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Raven CaesarStone Counters

renata17
15 years ago

We found this forum very helpful when we were buying countertops and had been meaning to find a way to give back. So here is our contribution.

We had Caesarstone honed Raven installed in our kitchen in July & we love it.

CARE:

We'd read about the "extra care" that it requires and that scared us some, but we took the leap because we love the color and the matte finish. We find that everything wipes off very easily. It does show circle marks from wet glasses and if you leave oil on it for a while you may see the mark, but I have found that using a blue SOS pad gets even oil marks right off.

The manufacturer recommends cleaning with a blue Brillo/SOS pad, Comet Scratch Free with Bleach, and Soft Scrub Gel with Bleach. I have used all 3 and like the Brillo/SOS pad the best. We did have one weird mark on it shortly after we got it (I am not sure from what) that I had to scrub a bit to get off, but it did come entirely off.

It is definitely easier to maintain if you wipe it down after you are finished cooking. We don't use any spray cleaners on it, just wipe it down with a damp cloth or with soap and water after using. We use the SOS pads probably once a week or when I am doing a thorough clean of the kitchen. We are pretty laid back in our household (we certainly don't keep an immaculate kitchen) and even with that we have had no trouble keeping the counters looking good.

THE FINISH

The finish on the honed Raven is VERY flat so you need to like that and be wanting that look in your house. We really like the flat finish, but that is a matter of personal preference. It is very different than the shiny granite counters that characterize many new kitchens. Personally we find that it has a softer, more natural look to it and we have gotten really positive feedback on it from friends. A lot of people are intrigued about what it is, asking if its honed granite, slate, or soapstone. We think that there may be a trend towards honed finish based on conversations with friends and some research.

I would describe the color as a slate gray. You can see variation in the surface, with some lighter grey spots throughout. The variation seems kind of random in its pattern, which I think is not typical for a quartz and is a feature we like. Also, our installers did an awesome job with the seams, you can barely tell that they are there (we used Cabinet Discounters in the DC area, installers were CreativeIncounters). We got the simple waterfall edge and are very happy with that.

I should add that we also liked the polished finished in the Raven, as it still provided a nice clean look. When we ordered our counters in July 2008, polished Raven was on backorder until September 2008, so that made the decision to get the honed a little clearer. We also considered Silestone and other quartz manufacturers, but found nothing that we liked more than the Raven color. So we picked Caesarstone more because of the color choice than anything else.

I should also add that we really liked concrete counters (and in a moment of insanity considered making our own concrete tops) and this top has a little bit of a concrete look to it, in that it is not shiny. It is, however, much more affordable than concrete.

PRICE

We found that the price of quartz tops varies a lot depending on where you go. Cabinet Discounters had the best price for Caesarstone in the DC area that we found. In terms of price shopping, we found that the best thing to do is to ask for a bottom line/final price. The "per square foot" price means nothing as there can be fees for making certain cuts, doing certain edges, installation, etc.

We did not consider granite or other types of stone too much so can't speak much about them. We can say that (in our area - DC area/Northern Virginia) we found that granite and quartz are comparable in prices, with price differences being more related to the color you select than whether you go with granite or quartz.

We hope this is helpful to people. We thank everyone that posted about quartz tops in the past because it really helped our decision, especially smarge and quantumkitten who posted about their polished Raven.

Good luck!

Comments (12)

  • anne999
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    renata17. Thanks for all the great info! How is it when it comes to showing fingerprints and spills?

  • sayde
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Renata, thank you! Did you find that the actual counters you got were a good match to the samples in the store?

  • renata17
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Anne999, It definitely shows fingerprints (especially if you have greasy fingers!), but its not very noticeable to us at this point. When we first got the counters in we did notice that more so if you think that might bother you, you may want to consider the polished finish. The finger prints wipe right up with a damp cloth.

    Every spill we have had has wiped right up.

    I think that a question that most people have about honed quartz counters is how does dirt (fingerprints, spills, glass marks, etc) show, so I thought I'd be brave enough to post a picture of my countertop as it looked this morning. We prepared food & drinks on it and ate around the island last night. Then we went to bed without wiping it. Click on the link below to see what it looked like this AM when I woke up (did I mention we are laid back in our household?). On my next post, I will post a pic of the same area after a quick wipe down.

    Hope this helps!

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • renata17
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Okay, this link includes the picture of the same area of my counter above after a quick wipe down this morning.

    Sayde, we do think that the counters we got match the sample well. I do think, however, that its hard to imagine what the whole counter will look like from a small sample.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • peggross1
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    renata17 - very nice of you to post this information and pictures!

    I too have the Caesarstone Raven, but mine is the polished. I also love it to death and it is one of my favorite things in my kitchen b/c it is so nice looking and SO easy care! In contrast, my Danby Marble islandtop is etching all over the place, just from water for crying out loud! I find I do most of my prep work on the perimeter counters to "save" the marble.

    I'll post a picture of the polished Raven here so people can see the difference. IMO, a lot more detail comes through with the polished. The look is very non-uniform and friends are surprised to learn it is not a real stone. Oh, and in general, the quartz countertops all are slightly less shiny than polished marble or grainte which polish up like glass.

  • renata17
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Smarge, thanks for this follow-up post and picture! You certainly helped us with the Raven choice because we loved the pics you had posted of your counters (I think back then you had just gotten them installed and were still having work done to the rest of the kitchen). Sometimes its so hard to tell from a small sample size so that is why this board is great!

  • peggross1
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Glad I was of help to you, renata17!

    GW helped me so incredibly much for about a year before we started demo, I try to help out whenever I can now that we're 95% done. (I'm pretty sure that my kitchen does not have one single appliance that I originally thought I wanted before I found GW!)

  • neverdunn
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Renata -

    How deep is the overhand on your counter?

  • renata17
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi neverdunn, its the standard 1 inch overhang.

  • rjenson777
    8 years ago

    Hi regatta17, I was reading through your posts about your Raven counters. Did you buy the counters honed already or did you have them done by your fabricator?

  • tmrellin
    7 years ago

    Thank you for all the info...i've been trying to find a good alternative to soapstone and this may be it :)