I was actually thinking of doing quartzite on the island and quartz on the other counters, not marble. I have no interest in marble. I know it’s beautiful, but I’m just not up for the vigilance required in a kitchen.
Here’s the article I read about someone thinking they were buying quartzite but getting something soft and prone to etching/chipping:
https://candysdirt.com/2015/07/17/caution-quartzite-countertops/
Quartz is manmade, but not all quartzes are created equal. Cambria is one of the best quality quartz brands (I also read their patents before making the decision, but that is me lol). Our light colored quartz tops are 2.5 years old, and I can’t see a single dent or scratch on them. We spilled beets, tomato paste, pasta sauces, all sorts of veggie and fruit juices, and red wine on them, and not a stain. Water and soap clean up most messes. Marble would have been a goner in my kitchen by now (and previous owner had… limestone, ugh). I always use trivets under hot pots and pans, even on granite, so that is not an issue for me.
I meant my comment more of trying to match up different products, not using marble 
We bought our house with Corian on the countertops and walls of our kitchen. It’s whitish with subtle grey veining. We love it and it’s very low maintenance. We’ve never sealed it nor done much more than wipe it down in the over 30 years we’ve owned the house. It still looks lovely and we’d buy it again in s heartbeat.
@momofsenior1 - my comment was not directed at you! Just marble in general in the kitchen. As I said, the prior owners had limestone tops, and they had to sand out wine rings before putting the house on the market. Mr. B looked at those tops and told our realtor that no way Ms. B would live with those countertops. He was correct. That was the third thing that got replaced in this house (after the leaky windows and missing structural supports).
We have quartz (white with the sparkly look to them) and they have held up incredibly well for the past 18 months since we had them installed. We paired with a natural marble stacked stone backsplash (the backsplash does have to be sealed to prevent staining).
I love the quartz look and durability. The one caveat I would have is make sure you work with someone who joins the slabs really well. Our seams are pretty good but they do seem to collect a little grime over time and then they become more visible on the white background. However, a little acetone and a toothbrush and we can turn them invisible again.
We have seams in our Cambria countertops (17 linear feet was too much for a single slab), but one needs to look very carefully to be able to see them. Never had issues with seams getting anything in them or becoming more visible.
We have silestone in our new build house and I am so disappointed with the edge chipping. Some of the issues are install but some have appeared with no explanation other than I am probably heavy handed? I had granite in my last house (used house) and never worried about it at all, never used a trivet, never babied it, I have been much more careful here and I think this stuff is no better than the cultured marble of old. The kitchen is a marble look and is nice to look at, the bathroom is just plain and I really wonder why they bothered. The kitchen shows no signs of staining, but the white in the bathroom is orange around the bottom of the taps already.
I probably posted on the 2003 thread. I used quartzite. I followed garden web at that time. Living in FL, I wanted light, and wanted flowing rather than dots in design. It still looks new.
If I had to redo, I would have saved $$ and gone with a high quality quartz. Less busy, so I could have more movement in the backsplash. The backsplash I used is a classic rectangle, handmade tile.
I installed a dark gray Dupont Zodiac quartz in a 2007 kitchen remodel. Never did like it because of the plastic-y looking blobs in it. It chipped on the rounded edge and it also became hazy around the sink where we sat empty water glasses for short periods of time.
2019 remodel different house bath - I looked and looked at the Cambria quartz. My high end cabinet shop uses it a lot. I just can’t get past the resin look, although it’s improved in 12 years. Very happy with a nice granite.
Not sure what to use on this summer’s kitchen re-do. Wish I were a person who points to something and says, “That’s it!”
My sister used quartz in her high end remodel. My son is remodeling his kitchen (mid priced) and also picked quartz.
Sister did hers 2019, son will be 2020
Haven’t had granite but have lived with synthetic quartz countertops. Other than a little chipping around the sink cut-out, they were better than fine.
Nothing really new in that but it’s worth saying that synthetic quartz countertops are a ground and compressed mix of minerals - mostly quartz, but the darker they are, the more feldspars, micas, pyroxenes, etc. have been added to the mix.
All of that is glued together with a high temp epoxy - I think - which makes it a little less porous than even granite, which is why it’s difficult to stain or oil mark it. Since quartz is the hardest mineral in the mix, all the additives just detract from the hardness of the counter.
Quartzite, though it might be used as a marketing phrase, refers to a metamorphosed quartz sandstone. While it started out with nearly 30% porostiy, it was buried deep enough and at a high enough temperature that it recrystallized into darn near solid quartz.
Still has a little remnant grain structure to it, but at such a low porosity it would make the perfect counter.
I agree with BunsenBurner re: Cambria quartz. We have installed it in 2 bathrooms as well as the kitchen and I wouldn’t want anything else. Cambria seems to perform better than the other well-known brands and our kitchen designer said it was the only quartz surface she had never had any client complain about. It’s also entirely American made, if that’s something you particularly care about.
I did entertain the idea of quartzite because I saw it in a show house and it was stunning. When I went to the stoneyard to consider all the options I found that the quartzite was significantly more expensive than most other options. Not only that, but the fabricator said that they required quartzite customers to buy 25% larger pieces because it was so brittle that it often broke during fabrication so there was a significat amount of waste.
As for granite’s durability, a good friend accidentally struck the underside of her granite countertop with a drinking glass she was unloading from the dishwasher and it broke a big chunk of the granite off (without damaging the glass!). It cost her a couple of hundred dollars to have it repaired and the guy who did the repair told her that sometimes natural stone slabs have invisible fissures that, when struck with the right amount of force at the right angle, would break apart.
That story pretty much eliminated granite for me.
Love Cambria Quartz.
Our quartzite counters were very affordable. Much less than our good quality man made quartz in the bathroom. I think there were a string of “scary” articles about the softness so the company was having a tough time selling them.
Another fan of Cambria. I have it in my kitchen, and people think it’s granite. It’s very easy upkeep. I also put it in a bathroom we recently remodeled.
I have never had so much as a scratch on my granite countertops in 23 years in 2 different houses. I am just ready for a change. I am interested in quartzite and am open to looking at this Cambria quartz.
I really appreciate the input.
If you are considering quartz, be sure you have a reputable installer. A friend bought Cambria counters and had a horrible install experience. She had to get the manufacturer involved until it was remedied to her satisfaction.
The remodeler we are using is a well known and respected custom home builder with 30 years of experience in our area. They built our current home and most likely only use reputable installers. But I want to have as much knowledge as possible just to be on the safe side, which is why I really appreciate all of the feedback based on personal experiences.