Countertops are a staple element in our home kitchens. Their mere existence brings organization, style, and decoration to our living spaces. Perhaps that’s why choosing the right countertop for your kitchen can be a daunting task at first. You need to consider the best material in terms of durability, color, style, and cost to meet your requirements. You might want to consider marble for its beauty, whereas quartz might be a more durable option. Granite is another very solid option to bring the beauty of natural stone to your kitchens. In the right tone, quartzite countertops can be astonishing and brighten the mood of your living spaces. As you can see there are different materials to choose from when it comes to kitchen countertops. To ease this process, we gathered all the important details you need to know before buying your kitchen countertops in our guide below.
Different Types of Kitchen Countertops – Material
For this guide, we will be examining four popular and high-quality materials for kitchen countertops. They are marble, granite, quartzite, and quartz.
Granite Countertops
Granite is considered one of the best natural stone countertops. This stone’s audacity and strength make it a great material for longevity. In terms of color and design, granite can be limited but rather multicolored. This allows it to create wonderful color palettes for your kitchens while enlightening the mood of your living spaces.
Pros of Granite Countertops
- Super hard and durable,
- Excellent heat and scratch resistance properties,
- Natural veining and color tones that create wonderful designs,
- Very easy to clean and maintain,
Cons of Granite Countertops
- The price range is high just like quartz as the material is considered luxurious,
- Requires periodic resealing for maintenance,
- Rare versions such as purple granite and red granite can be hard to supply,
Marble Countertops
As ancient as the Roman structures and world wonders, marble has an astonishing beauty that remarkably boosts the presence of our kitchens. Marble’s natural veining and color specks will leave anyone visiting your kitchen in awe. The color variations can be extensive depending on the supplier and designs with marble never cease to amaze.
Pros of Marble Countertops
- Luxurious and astonishing in design,
- Natural veining and color variations of the stone,
- An elegant and serene atmosphere for your living quarters,
Cons of Marble Countertops
- Naturally porous structure makes marble prone to staining,
- Soft structure that can be vulnerable to dents and scratches,
- Requires periodic resealing for maintenance,
- High price range especially for rare variations such as purple marble and red marble,
Quartzite Countertops
This naturally beautiful stone is generally confused with quartz due to the similarity of their names. Quartzite has a smooth and polished surface that is rather similar to marble. However, the durability of quartzite is more comparable to granite or quartz. This mineral is an excellent choice for any household that seeks bright color themes and elegance for their kitchens.
Pros of Quartzite Countertops
- Aesthetically pleasing structure and shining,
- Very high durability and hardness,
- Easy to clean and maintain,
- Resistant to UV rays, thus, a perfect choice for outdoor kitchens,
Cons of Quartzite Countertops
- Design and color options are rather limited,
- Can be prone to scratches by hard objects,
- Required periodic resealing for maintenance,
Quartz Countertops
Quartz is one of the most popular material choices when it comes to kitchen countertops. They have a very good reputation for being a high-end, elegant, and durable choice for our kitchens. Quartz is an engineered stone with the beautiful look of natural stones accompanied by a very high amount of durability. The material itself is roughly composed of 90-95% natural stone and 5-10% of polymeric or cement-based binder. The stone was developed nearly 50 years ago, and its technology has ever since been developed, allowing new compositions, including a variety of materials such as resin, glass, metal, and many more, for a distinctive look.
Pros of Quartz Countertops
- Very solid in terms of durability and hardness,
- Elegant and beautiful,
- Very easy to clean and maintain,
- Zero requirements for sealing maintenance,
- Antibacterial and anti-stain capabilities due to its virtually non-porous structure,
Cons of Quartz Countertops
- High-end material with a somewhat high price range,
- Not very resistant to heat,
Seeing Countertops in Slabs are a Great Way to Get a Feeling – Sample Size
Examining your desired countertops in close range or even touching them beforehand is a great way to get an overall feeling for your new kitchen. We always recommend checking out whatever material you are interested in showrooms, where large slab examples are present. This way you can get to see the whole picture of a natural veining present in granite or marble countertops. In that same manner, observing quartzite’s shine or quartz’s sturdiness in close range will give you a better understanding of what you would like to have the most in your new dream kitchen.
As Bergen Cabinets and Countertops, we have a 20.000 sq. ft. indoor slab yard where many of our exotic and natural kitchen countertop material options are present in large slabs. You can simply give us a call to arrange a free appointment. This way one of our expert designers can help you flesh out the design of your new kitchen countertops.
Longevity is Essential for Family Kitchens – Durability
When deciding what to buy we might often neglect, how long that the product is going to last. Take marble countertops, for example, if you are a picky person about staining or discoloration then this material might not be your cherry-pick. Marble is certainly beautiful but it also comes with the burden of taking good care of it. On the other hand, there are man-made engineered stones such as quartz that can last a long time with their top-notch durability.
We overall suggest that you choose your kitchen countertop material depending on your habits and needs. We just mentioned quartz being durable for instance, however, they are not that heat resistant. If you are a person that likes to place their hot pan directly on the countertop then quartz might be a problem for you. Granite on the other hand doesn’t have any problems with heat and can withstand tremendous amounts of it. For that reason, granite countertops can be a sturdy and handsome option if you are going for a balance between marble and quartz. As mentioned above, all the different material types of kitchen countertops have their pros and cons. We recommend that you get your new kitchen countertops in alignment with your residential needs.
Decorate Your Home with Kitchen Countertops – Design
One of the most important aspects of buying new kitchen countertops is paying attention to their decoration. The design and color palette of our new countertops is very essential as they will determine the overall tone of our kitchens. There are many color options when it comes to this but we have some suggestions to make.
White is undeniably the dominant color scheme when it comes to kitchens and countertops are no different. White kitchen countertops are presently available in any type of material and can fit pretty much any kitchen design. Another trending and popular color for kitchen countertops are gray. Gray kitchen countertops come in different shades such as light grey and dark grey. You can combine blue kitchen cabinets with light gray countertops for fresh scenery. Black kitchen cabinets go majestically beautiful with dark gray countertops as well. The choice is dependant on your taste, however, make sure you take your time when deciding on the color as it’s a pretty important aspect of kitchen countertops.
Beautiful Doesn’t Always Mean Expensive – Cost
Just because you want beautiful kitchen countertops you don’t need to pay a fortune for your kitchen. Every kitchen countertop has low and high price ranges in its distinctive material selections. While certain price ranges such as the one for quartz are generally more expensive than granite and marble, high-end versions of these stones can be as or even more expensive than their counterpart. Overall you will be looking at a price ranging between $60 to $140 per square foot. Thus, you can determine your budget and have help from a designer to ease the process of selecting your kitchen countertops. Hopefully, your kitchen will be majestic and beautiful as it is in your dreams!
This is the end of our blog post for “5 Things to Know Before Buying Your Kitchen Countertops”. If you are interested in following out popular trends for kitchen designs and new kitchen products in 2021 make sure to check out our other blog posts and pages such as “What is the Effect of Oven Cleaner on Kitchen Countertops?” and “Omega Cabinets”.
We’re sure you’ll find more attractive ideas for styling purposes and select out the most suitable products for renovating your kitchen with our future blog posts as well. Until next time, be safe and in good vibes!