I used Cosmic Black from Italy, which is a somewhat swirly black with tiny flecks of garnets in it (you have to look closely to see them). The swirls/streaks are quartz.

I think soapstone could look beautiful with a marble b/s. Or how about a honed black or grey granite like nordic black or jet mist?

By the way, the carrara marble I used was much less expensive than soapstone and some of the granites I was considering.

I was going to say honed jet mist/virginia mist, too. I googled for pictures and one of the kitchens on this board showed up.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

I have marble backsplash with green veining and my countertops are Minas soapstone from Dorado.

{{!gwi}}

Anita

I'd also suggest looking at jet mist. Also wanted to say "hi" from another central Ohioan!

I would say the black granites or even whites
Piracema
White/ American fantasy ... Look for the white granite thread

Also I was thinking of a grey countertop like caesarstone quartz raven
heck out smarge's kitchen
She has marble on her island and raven as perimeter countertops
You could get an idea of how it would look

I'm also going to say jet mist or soapstone.

I have a white granite with a marble backsplash - bianco romano

erika - Im surprised your Carrara was less than the soapstone or granites. I'll have to check into some pricing around the area. The maintenance issues scare me a little, but it looks so gorgeous. I would like to maybe atleast incorporate it somewhere in the kitchen.

nomoreblue - I love your kitchen! I wish I would have bought those dang tiles on Ebay when you did. Is Dorado local for you?

The jet mist granite looks nice. I havent had a chance to look at all the others. How much does soapstone normally run per sq foot? I need to find out if anyone in Ohio carries it.

lagrant - WOW what a beautiful space! Does your counter show fingerpints, dust, etc? How do you like your marble? Any maintenance issues?

NO fingerprints at all - it is nothing like honed absolute black. It IS black, so light things are visible, but the antiqued texture helps hide a lot. I have 5 teenagers and my kitchen is very well used :). The marble has had everything under the sun spill on it and I have NO stains. ZERO. That goes for both the island and the backsplash. I have absolutely no regrets.
HTH!

Those are my counters in the honed jet mist link. I used honed statuary marble for my splash. The marble is my favorite part of the kitchen. The yellowish area is from a weird reflection.

{{!gwi}}