White quartz worktops

8 years ago

Hi guys. I'm choosing worktops for my new kitchen and am unsure about which option is best.

I am going with quartz as it seems to be the most resistant and cost-friendly, but don't know which manufacturer is best. Over here in Spain we have locally made Silestone, Quarella, Compac and Caesarstone to choose from. Are they equally as good? Is the microban in Silestone safe? What about staining and chipping?

The second issue is the colour. I want a white or very light colour and for it not to be too fussy and modern. I had originally thought plain white, but the more i look at it, the more boring it seems and almost looks like plastic. So, i have also been looking at offwhites and with slight detail.

The stone mason showed me Silestone Zeus, White Storm, Ariel and Yukon to go with my kitchen cabinets which will be white overheads and slate effect below.

Please share your experiences and advice f you can, it would be a great help :D

Featured Answer

Kamila Williamson

8 years ago

Do you want that much contrast or would you prefer blending similar shades?
Have you considered silestone? It's amazingly durable, cost effective and comes in many colours. It can be used in bathrooms too (as one big slab instead of tiles).

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Comments (39)

Adam
Original Author
8 years ago
I think blending a similar colour to the slate may be too much as the island top and sides would all be stone. Thats why, i was thinking about using a light colour.

The stone mason says Silestone is best, but there are lots of manufacturers and I dont know what they differ in.
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Kamila Williamson
8 years ago
Oops.. Typed before read...
Think of colours in your property in general and pick similar.
I found that having the same counter top, splash back and similar floor colour worked wonders with the gloss cream cabinets and, otherwise, small space (I went for Rougui, cappuccino/light brown).
Adam thanked Kamila Williamson
Adam
Original Author
8 years ago
My walls are an off white colour and i still have to put the floor in, but I'm thinking off installing this one.. or a similar colour.

http://www.pergo.es/es-es/laminados/endless-plank-2v/L0105-01769_roble-cafe-tablon

The doors are dark wood and the windows a steel colour, but I haven't added bought any window fittings yet.

Camp Hill Contemporary · More Info

I like this colour (silestone Ariel), but I'm worried that the veining will go out of fashion as people over her are leaning towards consistent plain colours... And maybe it will clash with the slate cabinets. Plus, i heard that the Silestone Zeus Extreme stains easily, but maybe someone can clarify this or has used some other light colour which works well.
Kamila Williamson
8 years ago
Slate sounds good. You have to live with the kitchen, so it should be something that you like& will enjoy seeing for years to come. Go with your instincts and don't overthink it. So far you have made great choice.
Adam
Original Author
8 years ago
I still dont know the differences between the different brands though, or the staining chipping issue.

The slate makes we worry about being too dark.
Adam
Original Author
8 years ago
This was another option for the doors. Not sure about having so much brown in the kitchen though, and all white bores me.
blahnik1
7 years ago
Which counter did you end up getting? I'm looking into getting white storm by Silestone. Any feedback?
Adam
Original Author
7 years ago
Had problems with the carpenter and am still in the process. Am going for ICONIC WHITE in the end as it has better characteristics and has their new NBoost technolofy which is more stain resistant and repels liquids (always a worry with white).
tamp75
7 years ago
We had white compac worktops fitted a year ago and they have never stained. Tea, coffee, red wine, beetroot juice - everything just wipes away. We're very pleased with ours & would go with compac again if we needed to.
PRO
ARC Bespoke Interiors
7 years ago
Bush Board , top quality work tops, they do encore, and quartz work tops, i have been to on a training course, with the main trainer , he is the best in the industry ,

if you would like for me to organise an appointment with a sales person please do not hesitate to contact me
Adam
Original Author
7 years ago
New silestone colours.
blahnik1
7 years ago
What are the names of these new colours?
Adam
Original Author
7 years ago
from left to right, iconic white (new), zeus extreme (old), classic white (new) and below ariel (old).
blahnik1
7 years ago
Do the iconic white and classic white samples have small flecks in them? I can't tell by looking at the picture. Do you have a sample of white storm also ? I want to see how it looks beside those.
Adam
Original Author
7 years ago

Classic is a bit specky but very subtle and Iconic is very pure with no flecks. I don't have white storm anymore, but will look for photos i took. Personally, I really like Iconic White as it contrasts well with the soft grey i want to use. They are all nice really.
blahnik1
7 years ago
Thanks! I'm debating between white storm from Silestone, White Hall from Cambria and these two new ones above. I prefer no speckles, but I'm going with slight specks to somewhat hide tiny crumbs. I'd love to see classic white beside white white storm to compare.
Adam
Original Author
7 years ago
WS was a bit too speckled for me. Classic is very subtle and a very muted white.
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
Haven't decided yet, but I am really leaning toward the Classic White. Has a bit more interest and is less stark... the more i look at the Iconic, the more plastic it looks. Granted, it looks more "modern" and bright, but i am not convinced yet.
Carolina
6 years ago
Do look at the colours together in your kitchen space, if you not yet have done that. Because the light in your home will have a big effect on how the colours look.

Speaking from experience. I picked out a white kitchen with a white worktop in the shop, took samples home to check whether the colours were right and they looked very grey, not white at all, in my home.
blahnik1
6 years ago
I'm still undecided between white storm and classic white. I haven't seen them together side by side. White Zeus looked like plastic ( a little) and I was scared it would show every hairline scratch. I want a slight speckle (slight).
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
I agree. Have you seen Iconic white? I would like a bit of a speckle but its not the same shade as the cabinets...
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
Iconic vs Zeus and Iconic vs Classic
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
Just to note that I fell in love with a colour called Alabastro by Quarella a while ago, but then started looking at Silestone as it came in a bigger format, but am going to have to have a join in it now anyway... will see if i can get some sample.
blahnik1
6 years ago
I haven't see iconic. But from the photo, it looks nice! However, I need a bit of speckles because I use my kitchen a lot and have kids. Do you have a pic of white Zeus beside classic?
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
Top centre and right.
blahnik1
6 years ago
The far right one is classic?

Far left is iconic? Wow, that's white!

Whats ts at the bottom? (With slight grey veining). Is it Ariel ?
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes, Iconic and Ariel below.
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
I have discovered that there are different shades of white in the cabinet material i am going to use so well try and combine them.. I was all for the Iconic at first, but think it looks a bit plastic and is very bright... Given that i am going to have the waterfall edge on the island, i reckon it will look like a shiny white block and a bit too much...
blahnik1
6 years ago
I will also have a waterfall island. I thought the white zeus would look like plastic. I'm still debatong between white storm, ariel and classic white. My cabinets are really white.
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
I prefer the classic to the storm. Less busy, but still specky enough to be forgiving.
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
I am a bit funny about matching the cabinets to the worktop when going all white. Have you already got your cabinets?
blahnik1
6 years ago
The island will be black or gray with the Ariel or classic white or white storm. The perimeter will be white cabinets white a grey counter.
blahnik1
6 years ago
Was the white storm background more or less white than classic white?
blahnik1
6 years ago
I really like Ariel also (a little movement). I'm still undecided.
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
I think the same as Zeus but with specs. Do you know you can order samples from the US silestone website? It is best really in order to see them in tje light of yoyr kitchen and you can compare.
blahnik1
6 years ago
My proveider has all samples except Classic white. White Zeus extreme is too plain. White Storm has a few too many specks. Is classic white more white than White storm. DOes anyone have Classic white in their kitchen?
Adam
Original Author
6 years ago
Classic white is a differnt shade from storm.. i prefer classic anyway. Its very new so i dont think there are many kitchens with that finish.. best bet, order samples from silestone website and compare in situ.
rainbowgold1
5 years ago
what did you get in the end?