Cheaper Than Soapstone: Erin Napier's Alternative Countertop Choice Adds Elegance

If you ask Erin Napier, elegance shouldn't have to mean breaking the bank. The interior design pro and co-host of HGTV's "Home Town" has cued aesthetically-minded homeowners in to her tips for creating an eye-catching backsplash for half the cost of tile. Today's design tip focuses on kitchen countertops. To capture an elegant look, one material is on her radar; and contrary to many design pros, it isn't soapstone.

Soapstone countertops are prized for their impressive longevity, which makes them a good choice for folks who cook a lot. Instead, Napier opted for black mist honed granite when designing her country home kitchen. As she wrote in an article on her Laurel Mercantile Co. website, black mist honed granite countertops "mimic the luxury of soapstone without the soft and chippy maintenance issues." This lesser-known material offers a nearly-identical look to soapstone with the same subdued matte finish and subtle color striations. Perhaps best of all, black mist honed granite offers a more impressive durability factor than soapstone, an investment in the long haul.

Since honed granite is a less common finish than polished granite, its price point is generally a bit higher. Polished granite countertops typically cost between $35 and $100 per square foot, with the price of honing being tacked on top of that. Homewyse currently estimates the cost of a job with 50 square feet of honed granite countertops at between $3,485.50 and $4,834.24 (not including labor). Even with the added cost of honing, the overall price tag is still often lower than soapstone. Mike Martin, founder of RemodelingExpense, estimates the cost of a 50-square-foot soapstone countertop between $3,000 and $8,000, depending on slab color and thickness.

As Napier points out, soapstone is regarded as a luxury countertop material but its infamous chipping issues are no joke. Soapstone is physically denser than both granite and marble, making it less likely to warp over time; but due to its natural softness, ultra-dense soapstone is notoriously liable to minor surface nicks, chips, and scratches, especially with heavy use. It also tends to discolor over time.

By contrast, granite is one of the longest-lasting countertop materials available on the market. With regular use, a granite countertop typically lasts 25 to 50 years. Since this igneous stone is produced under high pressure deep within the earth, it is able to withstand scratches, chips, dents, burns, and discoloration in the kitchen; a solid choice for high-traffic areas.

From a design standpoint, the honed granite surface offers an effortlessly smooth matte finish with a seamless look while the soft white veining creates dimensionality. It's warm and timeless, yet inherently elevated, able to suit contemporary and traditional design schemes alike. To incorporate it into your kitchen, pair black mist honed granite countertops alongside light-colored design elements. In her kitchen, Napier offset the dark, potentially dramatic countertops with warm-toned cream cabinets. Tying things back into the dark granite, these warm white cabinets then got adorned with exposed dark metal hardware hinges, keeping the space light yet well-balanced.