The Work
The one everyone asks for by name — and for good reason. Warm cream and soft gold, the look of marble with the spine of quartzite.
All quartzite →Taj Mahal is a quartzite quarried in Brazil, and it has become the most-requested stone in the shop for one simple reason: it reads like a soft, creamy marble — warm ivory ground, gentle veins of gold and taupe — but it behaves like the hard stone it is. That means it stands up to a working kitchen in a way true marble asks you to forgive.
Taj Mahal is quarried in Brazil. The ground is a warm cream or soft beige, and the veining is feathery rather than bold, in gold, taupe and grey. That softness is why it is so often chosen where people want the calm of a marble kitchen.
As a true quartzite, it is hard, it takes heat well, and in independent testing it has shown no etching from lemon, vinegar or wine. It is sealed at install. Taj Mahal can be a little more absorbent than denser quartzites, so it is worth checking it with the water test and resealing when the water stops beading.
Slabs vary in how much gold they carry and how strong the veining runs. If the look of one slab matters, choose it in person; the slab you approve is the slab that gets installed.
True Taj Mahal quartzite does not etch from lemon, vinegar or wine. Spills should still be wiped up, mainly to protect the sealer.
Check it with a few drops of water left for 10 to 15 minutes. If the stone darkens, reseal. For many kitchens that is about once a year, sometimes sooner on Taj Mahal.
Warm. Expect cream and beige with gold, taupe and soft grey veining, which pairs well with wood, brass and warm whites.
Polished gives the classic shine and shows the veining most clearly. Honed is a soft matte. Leathered Taj Mahal, a brushed, lightly textured matte, also exists; availability depends on the slabs in stock when you choose.
Taj Mahal is warm, so it sits most easily with warm whites, creams, wood tones and brass. The surest test is to bring a cabinet door or paint sample when you look at slabs and see them side by side.
In kitchens in Naperville and Hinsdale. The Hinsdale kitchen carries the stone up onto the hood.
