster, what a great combination of cabinet colors, counter, and backsplash! Thanks so much for posting.

@michoumonster I love your kitchen! We are just about to pull the trigger on walnut cabs from Barker but been having a hard time finding a kitchen with same idea we're going for- walnut, with marble like counters, fireclay tile. What finish did you use on your walnut? I had a really really hard time picking between wood or white cabs so just trying to make sure 100% that's what we want. Do you have any other shots of your kitchen you could share?

Wow! Gorgeous :) Thanks so much for the pictures and tips!

Also looking at White Macaubas. Absolutely love it! Just concerned about the scratch and etching possibilities. Then there's the cost.....OUCH!

I was very worried about etching and staining, but I went with white macaubas & it's been perfect. I've had it for 2 years and not a stain or an etch to be seen!

I love white macaubas. I used it again in my new kitchen (still being done). I would have to say, you definitely need to seal it at least once. We got some small oil stains that seeped in on either side of the range, which we had overlooked sealing because the range was already in place. but that was the only spot in the whole kitchen and we only sealed once at installation.

Thanks....to both anjn and mich.. Was it really expensive to you also? My husband is having a hard time with the cost quoted.

My white macaubus was really expensive, so I decided to only put it on the island and did the perimeter in a less expensive granite (leathered antique brown). The perimeter looks black.

I don't really know about the cost, unfortunately. We had bought a new construction condo & the developer had an allowance for granite. The white macaubus was over his allowance, so we paid the incremental cost (and I don't know what his allowance was). For us, it was important to have something we really loved in the kitchen, as we have an open concept floor plan.

In my area, it is probably in the higher end of mid-range granite pricing. I was able to get mine on sale though. I found that pricing varied a lot from yard to yard, so you do have to call around and shop if you can.

The slab I'm looking at seems to have some lines going thru it that look like they might be the start of cracks. Anyone else find that? And are they?

When I was looking at slabs, there were some that had cracks I could feel or stick my fingernail into. There was even one that had a crack that had obviously been repaired. I rejected those. I just didn't feel comfortable with a slab that had obvious cracks. The slab I chose was smooth, even though there are lots of lines. It seems like once it's sitting flat on top of your cabinets, and if you seal it, any itsy bitsy cracks won't matter in any functional sense. But I'm no stone expert.

Looks beautiful

Netty I know this is old, but our slabs have some lines running through them and I feel confident that they won't break, but they are not discernible "cracks" as much as sentiment within the stone I think. We've been using our quartzite for a month and I LOVE it. I put hot pans directly on it, have cut on it (with our bad knives) and have spilled all variety of things on it and it still looks perfect.

Our largest piece is the island (when the kitchen was much less done):

And some of the other counters with the backsplash in:

I am *extremely* happy with the way they turned out.

www.greenwoodframed.com

I know this is old, but loved your pics here and on the link. Two questions: how are you liking your White Macaubus 2 years later, and please, what is the paint color on your exterior home pics?