I can't tell you what Jen has for a finish, but I can tell you that I LOVE nordic's ability to be abused. I have antiqued nordic all over the house and it preforms like a charm. I tested it (un treated) with vinigar, wine, lemon, soy, oil, etc and it came out better than any other granite I looked it! It's greast stuff.

I hope Jen sees your posting and responds to you directly but in case she dosen't, having seriously considered Nordic Black antique and corresponded w/Jen, I know that is what she has and that she is quite pleased with it and how easy it is to maintain. HTH.

Thanks!

pluckymama, what did you end up going with? I am in this on-going debate with myself over soapstone vs. nordic black antique vs. jet mist honed. So many great options, all seem to have pluses and minuses, and it all gets very confusing :)

Ebse, I went with soapstone. If you click on my name you can private email me and I'll fill you in.

I also have nordic black with an antique finish. I really love it. My first choice was soapstone and I ended up with nordic black for budget reasons, but I couldn't be happier. It has survived 1 year of abuse well (and when I say abuse, I mean abuse). I did chip an edge with a wine bottle hitting it just the wrong way, but I think any counter would have chipped under the circumstances and my granite guys were able to fix it pretty well. It doesn't show fingerprints or water rings and cleans up well...even dust doesn't show up that much. Here are a few pictures. It is actually darker in person.

Alexamd,

LOVE your counters. I went to the granite yard today and they gave me a sample of cambrian black antiqued, and the finish looked a little strange to me. Yours is much prettier.

I am wondering if antiqued finishes differ among different types of granite.

Can anyone weigh in on this?

I know it varies from state to state but would anyone mind sharing cost per sq ft?
I'm in Chicago
Thanks

It might depend on the slab too. I know the nordic black in my butler's pantry isn't nearly as nice. When they were cutting my kitchen one of my original slabs was damaged and there wasn't enough for my pantry. I was so sad, because the new slabs the granite yard had weren't the same. The ones I ended up with were the closest match I could get, but everytime I look at them I think they are not as nice. They have more pox marks on them and are not as smooth. Luckily they are not in my main kitchen. From a distance they are OK.

I can't remember my square foot price. I will try and look it up. It wasn't cheap, but it was cheaper than the soapstone and schist that I was looking at.

thank you!

Hi ebse- Sorry for the delay, I just saw your post. I love my Nordic Black counters. They were an "antiqued" finish. As other posters have commented, they are very forgiving and I have not had any staining or maintenance on them at all. It really helps to go an see a slab because they do vary- some have some nice white veining in them, while others do not. My particular piece also has some iridescent copper spots that you can see when close up. They are quite pretty, but subtle.

I would definitely recommend them- good luck, and let us know what you choose!

Thanks!

We just saw a few slabs from a local yard. Is it normal to have some pitting that is lower than other areas? The pitting wasnt crazy, but there were a few areas that seemed to dip down a bit lower.

ebse,
Nordic Black Antique and Cambrian Black Antique are different granites. Cambrian has pitting and Nordic Black does not. Make sure the stoneyard carries Nordic Black antique as it is a bit more rare than the Cambrian and you may have to search for it.

I don't have any pitting in my Nordic Black. It has a brushed finish, but it is pretty smooth and you can write on it like it was perfectly flat.

Thanks for all these follow ups...

We were actually able to see both nordic black and cambrian, and the slabs we saw had pitting in the NB but not in the cambrian (????)

Right now we are still looking at both of these, as well as jet mist honed. I keep going back and forth, but also the decision will hinge on the inventories of the suppliers.

Thanks again!