Finally a question I can offer an answer to:

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I was going to wait to oil until I finished the backsplash but decided I needed to see what color it would become. I am amazed at how much green is in it and absolutely LOVE it. Much grayer and lighter unoiled. ALL of these photos are unoiled.
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Wow! Looks great, especially with your green paint. So Focylrac, do tell, do tell! Did you oil anything? What do you think?

Why did you choose Belvedere? I chose it bc of price (low) and hardness (very). Didn't really even see a good pic of it before this. It looks great. We are having an apron front sink made and our counters will be carrara. Your pics are making me excited. Very very excited.

Are your cabinets cherry? What is your stain called? Do tell, do tell! Is your kitchen arts & crafts style?

Does the stone feel good? We just got Barocca tile that I ordered for using as a pizza stone. Such a good feeling!

Enjoy and thanks so much for posting!

Thanks! I oiled it ALL. I just HAD to see what color it was going to become and so glad I did.

We are in NJ and went to M Texiera's Hackensack showroom to see the stone in person after I had viewed the 11 samples I ordered from them earlier. Belvedere was NOT one I had selected prior to our visit. They had some custom sinks on sale and we liked this one due to it's roomy size...it happened to be Belvedere. They happened to have 2 large slabs of belvedere available. I needed larger pieces due to 2 corners and it is just the way it worked out.

My cabinets are hickory in a medium stain and leaning to an arts/crafts shaker? style. and yes, I LOVE them too.

The stone FEELS so very good! The sink arrived on template day, so for one week I got to 'pet' it regularly. Anyone who came to visit was also encouraged to touch it. I can't imagine liking anything else like I like my soapstone.

The kitchen is still a work in progress. There is more crown molding to go up, toekicks, odds and ends. I am putting in a cararra subway tile backsplash w/ a glass tile mosaic band mid-way between cabinets. The green paint will not be as prevalent as in the pics but yes, I love the green. It was a Martha Stewart color called 'dill' that I had color matched in Behr paint. I have an adjoining family room w/ 2 lighter shades of green that somehow had to get coordinated and that was the color to pull it all together.

Here are a few of the soapstone once it was oiled:

WOW! Oiled it looks REALLY green!

Dill is a color that Sherwin Williams still carries, even though they dropped Martha when she went into the slammer. I was considering it for my kitchen, actually.

Those are the most refined looking hickory cabinets ever! They don't look rustic-y at all. More like birch. Is your kitchen floor hand scraped?

Your choices are really great and GW definitely needs more kitchens with stained cabs ;)

If you have any comments on the green-ness of the oiled stones, I would love to hear. We are planning not to oil and I think it would go better with our specific kitchen. I want light gray.

sabjimata, thank you so much for all of your comments. I was a LONG time lurker as I soaked up info here at GW. I learned a wealth of information...still learning!!

I liked the look of hickory but not the great variations in light and dark sections of wood so I went w/ a medium stain so as to not accentuate them. I am so pleased w/ their appearance. My builder is still cursing the wood tho...he can't get over how hard it is and somewhat difficult to cut, drill,etc. He will be relieved when he is finished !

Thanks for complimenting my choices. I ooohed and ahhhed over all the lovely white & soapstone kitchens but that is just not me.I am a color person...must have color!!! I loved all shades colors and grains of wood and never wanted anything but a wood cabinet. I followed my gut and w/ so much info here this is what I found to be my own. Glad you approve!

I would say if you want the gray-ness of your belvedere you will definitely have it unoiled. I was looking for the green tones in it and oiling it brought them out and darkened the grays. I have only had them oiled about a week and see them lightening already. My sink is darker naturally and doesn't show the green so much.

The views of my kitchen floor are from before I had them refinished, which just happened this past week. Not hand scraped, but are about 25 year old 3/4" oak, tongue and groove varied widths. I got them stripped and refinished and now look much better. I got them stained red oak and they complement the cabinets I think.

These 2 were the only ones home when I was taking the 'after' pics of the family room floor...we are nearly empty nesters and these 2 are our current kids...

Focy, are these the only pics you have posted so far of your kitchen? You have to post to your own thread....seriously. Those cabinets (and floor!...and soapstone!) are GREAT!

There are always people on here who feel left out if they don't choose a white kitchen. Yours is a lovely example of a classic and I think the best example of hickory cabs that don't look totally 90's.

And the greyhounds are cute too! You rescued them? Good woman!

Oh, and btw, I posted your pics to my blog because they made me so excited. I took the liberty to assume it was okay since all I have is your screen name and they have already been posted to a public site. Is it?

Here is a link that might be useful: your belvedere/my blog

Yes, sabjimata...first kitchen pics online. I just figured out how to post pics today when you asked for unoiled soapstone. LOL! I was kinda waiting to post more finished work, but not problem w/ you posting to your blog, I'm honored!!!

My greyhounds are rescues...the most appreciative kind! My dark one, female came from Hollywood FL and the other guy came from a MA track. They really are couch potatoes and just want to be treated w/ respect.

Thank you for your interest and compliments all the way around!

My Belvedere also shows the green inclusions best when oiled.

kas

thanks, kas ;)

Hey there! My sink arrived this morning. I blogged it...link below. Very exciting (for me, at least ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: mr. belvedere is my sink!

Whoops! Wrong link. Real deal linked below ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Soapstone Sink ;)