When you’re revamping your kitchen, one of the key considerations is what material to use for your countertops. Both soapstone and marble are popular natural materials for kitchen countertops, but which is the best to choose for your requirements? In this post, we take a look at soapstone vs marble and highlight the pros and cons of each material so you can make an informed decision as to which would be a good choice for your kitchen needs and lifestyle.
Soapstone vs Marble Countertops: Which is right for you?
When making any big home investment, it’s important to carefully consider the pros and cons before purchasing items to help you find the best option, not least as kitchen counters can be a pricey addition. Two popular natural materials for countertops in the kitchen are soapstone and marble. They are both lovely forms of natural material and ideally placed for use in the hub of the home. However, like any material, both soapstone slabs and marble worktops have their own individual characteristics.
Soapstone is a durable material that’s low maintenance and can add a traditional, rustic style feel to the interior design of a kitchen. Soapstone can handle the heat of hot pans and dishes and, if accidental damage does occur, it’s easier to fix the issues. One of the downsides though is that soapstone is only available in a limited range of colours, so it might be trickier to find the right colour soapstone ranges for your design. On the mohs hardness scale, soapstone is relatively soft and ranked at 1 to 2.
Marble on the other hand is widely available in a large range of colour choices, so there are lots more options available to help you reach the best decision. It’s a popular choice of luxury high end material and can help elevate the look of your kitchen design. On the downside though, marble countertops can be at the higher end of the price range, plus they are liable to stains and damage, which isn’t ideal. On the mohs scale of hardness, marble is harder than soapstone, ranking at 3 to 4.5.
Soapstone vs marble durability: Porous vs non-porous
Both soapstone and marble are durable materials, which is why they’re two of the most popular countertop materials. However, the makeup and core components of the stones are essentially different and this affects their degrees of durability.
Soapstone is a non-porous material – which means that it’s a material that doesn’t allow any liquid or air to pass through it. From a stain resistance point of view, this is good, as non-porous materials effectively repel stains, making them ideal for kitchen countertops. When liquids are spilled on soapstone counters, the fluid will remain on the top of the surface and won’t seep down into the soft stone, helping this unique material stand the test of time.
Marble on the other hand is porous. This means that although the new countertops look fantastic, they can be prone to getting stained, especially if they’re not sealed properly. When you’re spending out a lot of money on good quality marble, this is a serious consideration. If any liquids are spilled on a pure marble countertop, they will seep through and be absorbed by the marble. As well as affecting the longevity of your marble slab, it can result in making it more prone to bacteria and staining, especially from acidic foods such as lemons, oranges or tomatoes. Spills from red wine can also be an issue on marble surfaces.
In order to keep the look of marble counters in tip top condition, you need to seal it regularly to prevent staining and liquid absorption. If you do have any liquid spills, always remember to clean them up promptly to reduce the chance of liquids seeping through and causing long term damage.
Heat tolerance of soapstone vs marble countertops
When you’ve had a brand new kitchen installed, with expensive new countertops, in theory it’s a good idea to not put boiling hot pots and pans directly onto your worktops. The more you protect your new countertop by using a trivet, the longer it will maintain its appearance and last.
However, for those times when you’re frantically cooking and have forgotten to leave out your wooden, silicone or cast iron trivets, it’s useful to know how heat tolerant both materials are.
The most heat tolerant material is soapstone, which can withstand having hot pans put on it without too many concerns about them leaving marks. Although marble is relatively good with tolerating heat, it’s not as heat resistant as soapstone. In fact, some types and colours of marble differ to others in their ability to withstand heat and could end up with burn marks. So it’s well worth making a conscious decision to protect the durability of your new worktops from any hot items on a regular basis by using trivets.
Soapstone vs marble color options
When it comes to colour, there are more color options when you choose marble as a countertop material. Marble can be sourced from around the world and there are different types of marble in varying colors, styles, patterns and veining found in different regions worldwide. For example, white marble is a popular colour choice, but marble can also be found in shades of green, grey, beige, gold, blue, black, brown, red and even orange.
The colors of soapstone, on the other hand, tend to have a more limited color palette of beige, grey, greenish hue, white and sometimes a bluish tint. There can be veining in soapstone, and it’s a beautiful material, but the veining is not as prominent as the markings found in marble.
On the whole, the types of soapstone colours tend to be more muted too and, as the surface comes into contact with air and oxidizes, it will tend to darken over time. This can be a benefit for many people, as the delicate patina of the stone will take on a more rustic look, adding to the style and design of a kitchen, especially when it’s looked after with regular maintenance.
Maintenance and finish
Marble countertops are available in a variety of finishes, from matt or polished, to sand-blasted and leathered. A highly polished gloss marble surface is perhaps the most well known and popular and produces the high-end luxury look that many people strive for in their homes.
Due to the mineral talc found in soapstone countertops, they tend to have a silky, soft and smooth texture. If its left untreated, soapstone can develop a matte finish, but if it’s maintained by the regular application of mineral oil on it, it can take on a satin style lustre. Regular oiling over all the surfaces will help maintain an even and uniform patina that will gradually darken over time. Soapstone is a relatively low-maintenance kitchen material and has an artistic and rustic feel to it, whereas the high-end look of marble needs regular sealing to protect both the surface and its appearance.
Cost and availability of soapstone vs marble
It’s important to consider the cost and availability of kitchen countertop materials too. Purchasing natural stone worktops can add a considerable chunk to your kitchen renovation budget, especially if you have a large room or a lot of worktops to be built. The exact prices will depend on the choice of marble or soapstone being used and the thickness of the countertops.
On the whole though, it’s worth bearing in mind that marble tends to be more expensive than soapstone, but it’s readily available. If you need a long slab for a worktop, on average it’s likely to be easier to source a long piece of marble than it will a long slab of soapstone, so you may end up needing to have two pieces of soapstone joined together with a seam. That may not be an issue for you and an artistic soapstone surface can work really well in a kitchen design, even if the joins show.
Summary
As you can see, there are a host of issues commonly involved in the soapstone vs marble debate. Like any other major home purchase, it’s important to do your research carefully, consider each of the issues in turn and work out what your key priorities for natural stone countertop materials are. Good luck and we hope you find the perfect worktop material for your kitchen renovation project.
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