Choosing Soapstone Counters: One Year Later

Choosing Soapstone Counters: One Year Later

We’ve been living with our soapstone counters for about a year, so we thought we’d give you an update on what we think of them and how they look a year later. The short answer: we love them! (Read our initial thoughts on soapstone HERE.)

The thing about soapstone is that it’s a really soft stone… like, well, soap. So over time and with regular wear and tear your counters will show scratches, and if you drop something heavy like a dish, you can get a little chip (um, because I totally did that this last week). We’re actually totally ok with this, though. We chose soapstone because we wanted the character and for them to feel like they belong in an 1890 house — not super brand new from a factory. Plus, most scratches and small chips can be buffed out easy! Yay for being a clumsy mess!

Soapstone doesn’t require any treatment, unlike some other natural stones, which is one of our favorite things about it. But to get the rich, deep black color that we like, it’s necessary to apply something like mineral oil or wax. We use Dorado Soapstone Dry Wax, which is easy to put on and has a nice matte finish. This product was recommended by our countertop installer, and we’ve been really happy with it (this isn’t sponsored, but just something we would recommend!). A year after first applying the wax, though, you could see all the areas that get a lot of use, like especially around the sink, where the wax had pretty much completely worn off.

We like the “lived-in” look that soapstone has… but, still, this was maybe a little way too lived in. It was time to put on another coat of wax. We first went over all the counters with steel wool, to buff off the old wax and even out the scratches and chips, and then applied a new coat of wax with a rag. It took just one or two hours total.

Like brand new! (And sorry about the crazy shadows. We took these photos last night when the lighting wasn’t ideal.)

We love our soapstone counters and would recommend them to anyone else who is looking for character, who isn’t going to tiptoe around their counters, who might spill something or drop a dish every once in a while. These counters are totally ok with that!

The instructions on the wax recommend doing two coats, but we only had time for one so far. We remember from last year that the first coat started to wear off after a couple of days, so we definitely want to add a second coat this week, just to make sure that the wax lasts longer.

What do you think? Do you have soapstone or would you consider it for your own kitchen?

— Kerry