Growing Pears in Minnesota: kitchen update # 57 - choosing countertops, the saga continues

very picture heavy

i went down to MSI surfaces, the warehouse of one of the quartz suppliers i looked at samples of at pacific quartz and granite. MSI surfaces doesnt sell to the public. you have to go to a dealer/installer to buy it (pacific quartz). MSI also does floors, backsplash tiles, and hardscape/outdoor stuff.

i looked around at all their samples, including the big slabs. it is wonderfully different looking at the whole big slabs rather than just a tiny little sample. you get *such* a better idea how it looks.

in the big warehouse area they had all the slabs arranged, and a big overhead crane that picked them up and moved them around. they actually had to tell people not to try to move the 1200 pound slabs themselves. that if you want to pick out your own slab, let them use the crane to move them. apparently some guys have thought they were strong enough to flip thru the slabs like a stack of posters. except they cant, and they had pictures of the broken slabs. (THAT would be an expensive fuck up!) not to mention these slabs are nearly as tall as i am! 5' tall x 10.5' wide (152 x 312 cm).

SO many choices. i zeroed in on just the white and gray ones.

statuary classique

blanca statuarietto

close up of blanca statuarietto

glacier white

close up of glacier white

alabaster white. each slab comes with a protective piece of plastic. some had been peeled off some were only partially peeled off.

alabaster white close up

close up of calacatta botanica

close up of cashmere cararra

then they have a medium room lined with like 5' tall by maybe 2' wide vertical strips of all the samples, all the way around the room. and really good lighting (the light in the warehouse wasnt as bright). there were some tables and chairs too.

cararra marmi

calacatta botanica

fairy white

glacier white

blanca statuarietto

statuary classique, on one of the tables in that room

then there was a little room off that lined with shelves/cubbies filled with samples. little square samples, and larger rectangle samples. so i pulled out little samples of all the ones i was interested in and went back to the medium room and laid em all out on a table side by side to compare. because there were SO freaking many options. so many. omg so many.

blanca statuarietto

glacier white

calacatta botanica

cashmere cararra

fairy white

blanca arabescato

cararra marmi

calacatta venice (you can see the other samples lined up above)

once i had them all laid out, i could see some were more ivory than white and i eliminated them. i was looking at the white ones with gray in them, either thick bands or thinner vein lines or even little squiggles. like i said, SO much to choose from. i went back out to the warehouse slabs multiple times with the samples, comparing a sample of one next to the big slab of another trying to figure out which one i liked more. and i walked around the room looking at the vertical samples and comparing them with the little samples of other ones.

i was there nearly two hours. and happily, they left me in peace to figure it out myself. i could have gone back to the front at any time and asked for help. but they asked when i came in if i knew what i wanted and i emphatically said no! i knew i was looking towards white and gray but that was as far as i'd narrowed it down to. so the guy showed me around and left me in peace and i really appreciated that. people hovering around me make me nervous. and i cant think or make decisions when i'm nervous.

eventually i narrowed it down to four, and then two. then i took the bigger rectangle samples of those two to the front desk and asked how the samples worked. the pacific countertop place told me the samples were free at this MSI place and they were indeed free. they said yes, take them home, see how they look in your house. use them to figure out your tile or whatnot. and when i was done with them, they suggested i could bring the samples back to them, or bring them to the pacific countertop place. so that was really cool.

since this place was down by my parents house, i stopped by there after and showed them the samples. both parents liked both samples and could see the appeal in either one. and mom said she was happy to NOT have to make that decision. she said it took her 6 months to choose curtains she liked for their living room.

now i have the samples sitting in my kitchen. and i still dont know which one i want. hopefully time will help me figure it out. this is what i narrowed it down to. one nice, plain, simple. the other a little busier, less plain.

these are the final two: blanca statuarietto left, calacatta botanica right