New Carrara Marmi Quartz Countertops
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If you’ve landed on this page, you’re most likely searching for an affordable quartz countertop option or you’re considering New Carrara Marmi by Stonemark. You’re in the right place, because today I’m sharing my thoughts and honest photos of this gorgeous quartz in our kitchen, so that you can make the right decision for your home (and budget!)
If you’ve followed our home journey for very long, you remember that we actually painted over our previous counters three years ago. Our countertops when we purchased our home (you can see them in the original post), left something to be desired for me. Our painted countertops have served us well through the years, but they’ve served their time. The epoxy was intended to last us a year, but – life happens, doesn’t it? It took us a little more time than planned to save up for new ones. That’s okay. Contentment. Patience. All things I can work on. That being said, we did manage to pinch enough pennies to make this project a reality. But you can bet we did it on a budget!
Why we chose New Carrara Marmi Quartz by Stonemark:
To sum it up: affordability, marble-like beauty, durability, and timelessness
The marble-esque look of this one, for the price you can get the stone and installation through Home Depot, is unmatched anywhere else I’ve found.
I have known I wanted quartz for several years. I have put on my sweatpants and computer glasses and researched the heck out of countertop options more evenings that I can count. I knew I wanted something easy to clean, maintain, and that would stand the test of time (changing styles included).
Quartz is an incredible countertop option for a few reasons:
1) It’s less likely to chip and crack than other stones.
2) It does not need to be sealed.
3) It does not stain easily.
4) There is no real maintenance required.
5) It is non-porous, so it does not hold bacteria like other surfaces.
We actually went to Home Depot last Spring to begin the process of choosing our countertop. Picture it. Dave and I sipping our coffees, kid free, blissfully ignorant of what we were in for. We joyfully perused the different quartz and even solid surface samples, and considered our options. You see, we had planned on everything staying around $2k or so (if you know the humor in this, good for you because we didn’t). I went into a mild cardiac arrest when I realized the price tag that comes along with putting new quartz countertops in a kitchen the size of ours. We laughed ourselves out of the store. We briefly discussed putting laminate in. But ultimately, we agreed we’d come back when we had more money to invest.
This time around, I went in prepared. I knew our budget was to stay under $5k. I also knew that quartz has different groupings at Home Depot (I did not know this when we went in last year, and I was looking at quartz options way above what we could afford). I knew Group A would be the most budget-friendly, so I only allowed myself to consider Group A options.
I was THRILLED to find New Carrara Marmi amidst Group A. I knew I wanted white, and I knew I wanted marble-like veining. This one had it all, AND it’s in the most budget-friendly group offerings.
OUR SINK AND FAUCET:
I set out for a white quartz sink, but after some research realized that it would put us too far over budget. For the size we needed, we could buy stainless steel for a fraction of the cost. I’m incredibly happy that we went this route. We have a 32 inch cabinet, and we opted for a 28 inch wide sink with 10 inches of depth. This is quite a change from our previous, tiny, double-bowl sink. It’s so much bigger than photos can show! This sounds silly, but it’s a real blessing. It has changed my world in the kitchen.
Our Delta faucet has a “shield spray” features that allows you to essentially power wash dishes without any spray out of the sink. It’s wonderfully insane and handy, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to go back to another faucet without it. (This is not sponsored! Just an honest opinion).
How much did our quartz countertops cost?
In total, we paid $4,300. BUT, it could absolutely be done for cheaper! I’ll explain this in just a second.
This includes the counter, counter backsplash, counter installation, and undermount sink installation. We did remove and dispose of the old counters ourselves (aka Dave did this), so that saved us close to $1k. Yes, $1k. It was easier than we thought to remove, but the counters are heavy. I highly recommend ordering some pizzas and inviting friends to help you get the countertops out if you go this route.
To break this down, Group A was $63 per sq. foot at Home Depot at our time of purchase in January 2023. And each group goes up in price from there. New Carrara Marmi usually runs $70 per sq. foot, but we happened to catch it on a 10% off sale. If you have time to wait for your countertops, ask your associate when the next deal will be running.
Check the price it currently is here!
If you’ve done much research on countertop options, you know that $63 per sq. foot is actually a very reasonable price for quartz countertops. Even some of the solid surface options we considered would have been more!
COST BREAKDOWN OF OUR NEW CARRARA MARMI COUNTERTOPS:
Counters: $3,596
Oversized Piece: $250 (they had to send 2 additional men to help install the large piece of our counter that overhangs for our bar area)
Undermount Sink Installation: $250
Backsplash Installation: $200
We could have saved more by not including the backsplash. However, I really love the look of counter backsplash, and instead of having tile down the rest of the way, we chose to pay the $500 or so extra and keep the existing backsplash line that we had.
How to save even more money on your quartz countertops:
You may automatically eliminate the extra $250 charge we received by not having a larger piece to install, right off the bat.
For for further saving, if you remove and get rid of the countertops yourself, do not install counter backsplash, install the sink and faucet yourself – you are saving yourself around $2,000 or more.
Does it look like the sample?
It’s hard to tell what a large surface will look like based on a small sample. To top that off, I had a hard time finding photos of New Carrara Marmi anywhere. I took to instagram, facebook, and google and found very few online images. I went in with a lot of faith that the sample I loved within our price range would be what I hoped. And it certainly is, and more.
In my opinion, it looks better than the sample. The veining is a bit darker and more frequent that the samples we found in store. Which, I’m thrilled with.
It’s truly marble-esque and able to fit any kitchen style.
The seams are very, very discreet. You really have to be looking for them to see them.
New Carrara Marmi is a bright white surface, with a hint of a gray undertone.
For the money we saved choosing these and now seeing them in our home, I would choose them over and over again – every time. The veining is just dark enough to make a statement, but just light enough to be timeless and fit into any space. The veining is very evident in the kitchen, but from far away is soft and subtle.
In short, if you’re looking for a beautiful and AFFORDABLE quartz option with marble-like veining that will stand the test of time, look no further than New Carrara Marmi. This is not a sponsored post. Just the ramblings of a happy lady who adores the new quartz countertops she took a leap on.
Until next time,
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