I just did a quick search at houzz.com Just put in Cambria Torquay and a bunch of pics will pop up. SOme are real marble, just read the side descriptions to see which are real and which are the Cambria.

Here's some pics - we are going with torquay as well!

Here is a link that might be useful: old torquay thread

Hi there, I had to sign up and join the chat because I so empathize with you. I am going through the same decision process but I haven't scheduled a final measurement. I wanted to pass on a couple notes that I am hoping will help you make your decision. I have gone to see both slabs - lagoon and the torquay. I totally understand your hesitation. Both are very pretty in person. In some ways I think the lagoon looks more real because it is more subtle looking. The base is grayer than the torquay but not nearly as gray as a caesarstone misty carerra. It is lovely but, and it's a big but - from far away you won't see much of a pattern. You will see the pattern from further away with the torquay. Also the torquay has gray and taupe-y "veins" so it can probably go with the colder whites or some warmer tones. That being said I don't know how real the torquay looks. Sometimes it looks like stone and sometimes it looks a little fake. A pretty fake but synthetic all the same. Nothing wrong with that. But I do see what people mean when they say it's a bit of a carerra wanna be.whereas the the lagoon looks more real too me but like a slab that doesn't have veins. The drawback to looking at these slabs in fabrication. Yards is at you are seeing them standing on an angle instead of horizontal in the context of a kitchen with a sink, etc. I honestly think that is the only way to really see them to make an informed decision. No one in my area has any on an actual countertop. By the way you are totally right about the Lyra. It looks completely manufactured and fake. I am close to buying the lagoon but I have two concerns, one: do I want a countertop that from farther away really just looks white to soft gray? And two, if the lagoon is such a great substitute for the carerra marble lovers among us, then why don't we read more or see more images? There are plenty of torquay but only 1 of the lagoon from the company and one more kitchen that looks essentially one color. The color has been out for a while. I am here to help so ask away. I would just call around a double check that there isn't any way to see it in person on a counter. It is not an easy decision but I thought it was attractive in person. I just wish I was looking at it next to the torquay. Would be soooo much easier. I feel your pain....as silly as that sounds!

I saw a good size piece of Cambria Torquay today, my second time in seeing it. I was struck by the redundancy of small white specks in it in addition to the veins. Maybe it was just the piece, but I am more hesitant about it now.

Wow, Flicker1 you are first person that has told me they have considered Lagoon! It is so strange that although it's been out for a year or so, there are no pics or testimonials on it...and I agree, to me it has more of an authentic look than some of the other choices. It has a muted marble appearance with a lack of veining.

I called Silestone directly on Monday and they connected me with their offices and show room in Chicago (about 2.5 hours from me). They said they do have a slab on display. I asked if the woman would take a pic for me, but she said she had something better- a book with a couple photos and a 11x17 copy sheet of it that she would send. I got so excited at the prospect of seeing it! I have scurried to the mail box two days in a row now in hopes it would be in there, but no luck. Im really hoping tomorrow. I just really hope her photos are of an actual kitchen and not the promotional shot of it which looks NOTHING like it.

Ive even gone so far as to take 4 -4x4 samples to Kinkos and color copy them on 11x17 paper and lay them all across my island and primeter. :) This was actually pretty helpful. I did this with the Lyra and Torquay too. I ruled out Lyra and determined that the Lagoon is waaay grayer than I thought. The grey doesn't bother me but the lack of veining is whats missing. Even if it had just a bit more veining I'd be sold! I guess my final analysis of Lagoon was it was very conservative without much pop if that makes sense. Although I think it looks richer and more authentic it may be too conservative and not give much payoff in pop.

I really liked the Tourquay when I did this same exercise it was really much prettier than I thought. HOWEVER, I have continually ruled it up until now because in the stores looking at the samples my eye sees a lot of the artificial-ness of it. I see those tiny dots that are a sure sign of man made material. But truly it is what everyone seems to be using that is looking for that marble look.

I called all around today to see if I could find a show room near me that has Torquay on display but no luck. I did speak to two suppliers that said they JUST did a job with it and it was beautiful. I asked if I could possibly come see the final product in the homes and they are checking with the homeowners. Im keeping my fingers crossed.

THIS is so crazy that I am losing sleep over this, but it is such a big part of my kitchen's look! I even have gone so far as to say "forget it, Im just going to go with what I know I LOVE- Cararra marble!" Obviosly I ruled this out in the early stages of the remodel planning due to the porosity.

I actually would just break down and use it just to be done with all this, but I can't come up with a perimeter material that would work (I need one "safe zone" in my kitchen, I couldn't have ALL cararra). Im not into the black (i.e. soap stone) look on the perimeter, I really want to stick to my initial vision of all white counters- I want a classic look.

Soooo, I'll keep you posted! I almost cancelled my Lagoon order today and ordered Torquay but Im forcing myself to just go slow and figure this out. Thanks for listening!

I have cambria Torquay in one of my bathrooms and I love it. This is a bathroom that kids use, and it's bullet proof. Everytime they bang on the counter and leave toothpaste all over I am thankful I didn't get the carrerra. I have carrerra sealed and honed in my basement bathroom and that has been perfect, but the bathroom isn't used as much.

Torquay is definitely a creamy white, with tans and greys. There is soooo much variation in slabs that I really suggest finding someone that carries it. I included pictures of the slabs I found to show you how busy it can be. I wanted more subtle veining, but these slabs were the only local ones I could find.I was disappointed when I first saw the slabs that they had so much movement. It was very different from the smaller sample that the company sends you.

The blog 7th house on the left installed it in their kitchen and bath and their slabs looked more like marble.

I would definitely recommend it to get a similar look of marble, but don't install it till you get to see the slab. My stone yard was nice enough to let me come when they templates so I could pick a less busy area.

Here is a link that might be useful: 7th House on the left Blog

Poistano- Thank you so much for your detailed info on Torquay! It helped a lot and your bathroom is beautiful!

I asked the place I would most likely order the Torquay thru today if I could choose the actual pieces before I place my order and they said no. They get the Torquay from the Cambria plant almost 5 hours away north of Minneapolis and they said they don't have sheets of it laying around it is made to order.

I even called two other local dealers and they all said the same thing. Bummer!

My question to you is, do you feel it is more gray veining or more tan veining? I really aim afraid it is going to be too tan. thanks!

enright5. You are hilarious. Glad I am not alone. My husband thinks I am crazy. Took me two months to pick a floor! But since you sound like me, here is my advice. Why don't you cancel your template appointment. Don't rest till you see them in person. It may sound insane but you will be living with this decision for years. and you are always gonna wonder - should I have gone with the other counter? What's the worst that could happen? You'll set your self back a few days. It is worth it. Just imagine if someone suggests a third option! I have a smallish kitchen so the monochromatic look is kind of appealing to me. The silestone photo online looks very different to me than the slab in person. Liked the slab better, looked more real. But I think you shouldn't rest til you see them because you want pop and I worry lagoon will bore you. A contractor friend of ours who does the white kitchens all the time suggested namib sky. And there are other white
granites but the maintenance for me is too great. Positano's pictures of torquay are lovely and it will definitely give you pop. Neither color is perfect. Keep us posted on your odyssey!! We need to know what you end up going with!! I really admire your tenacity and let's face it, We are not renovating our kitchens every day. And the key with this kitchen look is making it timeless.

I feel your pain. We decided to go with Imperial Danby but maybe a discussion I started in November might help you. I didn't like the torquay. Just too artificial looking for me. I MUCH preferred Corian Rain Cloud (gray/white) or Witch Hazel (warmer tones).

I put a link to pictures I took on November 4, 2011 at 14:35

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1117452030377.html

Here is a link that might be useful: THREAD

Thank you 2littlefishies- that was helpful!

Is Imperial Danby a quartzite or is it a marble- Im a little confused. Does it run cost wise close to Cambria or Corain?

I found Princess White granite on GW and fell in love with it. After an afternoon of making calls to all granite yards in my state I finally found it about 1 1/2 hours away from me. I drove down to look at it and it was indeed beautiful! I came home an asked for a quote and I about fell off my chair! For my size kitchen it would be $9k! Thats a lot considering the cambria and silestone are coming in around 5k.

So unfortunaly I had to rule the Princess White granite out:( Im curious how the Danby runs price wise- did you get quotes on both Danby and a quartz?

thank!

Danby is a marble. It is supposed to be less porous than than the Italian marbles. It's from Vermont. It WILL still etch but less prone to staining. Most people don't have stain issues with marble if you seal it correctly. There are various Vermont Danby marbles. Imperial has some gold in it as well as gray. I believe Montclair Danby is less expensive and is gray and white. A few GW members have it. I just have to remember who! I'm not sure price-wise how it compares with quartz (cambria) or Corian but I believe it is similar. I think here in NJ i got one price for $75 sf uninstalled- just the material. That was for the Imperial but again, I was told Montclair is less.

Here's the website just in case!

http://www.vermontquarries.com/homeowners/

Here is a link that might be useful: DANBY MARBLE

Here is FiveZ's kitchen:

FiveZ's said it's Imperial Danby. Here is some more Imperial:

Vermont will send you samples of any stone you want for free. I have 3 samples at home. I requested them online and they arrived in the mail a few days later. I would have loved to gone with a Vermont Danby, just to go U.S. marble, but only one place in our area sells it, and it didn't work for our island. We ended up with Statuarietto Marble.

To the OP, I was kind of wondering - did you just not want the "upkeep" that comes with real marble? When we were pricing, the synthetic stones were the same price as the real granites and marbles (well, unless you went very exotic!). So money being no different, I couldn't get past that the synthetics just didn't look real to me.

I started my search about a year ago, finding Torquay. Told my DH that is what I wanted because it looked like marble. I live in Central IL & everyone said you CANNOT install marble in a kitchen, PERIOD. My husband believed them until I told him lots of peeps on GW have it. I went back & forth between Lagoon & Torquay for a while, finally ruling out Torquay because of the little specks. I saw a slab of Lagoon & was settled on that. It is grayer than Torquay, but I think is the best resemblance of marble around. Finally headed to St. Louis to look at slabs of Danby marble, to which my DH predicted I would never be happy with a quartz after looking there. He was right. Now it has still taken my 6 months to settle on a piece of Danby, thinking it had to be SPECTACULAR after all this time searching, but I finally found 1 that will work. It's Olympian Danby, so mostly white w/gray, not a lot of movement, but that's okay. In our area, quartz is more expensive than the cheaper Danby (Mt. White, Montclair), so I felt okay jumping in. Please check to make sure you are not giving up when you might be able to get what you want. I hope I LOVE mine, but am positive I will love it more than the others...for ME, anyway. It is a VERY hard decision. Men will NOT understand. Good luck!

Thanks jem3953- your post is what I needed to hear and very helpful. along with all the other posts. I am going to go look at Danby this weekend. Just out of curiosity, did you ever get to see a big slab of Lagoon or a finished counter in it??

The bottom line dilemma for me is I am afraid of staining and etching. I could probably "just do it" based on all the info and suggestions from happy marble lovers, but I could NOT use it on my perimeter (island only) I really need one safe zone. SO the question is what to use on the perimeter if I don't want to go with black honed granite or soapstone? I really want the all white counter/ island look.

We are using the marble on the perimeter b/c the island will see the most prep and there will be seating as well (kids eating there, etc..)
So, we're doing walnut island top and marble perimeter and baking area.

Good luck with your decisions!

ohhh-keee-do-keee, got a quote today from a local company for Danby Marble. I guess I will be ruling that out too, $9k for our smallish kitchen and island. Cambria Tourqay is coming in around $5k and straight honed cararra marble is coming in around $3000. Wow, such variances in price!

Not sure if it is like this all over the country but Danby marble is defiantly harder to find and way more expensive than cararra marble around here :( bummer!

So now I must decide honed, sealed cararra marble or Cambria Torquay. Whats a few more sleepless nights anyway?!:)

Marble = You can replace it one time and still come in just over the price of the Cambria. =) Good luck with your decision.

(And I can relate to the losing sleep part. I lost sleep last night myself thinking about my choices after specifically telling a friend I wouldn't. Oops! :)

Hi enright,
you asked if it is more gray or tan veining. I would have to say it was an even mix of both.
I might have missed it, but what color cabinets are you doing?

A lot of cambria places I called at first said I couldn't choose my slab and that they were all the same, but after seeing in person there is sooooo much variation.

Well, that is disappointing that the Danby is priced so high there. Did you ask about Montclair or Mt. White Danby? They should be LOTS cheaper than Imperial or Eureka. There is a definite price difference where I was looking. They are a bargin! I was able to see Lagoon & Lyra slabs at a stone yard. Cambria told us we could NOT choose our own slab. I agree they are man-made, mostly uniform, but not exactly the same. I have been there, even DREAMING about it at night. GOOD LUCK!

Belatedly, a few close-ups of ours. Overall we've been quite pleased though I still think wistfully of marble at times. There is variation in the slabs and I did not get to pick mine out. Ours definitely has more grey veining. How about pushing for a photo of the slabs?

Island and perimeter and pantry all have Torquay. We are by no means finished but getting closer. Good luck!

Closeup of prep area:

In pantry:

oldbat2be- your kitchen is beautiful! Thanks so much for posting!

Oldbat2be - thanks so much for posting!! We are doing a ton of Torquay too. So fun to see it!! Gorgeous!

My latest idea.... do carerra marble on the island and Silestone Lagoon on the perimeter. hmmmmm? I have a sample of both and when I position them in my kitchen they actually look good. I think the key is finding a piece if carerra that isn't too white and is heavier on the grey veining.

Any thoughts by those of you familiar with Lagoon? Could this work?

I'm not sure it would work. I think having them in the same kitchen might highlight the differences between the two. I'm guessing Lagoon alone would look much more real than having it near the real thing. Have you ever just thought of doing white on the perimeter with carerra in the middle? Also one thing i'm noticing about lagoon is that it will be better against a cooler white cabinet and wall, without much yellow in it...since it leans gray.

Sorry to be off topic but what is this oldbat2be.

Kinei - It's an inset Solon composter.

Blanco Solon Compost Bin
Pretty nifty design if you have room for it - everything can go into the DW! (except for the compost of course!)
I ogled it in OldBat's kitchen but decided not enough room in my kitchen for this - but still thinking of putting it under the sink on a pull out...

What would be a good tile back splash if Tourqay was used on counters?

Wondering would calcutta tile work? Torquay has that slight tan/ cream swirling- wouldn't calcutta's warm tones go nicely or would it be fighting it?

enright - I may have missed this, but what color will your cabinets be? Thought you might like the bs used in 1929Spanish kitchen! I think it's lovely. Calcutta sounds nice too! Also, was wondering if you looked at Silestone Lyra and/or Bianco River. If so, what did you think of those?

Here is a link that might be useful: 1929's Kitchen

We chose Lyra for our island after agonizing between it and Lagoon. We chose based on a creamier look we were seeking along with some black veining. We don't think it has a fake look. It is a synthetic product, but artistic and beautiful (and incredibly resilient and easy to care for) nonetheless.

If you think you are picking a wanna be marble or quartzite, I think it will disappoint. We were not seeking such an alternative look. Needless to say, we love the look and are glad we chose it.

I'm sure your final pick will be perfect for your space!

enright5 - I'm curious to know what you selected for your counters. Any updates? :)

I've enjoyed seeing all of the pictures and comments. You all are helping me sleep better; when I close my eyes at night, I keep seeing swirls and swirls.

I posted this week in regards to Cambria Newport. I was set on Torquay, then decided to look at marble but after going to the showroom yesterday, I am leaning towards Newport. It's more of a gray with white veining. Does anyone have pictures of this? It came out this year so I can't find anything.

BlackChamois- I am anxiously waiting to post pics of our almost final kitchen facelift. Counters should be in next Tuesday. GW and this post helped me a ALOT and in the end I went with honed Danby Mountain White marble and it makes my heart sing! Thanks to Jem3925 and others I was enlightened that there are different price levels for Danby Marble and the Imperial I was initially quoted was waaaay out of by price range but I went back and had Mountain White and Mount Claire quoted and to my surprise MT white came in the same as Cambria

One thing Ive defiantly learned from this process is to get ALOT of quotes and Im so glad I did because I was able to find a fabricator that came an additional $1200 under the Cambria quote and other Danby quotes with great reviews and feedback from other customers! Wow! So happy to save an additional $1200, I went to view the slabs about an 1 1/2 away and it made my heart sing like Carerra marble did initially when I started this process!

Torquay is beautiful and is amazing in so many of the posted kitchens, Im sure it would have been great in my kitchen, but I feel like I ended up with my true love in the end:)

Hopefully I'll be posting next week some almost finished pics!

Thanks everyone!! Gotta LOVE GW!

oops I meant to say "thanks" to 2littlefishies too! Your posts on the pricing info on Danby marbles was so helpful! Thank YOU!

I am in the same boat. I LOVE cambria marble but not the worries. Decided to go with honed absolute black granite but just got a sample of lagoon. I do not care for lyra.
Searched and searched for something larger to see. No way can I order my kitchen off a 4x4 sample. Spoke with the distributor in chicago and they have some slabs I can see in person. I chose a 2x2 square tumbled marble backsplash with I love. Grays, whites with some earthy tones. Floors will be coffee colored hardwood with white cabinets, stainless range, sink and hood. Any idea would be much appreciated by my family and friends which I am driving up a tree.

Bonnie.mclean3- I would definitely make the trip to Chricago and see the slabs of Lagoon. I almost did that- we are about 2.5 hours away. In the end I decided on Danby Marble -White Mountain and I love it. I have it honed and have absolutely no staining. Chipping has been my only concern. I have had a couple chips on the edges. I dropped an ice tea jar from my cabinet onto the edge of the counter and it made a little chip on the edge. Not sure if this will only happen to the edges but it does have me a bit concerned.

I will be getting my back splash installed next week so then I will post my finished kitchen.

I do like the lagoon a lot , I think out of everything Ive seen it has the most appearance of marble. My only concern is I was wondering if it was too gray? I would bring your back splash to hold up to the Lagoon if you go and view the slabs. I may worry that using Lagoon next to real marble may look funny- not sure.

Good luck!

Loving this thread for the eye candy! LOL...I was looking for a white-ish granite or quartz marble look alike, and I got a sample of lyra...love it!!! I like how cool it is, and the gray veins are really such a pretty shade of gray. I think torquay may be too warm for me and in some pics, it just looks soooo busy. I will not be able to choose an area off the slab(which might change things if I were), so to be safe, I am sticking to lyra...

Looks really nice nixit71!

Doing a small powder room with 2x6 pearl marble subway pattern on walls up to 40" topped by a marble mini brick border and marble chair rail. I'd prefer Not to use a marble floor because its at the beach . I have found this carrera look porcelain that works though its a tad whiter , I would use grey grout . Should I get the real marble floor or look for a different porcelain , I really don't mind the upkeep on the walls but would rather not worry about countertop and floor as its a heavily used bath . as for countertop , on the white 30" vanity , shall I use torquay or a plain white quartz . ? thanks for input . For the record my friend rented a beach house wilth all carrera countertops and was given a 2 page list of all things to avoid , she ended up covering the entire countertop w placemats for the month rather than worry about what would stain or etch them .

Nancy artists - what color are your walls?

The wall color is Benjamin Moore marina grey .

enright, I have been singing the praises of Silestone Lagoon all over Gardenweb since I first got it in my bathroom. It's now also in my kitchen. Have you seen my pictures? It's very hard to photograph the nuances between Misty Carrara, Lagoon and Torquay. You really do need to see them installed. I'm in OHIO if you're near me....you're welcome to come see my almost finished kitchen. And I also have an 18x18 of Torquay as I am a Cambria dealer.

I think it just comes down to personal preference. While I like Cambria Torquay (it was my 2nd choice), I prefer the softness and texture of Lagoon.

Loving the torquay... Now I'm stalking yes internet and also came across quartz masters - check out their Calcutta extra, Calcutta royal, Calcutta grey, and maybe even statuarito.. It's going to be hard for me to pick "the one". Everyone's posted photos look great too.

Also found a few bloggers suggesting LG rococo, quartzite in white macaubus , LG viatera in blanco white... In addition to Lyra and torquay.

I love HOuzz..

I'm having the same problem!! I can't decide on a one I really love. I don't want any regrets

What brand quartz is that! Beautiful