I got silestone Helix. Love it.

Anonymous wrote:I got Silestone in Lagoon. They have a lot of options depending on how much grain you like to see in the countertops.

What did you use for the backsplash?

I know people say marble stains, but it is what they use for counters in coffee shops Italy and I never noticed staining issues.

I think it's ok if you embrace the stains-- kind of like shabby chic

I got Silestone in Lagoon. They have a lot of options depending on how much grain you like to see in the countertops.

Marble is too soft. Get granite.

Depending on the design of your kitchen, you may be able to combine finishes. We have marble in one part of our kitchen, but got dark granite in another part. That's where we do the really messy stuff.

What sort of cooking do you do?
I really wanted Calcutta marble, but it is impractical with the turmeric, paprika and all the other spices I use on a daily basis.

How brave are you? How careful? If you are very brave and very careful, marble can be a good choice.

If you do a lot of cooking, are messy and have messy kids, it is a disaster.

Can Marble be sealed so it won't stain?

I love, love, love marble counters. But know how delicate they are.

marble stains very easily, maybe your friend was anal and didn't cook

I think it would be a bit funny to have expensive counters on ikea cabinets

Take a look at quartzite - it's a natural stone that can have the look of marble but is resilient like granite. East West marble in Chantilly had quite a bit of it when we were looking a few months ago. Some of it is "busier" than others - but we found one that really looks like calacatta (sp?) marble.

I think they would look great. We have marble on top of Kraftmaid and it's beautiful.

Just like them. Might just go for it rather than another stone that looks like marble. Was at a friend's house and her marble looks fine after 5 years.

Question is: will they look ok with IKEA cabinets? Not sure I want to spend 10k on painter white wood cabinets.