White Kitchens: Marble vs. Quartzite

Hello, hello!  I hope you all had a beautiful weekend.  We enjoyed our little weekend getaway to Austin for the Lumineers concert, and managed to carry the fun through to Sunday evening.  I'm in need of a bit of relaxation after such an intense few days, so I thought I'd focus on calming white kitchens- a favorite topic of mine!

{Andrew Raquet}

Right now, all-white kitchens are very popular.  I have always loved them, as my favorite color is white, but designers are really taking this monochromatic palette to another level with interesting details.  Carrara marble (as shown in the picture above) is a breathtaking counter option.  In my dream kitchen all the cabinetry would be Carrara marble:

{Gast Architects}

{Andrea May Hunter/Gatherer}

{Melissa Miranda}

 However, marble is THE most high-maintenance stone.  Anything acidic (wine, coffee, basically all the good stuff) will stain.  So if you like to cook or have young children you may want to re-think marble kitchen counters!   If you love the pristine white look but don't want to deal with the maintenance, a good alternative is quartzite.  Princess-white quartzite looks quite similar to Carrera marble but has a durability closer to granite:

{White and Gold Design}

{Harry Braswell, Inc.}

{Elements of Style}

{Harry Braswell, Inc.}

As always, remember when selecting your marble or quartzite in a showroom or store that unless you see the actual slabs you want to purchase, veining and color can vary in each piece of stone.  They aren't artificial, they're the real deal created by Mother Nature, and come from a quarry, like this one in Carrara, Italy:

Pretty amazing , no??  

So what's your take on kitchens- do you love the all-white look like me or are you over it? What would your dream kitchen look like?