I have Beleza from Dorado in Austin, Texas. I don't have any current close-up pictures of it but here are a couple from the day it was installed.

And here is an overall picture from more recently:

The stone has darkened some in the two years we've been using it. We've never oiled it because we liked the way it looked unoiled but it has darkened naturally.

We love the stone. It's quite hard. After two years there are a few tiny dings around the edge of the undermount sink and some minor scratches. The scratches are easily buffed out with a green scrubby pad. We've had absolutely no problems with it  no water rings, nothing. It was the only soapstone we looked at (except for the Minas slabs that Dorado had at the same time we picked our stone) and I feel very lucky that it turned out as perfectly as it did.

You have made my day!! these pictures are gorgeous and the counters are exactly what I want. Does the stone have undertones of green when you look closely??
I LOVE your kitchen-simple, clean lines..very classic and classy.
thanks so much. it really helps to see it in place. No one has soapstone here where I live and I have never seen it in an actual kitchen.

Cicely --

We had never seen soapstone in person either -- not until the day I dragged my husband to Dorado (which is just 10 minutes from our house as it turned out!!). We both fell in love and even he, who is always watching the cost, knew we needed to spend the money on the stone. Interestingly, the next fall we went on the local AIA home tour, which we go on every year, and three or four of the kitchens had soapstone counters. We decided we, and GW, must be ahead of the curve.

Anyway, the stone does indeed have undertones of green, especially in direct light. I was just wiping down a remnant of our slab that we have as a table top out on our porch and wiped clean and in the sun the green was beautiful.

If you'd like I could take some closeups of the counter as it is now and post them. Let me know.

Here is mine from Texeira. It is Brazilian Black and it came as thick as you see on the edging. It is extremely dark and uniform which is what I wanted for the buffet area. Mysteriously enough, they oiled it about 3 weeks ago at the store, but I haven't had to touch it since :)

Wow,firsthouse_mp your counters are beautiful also. I love both kitchens. My cupboards are reddish brown cherry-not too dark but a rich color and we have hired an artist friend to make a steel upper counter in my island-so will have both the silver steel (an understated silver-not bright) and the soapstone on the island. My cabinets are very plain. After seeing both the Brazilian and the Beleza i think I would like both. Both are very black and simple. Since my kitchen is contemp I don't want anything too busy. What I love about soapstone is that it looks black from a distance but there is tons going on when you look close. Hopefully will hide dust (I live in the country-windy country with dirt all around) and some crumbs...

Here are a few pictures of my newly oiled Brazilian Black soapstone counters. They have been in about 4 weeks. We love them. No backsplash yet.

Thank you all for the pics you posted. They were really helpful. My fabricator wants to go with Brazilian black and I got the pics of the stones and it is so hard to tell if they will turn out like your pictures. I really would love any of these 3 countertops in my kitchen. All 3-and I am super picky...but the pics I got of the slabs look like they have a lot going on. Does that become less noticeable once they are oiled? The one picture of the slab above doesn't have nearly as much going. I am STRESSING!!!

Sorry I didn't see this earlier...you are going to love Brazilian Black...it's hard very dark black when oiled. It definitely isn't as crazy once it's oiled. Here's a link to my pictures. Enjoy your soapstone.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Kitchen

My first picture and my last picture are the same run of counter. As you can see, it looks much quieter from far away. We love our soapstone.

bizeemom, wow...your soapstone really does look different "up close" vs. "from a distance". Were you using a flash when you took the close-up photos? IRL, do you really notice the green color or does it only appear when the area is well-lit (i.e. with a flash or when the sun shines directly on the counter)? I'm planning on a burgundy range, so I'm hesitant about having countertops with a green tinge...

becktheeng, love your backsplash...and your Brazilian Black soapstone counters are what I was looking for! I would definitely oil mine, it's the "dark black" look I'm looking for.

Sorry for the hijack! :)

You have definitely quieted my fears. The pics of the slabs that were sent to me looked sooo busy i got pretty nervous. This web site and all the people willing to share are a God-send. Thanks. And becktheeng I also love the backsplash-your whole kitchen! Do you have a piece of marble on the area right above your microwave? (just curious)
I want to put a plug in for Joshua from Creative Soapstone for anyone reading this. I emailed him with some questions and he called me right up and helped me. Then when my fabricator came to measure we had to call Joshua again. Although he is not receiving any business from me (due to the distance-I'm in MT) he was so courteous and helpful..If I was in his area I def. would hire him for my countertops. Not only super knowledgable but generous with his expertise.

Cicely I do have a small remnant piece of marble over above the the MW. I love marble, but didn't want a white/white kitchen. I'm a messy cook with two small kids, so I didn't want to have to baby my counters. I've only oiled (with the oil bees wax combo) them three times in the 9 months I've had them. I sort of like the unoiled look, so I'm letting them fade to a lighter grey right now....it's just taking a long time.

Becktheeng-the fact that I can either be dark blk or grey was one of the selling points of soapstone for me. I ordered Clapham's oil bees wax to use and can't wait for my counters to show up-May 21 hopefully. Thx for the pictures and the help-I like the addition of the marble-makes it more interesting and it all fits together with the backsplash colors.

How much does soapstone run price was where you are located?

Soapstone starts around $50/square foot. I'm intrigued by the comment above, "The scratches are easily buffed out with a green scrubby pad." This makes me wonder if scratches could be created with something as soft as a scrubby pad, too.