We seem to be smack dab in the middle of a home design trend – “Modern Farmhouse”. I find myself loathing and respecting Joanna Gaines for this in all the same breath. It is a beautiful comfortable clean feel for you home. I get it! People are ready to simplify. Listen – I lived through the monkey and elephant jungle safari home trends of the early 2000’s. We definitely all need to simplify from that. But just like that as a prime example – sometimes too much of a good things is no longer good. Everything in moderation people! Okay, I will get off my soapbox now.

Besides shiplap on all the walls…another part of the trend has been beautiful Soapstone countertops. I have always had a love affair with Soapstone. The look, the feel – everything except the maintenance. Well my friends, I have your solution. Meet Nero Mist Granite (Honed). Honed being the key word here. It gives the granite more of a flat sheen and smooth finish similar to the original soapstone. I am telling you that you would have to be a granite specialist to tell the difference. It is truly incredible! The best part about it is 1st – the cost. So much less expensive than soapstone. The 2nd – the maintenance. Granite is little to no maintenance. You get all of the look and feel of the beautiful soapstone without all of the headaches. Soapstone is an extremely soft stone compared to granite. You can not set hot things on it and it can even leave marks just from a kitchen knife. Granite on the other hand can withstand pretty much everything.

I mean – really – check out these images below. They look like the exact same material. Crazy!

Now, if you are on a really tight budget I do have one more solution for you that is even a fraction to the cost of the granite. Laminate! EEK! Scary word. Laminate used to be a bad word that no designer in their right mind would have ever thought of even whispering out loud. But I am bucking the system. This is a great solution for a rental home or if you want a countertop in your pantry where no one really sees it – save a little money by switching to laminate. We used this in our little cottage renovation we did in Downtown Rogers, AR. We had a very limited budget but we were able to get the look we wanted for around $600 instead of the $3000-$4000 it would have cost for granite. Check it out!

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