Countertops are something that you want to last a lifetime. They are costly to replace. Choosing a durable material in a timeless style will result in a kitchen you’ll love for many years to come.
Quartz Countertops
Deciding what type of material is right for you along with the color and finish is the a key part of your design.
With so many options on the market today, the choice can be overwhelming. In most of the homes we build, and renovations that we do, stone countertops are installed for a long lasting high quality level of finish. Quartz, quartzite, granite, soapstone, and marble are some of our favorite stone materials.
Quartz
Quartz is a man-made stone, and it’s engineered to be heat tolerant, scratch and stain resistant. It’s non-porous so without a sealer you don’t have to worry about it staining. Like any stone material, its edges and corners can chip. As for appearance, slabs usually contain specks of color and some may contain imitation veining, attempting to mimic mother nature, which can look good (or in some cases bad). Choose carefully! Quartz is generally considered more of a contemporary look which is clean and consistent.
Black Quartz Countertop
Quartzite
Quartzite is a natural stone, and comparable to granite in terms of durability, though some experts say it’s generally stronger. Like granite, it must be sealed periodically to protect against stains. Pure quartzite has swirls of white and gray, which can give a marble-look. It’s a low maintenance, reliable, tough, marble-look stone material.
White cabinets with gray quartzite counters, marble back-splash, dark and light gray checkerboard tile floor
Granite
Granite is the natural stone which hit its peak of popularity in the 90s and early 2000s during the brown trend. It is a natural stone, and it needs periodic sealing. It stands up to heat and abrasion, so has a pretty good durability. Appearance in slabs varies; some slabs have movement with veining, while most I’ve seen have specks of color rather than veining – which sometimes can appear busy. It’s found in a variety of colors. When using granite as your countertop, it’s best to go with a simple floor material, solid color back-splash and cabinets to keep your kitchen from looking too busy.
Granite counters with solid subway back-splash and neutral floor
Soapstone
It’s considered the original stone countertop and often found in historic homes, particularly in the northeastern US where it’s mined. Soapstone is extremely heat resistant and non porous – so no need for sealers, and no worries about staining. It can be rubbed with mineral oil or beeswax periodically to give it a luster, or it can be left raw for a more chalky appearance. Compared to the previous stones we’ve talked about, it’s relatively soft (depending on talc content) and can nick or chip giving it a worn/aged patina over time. Scratches can be rubbed with sandpaper, or even just oil or wax, to hide them. Slabs are usually found with cream or black colored veining, and the amount of veining can differ slab to slab, and from quarry to quarry. It’s typically found in black, gray, and dark green shades. Fun fact: because of its non-porous and heat tolerant properties, this type of countertop was probably in your college chem lab.
Soapstone counters in the kitchen of a New Hampshire farmhouse
Marble
Found in old-world kitchens and bakeries, it never goes out of style. It looks great in historic and new homes alike. This is the choice for homeowners wanting a lived-in aged patina – not a perfect new surface. Marble is not for someone who demands perfection, because marble etches (dull spots) rather easily (especially if left unsealed). Choosing a honed or leathered finish, as opposed to polished, helps to hide the inevitable etching that will occur over time. There are new sealers on the market today which help protect against stains, and would need to be applied regularly if you aim to keep the stone in tip top shape. Marble is typically available in black, white, green or gray coloring with either a milky or veined appearance. A classic!
Marble counters in a French bakery
Besides the practicality of your stone material type, another huge decision is color. When building a new home or doing a complete renovation, the color you choose for your countertop will dictate the other colors in the room. Kitchen flooring, back-splash, cabinet and trim colors need to be chosen to coordinate and relate to the colors found in your countertop. When doing a remodel, any permanent colors, such as flooring or existing back-splash tiles, and cabinetry that will stay, will dictate what color to choose for countertops. This is a critical step.
White or light colored cabinets look good with a variety of countertop colors. Gray, black, cream, or white counters look timeless.
Cream cabinets with cream quartzite counters and back-splash, with wood floors
Black soapstone counters with subtle cream veining, cream cabinetry, subway tile back-splash and wood flooring
Granite comes in a variety of colors – not just the stereotypical 1990s brown. Shades of white, cream, black, brown, red, and even blue can be found. There is typically not much veining or movement in granite, but rather specks of color throughout – making it the showpiece fixed-feature in your kitchen. Choose solid color back-splash and minimal contrast flooring with granite counters to avoid having an overly busy feel in your kitchen.
Blue granite on the island – I told you it does exist! This look is really hard to pull off, though it looks great here.
In these two examples below, both kitchens have granite countertops. However, the kitchen on the left also has a busy back-splash. The kitchen on the right has a solid color back-splash, which makes for a more peaceful space.
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- Granite counters with busy back-splash – Too busy!
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- Granite counters with solid color back-splash – Very nice!
Black granite counters around perimeter, solid subway tile back-splash, wood floors
Natural wood cabinets generally look best with light colored countertops for contrast.
Marble counters and back-splash with wood cabinetry and floors
Dark cherry cabinets, white countertop, and subway back-splash. The black and white flooring is the star fixed-feature in this kitchen.
Wood cabinets, light marble counters, white subway back-splash
Notice how dark this kitchen is, even with under-cabinet lighting? Dark countertops with dark wood cabinetry is something we like to avoid.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Choose a countertop material that compliments your way of living. (i.e. If you have a messy husband who loves to cook, and you like a perfectly spotless kitchen, then polished marble counters may not be the choice for you because they will inevitably etch.)
Once a material is chosen, narrow down your final selection by considering countertop color and appearance. Take into account cabinet color, flooring, and back-splash options; don’t just choose a countertop without considering all of these things together in the room. Everything should coordinate.
Granite is generally busy. So choose solid color materials to pair with it, leaving the granite counter as the single fixed-feature item in your kitchen.
Wooden cabinets look best with light colored counters. (Choosing a dark countertop with wood cabinets generally comes across dark and cave-like.)
Light cabinets look good with a wide range of countertop color options (from white-on-white to black-on-white).
