Choosing the Perfect Quartz Color for Countertops
November 18, 2016
How to choose the perfect color of quartz
for kitchen countertops?
Not always the easiest task. But I'm here to help.
Not only are new countertops a hefty
investment, but that quartz counter choice
is going to greet you every morning
and evening in the kitchen...
a space which is surely
America's new living room.
Here at the fixer upper, choosing the perfect
quartz color was surprisingly tricky
despite the fact I knew exactly what I wanted:
a clean, crisp, white to complement
pure white cabinets.
I visited every local showroom with quartz,
looked at giant quartz slabs at a warehouse,
and brought home quartz sample after sample.
It was a quartzy season. Here's the thing.
Even when you get clear about the look you
hope to achieve (Carrara, Granite, Calacatta),
there remain a host of options and more
than "50 shades of white" quartz options
with hues from muted grey to beige to arctic
which can reduce DIY designfreaky
whole house renovators to:
For example, I thought I found the perfect quartz
for the fixer's kitchen with the highly anticipated
Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo
since it is absolutely gorgeous with dramatic,
not-too-busy veining and a beautiful finish.
Yet when I brought home a good-sized sample
of Calacatta Nuvo to see it with our white Shaker
kitchen cabinets, the color somehow did not
tingle my kitchen's jingles since the white of
the cabinetry made it look too creamy.
Caesarstone quartz - Calacatta Nuvo
I brought at least 10 more quartz samples home to
my kitchen and kept stumbling on these issues:
*a quartz color which sparkled gorgeously in the showroom under showroom
lighting came off completely wrong in my humble (not showroom lit) kitchen.
*the same quartz color appearing gloriously pure white online
fell flat when placed next to my white kitchen cabinets.
*a quartz color which seemed perfect viewed as a giant slab in non-fancy lighting...
well, that didn't help either (but obviously it's critical to view a full slab
of natural stone or granite you intend to use for countertops.)
I loved Silestone's Lagoon quartz in the showroom,
in photos online, and as a sample on
the passenger seat next to me on the drive home.
But at home in my kitchen with my particular
northwest exposure and white kitchen cabinets,
the tone of Lagoon came off too drab,
presented much more as putty,
and was not quite the white
I was after.
Even though I am nutty von nutty about how
Silestone's Lagoon quartz works
in every single kitchen design by Devol,
it just wasn't singing with the white icing
painted finish of custom Schuler cabinets
here at the fixer upper.
(You might remember I chose the same
Schuler custom cabinets Sarah Richardson
chose for her cottage-style kitchen because...
that was a good enough referral for me,
and Schuler was incredibly helpful!)
But butter my biscuit!
Everything changed when two particular white quartz
colors from the LG Viatera line came into my life!
The first white quartz I tried out in the kitchen
was LG Viatera Cirrus:
LG Viatera quartz - Cirrus
Cirrus is dreamygorgeous and has this ethereal,
marshmallow-y, subtle painterly feel
about it that made me want to stare and touch it.
(Don't judge and don't you dare forward my contact info
to the producers of that "strange fetish" reality TV show!)
I was almost certain Cirrus was my dream
quartz color for my white kitchen.
LG Viatera quartz - Cirrus
By the way...regarding quartz and kitchen design:
I have used quartz for counters in multiple
kitchens, not in any way attempting to imitate
the look of natural stone or granite...
Kittycats, quartz ain't foolin anybody as a marble poser.
No, no, no.
I am quartzhappy because of its
stain resistance,
uniformity,
strength,
non-porous, no-maintenance nature,
antibacterial properties,
and lovely live-ability
(we can plan on red wine spills,
oh yes, and limes sliced directly
on naked kitchen counters
when I am not present to police
criminal lime slicing behavior).
The winning white quartz color in the end for me was
the amazingly pure white and
slightly-less-subtle-than-Cirrus,
LG Viatera Minuet
with its alabaster white background,
light grey marbling, and reflective beauty.
LG Viatera quartz - Minuet via
LG named this quartz color Minuet because of its harmonious perfection of tones, reminiscent of the marriage of notes
in a minuet, and me oh my, does it sing in the kitchen.
Here's Minuet in my kitchen above, and this is how I feel about it:
on the spectrum of whites for me?
First, let's talk price.
My budget was tight, and quartz can get expensive.
I think the Caesarstone Calcatta Nuvo was actually
double the cost of the LG Viatera Minuet which is
fine if it is the perfect choice for your kitchen
since you're going to be living with it a long time.
(The cost of quartz is sometimes determined by demand.)
But I didn't have to sweat it, because it turned out
my top choice had the friendliest price tag.
Score!
With so many other expenses on the renovation
list at this fixer upper, I needed the break.
our kitchen at the Chicagoland fixer upper LG Viatera quartz - Minuet
Second, a word about the perfect white.
It was the whitest white without being a complete white out.
(If you have shopped for quartz, then you know what I mean!)
Third, it was a winner for being the most reflective.
I sorely needed to get light bounced around in there,
which is why I opted for a polished marble
mosaic for the wall as opposed to honed.
With Minuet, LG Viatera created a beautiful alabaster white
which brightened, lightened, and heightened the wow
factor for my kitchen which truly needed the love.
Fourth, Minuet is the frackin bomb
in how it works with natural white marble.
We used polished venatino marble for the
backsplash/wall, and it is a beautiful marriage
with Minuet since I wasn't interested in contrast.
Minuet worked with Carrara, Grecian,
and other natural stone I brought home.
the light & bright after with LG Viatera quartz - Minuet
Fifth, I got to see it in a real life kitchen.
My sister was designing her kitchen and baths
around the same time and chose Minuet
for a brand new build so I was able to
see expanses of it installed which is MONEY.
photo of Jody by me
topping a built-in sideboard.
(That's an abstract nightscape painting I created,
and aren't her fishnetty lanterns va va voom?)
The work area:
Her kitchen is awesome with all its angles, interest,
and Shaker-style cabinetry (her drawer style
is slab-front, and the overall feel minimal modern).
The floors in Jody's house are dark hand-scraped hardwoods,
and you can see she used Louis Ghost Barstools which are
actually pretty comfortable and a breeze to move
out of the way for housekeeping.
She used Minuet on a couple of bathroom vanities as well.
I snipped an evergreen branch with berries from
her backyard, and the natural greenery pairs
so well with white quartz counters.
Had enough quartz talk yet?
*The Minuet twins in paradise (aka Over the Hill Olsen Twins).*
Jody's kitchen - LG Viatera quartz - Minuet
Jo loves her Minuet!
See how law abiding my sister is about lime slicing
even when the Minuet quartz is pretty dang scratch resistant?
color for quartz countertops, and feel free to ask
questions in the comments below as I am happy to help.
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Have you used quartz in a kitchen?
Peace to you right where you are.
26 comments
I used Hanstone's Victoria Sands in the in-law apartment we added to our home 10 years ago. Ahead of the curve! It looks like the day it was installed. Our own kitchen is being renovated at the moment, I ordered Silestone's Bamboo to complement cabinets in painted in SW Dover White. I am going for a warm neutral look.
ReplyDeleteI love a warm neutral look-sounds perfect. And I love Silestone too for quartz. In the last house, I went for warm finishes and used their Ivory Coast which was reminiscent of the beach. And yep, it looked as good when we left as when it was installed 9 yrs ago!
DeleteIt is a perfect choice for both of you girls. I was singing the same song when it came time to choose our counters and declined many for the same reasons you did. I wound up getting Lyscom by arizona tile, very similar to yours with less movement, soft, lovely, clean looking all the necessary qualities I love in a kitchen. Next I get to choose a backsplash time after the first of the year. Of course it is subway, white or carrera marble, we shall see.!! Love your kitchen and your sisters, so much!!
ReplyDeletethx, friend. i love your taste in finishes, kathysue! will be fun to see your process for that backsplash. my sis is gearing up to do her backsplash as well. my sisters are amazing women and the three of us together are OUT OF CONTROL, drive our poor mother nuts, and feel like we rule the world! xox
DeleteHi! Love it all! In the first and last kitchen picture, what was the back splash you used?
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm seeing this so late! In our kitchen, it's a polished venatino marble mosaic tile from Lowe's. In my sister's kitchen, it's a white subway ceramic tile. hope this helps.
DeleteHi!! I am doing the Minuet in my kitchen and am very excited about it! What backsplash did you use for the first and last kitchen?
ReplyDeletemy kitchen: a polished venatino marble subway mosaic tile from Lowe's and in my sister's a white subway ceramic tile. good luck on your Minuet kitchen!
DeleteI'm filing all this great information away since I'll be going through this process too.
ReplyDeleteYay! it'll be so fun watching you make it happen! xox
DeleteThank you! This came at the right time. We are renovating bathrooms and just decided last night that as much as we love the Carrara look and feel, it's too fussy for our busy household with two teens. Minuet seems like the right fit and your description nailed it!
ReplyDeletethanks for letting me know! i'm so glad this helped! xox
DeleteWe are thinking of using LG Minuet quartz in our kitchen. What color of cabinets did you use with that quartz in your kitchen? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThey are from Schuler, and are the brightest white which I think is called WHITE ICING from Schuler. Hope this helps! xox
DeleteHi ! What thickness did you use? 2 or 3 cm? And what type of edge? Thank you! I found this at Home Depot of all places, was looking at images, and found your blog. Very helpful!
ReplyDeleteWhat thickness are your counters? 2 or 3 cm? And what style of edge? Very helpful blog. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting, Jenre! The quartz is 3 cm, and the edge is the plain old standard edge. I just did Viatera quartz in our Arizona kitchen, and they do things different in that part of the country: for that counter, it was 2 cm for the product which the fabricator then built up to (I think) a thicker edge than I have here in Chicago! I think 3 cm is sort of normal for most projects outside of the southwest.
DeleteWe are planning to install Minuet in our kitchen. How has it held up for you? Any staining or chipping? Have you accidentally left anything (sauce, wine, coffee) out on it and did it stain? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI did find one small chip in the last 2 years with it, and maybe it could be repaired but it isn't bothering a thing and not noticeable. My guys have left sauce and ??? and red wine and nothing has stained it. There is some scratching from so much use but nothing I feel needs to be buffed out after 2 years. Hope this helps!
DeleteWe are planning on installing Minuet in our kitchen. Have you had any issues with staining or chipping? Have you accidentally left anything (sauce, wine, coffee) on it for a while and did it stain? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia. See the above reply. I'm still happy with it despite some subtle scratching and a little chip. I think these issues can be remedied, but they don't bother me. I would recommend always using a cutting board to prevent scratching. The chip is probably from my husband dropping a heavy tool on it...so avoid that too! This kitchen gets a lot of abuse since we have done a whole house DIY.
DeleteMinuet quartz going in our kitchen mid-August! What is the size of subway tile that you and your sister used? Also, where did you buy your table? I love the size and width, our eat-in kitchen area is not super large, so looking for a table JUST like that! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteHi Laura! Woohoo! We used a 12" mosaic tile so the subway pieces are approx 2x4 each. You can still buy it from Lowe's...Allen and Roth polished venatino marble. Our farm table is huge and custom made from barn wood. 7 feet long and 38" wide. I am using it in my studio now and we have a small round in the space now. Let me know how your kitchen turns out!
DeleteBeautiful! Love it! What color grout for your marble backsplash?
ReplyDeletewhich is preferable Zodiaq London Sky or the Minuet for South facing kitchen with White Dove cabinets and dark walnut floors?
ReplyDeletehi lisa! hopefully you can bring good sized samples of each into the space to see it with your lighting. my own kitchen cabinets are a brighter white than white dove so the alabaster white of Minuet appealed to me. The light grey London Sky seems like it would pair nicely with a variety of white cabinets, with some contrast. the veining in Minuet may be more dramatic than London Sky. i'm good with that since it's forgiving. south facing is lucky! :)
DeleteYour comments add to the beauty...thanks in advance for your kindness.