Erin Napier's Affordable Tip For Luxury Looking Countertops

As the host of "Home Town" on HGTV, Erin Napier has restored and refreshed countless properties in her hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. Over the years of working on these houses, she's picked up quite a few tips and tricks, which came in handy when it was time to undertake her own home renovation with her husband. Some of her top restoration hacks went into the redesign of the home's historic kitchen, including her choice of inexpensive yet luxurious-looking countertops. Choosing black mist granite, an alternative material that won't burn a hole in your wallet, she managed to recreate the look of pricy, sought-after soapstone countertops. According to Napier, the black mist honed granite in her kitchen is just as visually pleasing and functional as authentic soapstone.

Soapstone is a unique countertop material, a metamorphic rock formed naturally through a combination of heat and pressure. It's a popular yet simultaneously polarizing surface material; homeowners have mixed feelings about soapstone countertops due to their one-of-a-kind look, relative softness, and periodic maintenance. Granite is often chosen for its affordability and consistent performance, making it a more predictable and less divisive option.

Erin Napier got to work restoring their 90-year-old brick Tudor after her husband found the farm property in the countryside of Laurel, Mississippi. In a Laurel Mercantile blog post, she shared that her inspiration for the overall redesign began with the kitchen, wishing to honor the house's aged spirit, and driven by "visions of Ms. Patmore and Daisy in the Downton Abbey kitchen." The black mist honed granite countertops she chose "mimic the luxury of soapstone without the soft and chippy maintenance issues." The soapstone look is known to add to an older house's historic charm, and her choice of black mist granite proved a more affordable yet very much fitting alternative for the project.

In the reveal episode on "Home Town," Napier said, "I wanted the whole kitchen to feel a little bit worn and already used." We also got a look inside Napier's home when she shared some photos of the finished abode on Instagram, showing off the post-renovation. Even the appliances — the fridge, range, and hood — were chosen to suit the vintage kitchen ambience, complementing the countertops. As Napier wrote in the caption: "I chose brown black for the enamel in a nod to antique kitchen appliances and to work with my honed black mist granite countertops."

As Erin Napier pointed out, black mist granite can make a great alternative to soapstone. Not only is it visually similar, but black mist granite is also considered a low-maintenance surface material once it's sealed, requiring only periodic resealing for upkeep. Soapstone is often considered a little more high-maintenance, with many homeowners frequently oiling their soapstone countertops to maintain their aesthetic appeal. Soapstone is also softer than granite, making it more susceptible to scratches. As established, black mist granite tends to be more affordable than soapstone; soapstone costs, on average, about $70 to $120 per square foot, while black granite ranges between $25 and $70 per square foot.

If you choose black mist granite over soapstone, as Napier did, be sure to do your research and select a granite countertop finish that suits your kitchen and lifestyle. The Napiers opted for a honed black mist countertop, but many homeowners recommend a leathered finish over a honed one, as the former conceals dust, fingerprints, and stains more effectively.