Beautiful Countertops
By: Anna Popov
Beautiful Countertops
By: Anna Popov
The kitchen; the heart of the home. It is often the first place people gather at the start of the day, and the last to be dispersed at night. Families and friends gather there to prepare meals or to chat, creating a hub of socialization and activity. The kitchen is a very important room in any home and deserves all the love and attention during a renovation. As we have been spending a lot of time recently working on beautiful, functional kitchens with clever storage and gorgeous finishes, we thought we would give you all a refresher on the choices available for countertops out there.
As designers, one of the most important decisions we make when selecting materials for a kitchen is choosing the countertops. There are so many different materials, colors, finishes, edge details, pros and cons, that picking one can be confusing. Spending time understanding the usage of a space, the family dynamic, how often you prepare food, do you love to bake, do 2 or more people like to work in the kitchen at a time; these and many other considerations are part of the planning process that we take very seriously around here.
Marble – Timeless Beauty
Marble is a timeless beautiful, high-end natural stone that ages well. No two pieces of marble are alike making it a striking and unique choice. As a natural stone, marble is available in a variety of shades, from grey to brown to even shades of green. It can be a perfect addition to modern, contemporary homes and traditional homes alike, adding a luxurious feel and strong design statement.
Although marble is a long-time favorite, it does have its downsides. It is a softer, porous natural stone that can make it less durable than other options as well as prone to staining if spills are not cleaned up quickly. Fortunately, marble countertops can be sealed to help avoid these issues, but maintenance on a regular basis will be required. However, its beauty is undeniable and sometimes, the staining and markings just become part of its charm.
Granite – Natural Durability
Granite has been a standard in kitchen design for many years due to its durability and ease of use. As a heat resistant, igneous, natural stone that needs little maintenance, its popularity is understandable. Although recent interior design trends have moved away from granite to more dynamic stones like quartzite, this gorgeous deep black, metaurus granite, with exquisite warm white and gold veining could be spearheading a return to favor if you ask me.
Quartzite – Endless Complexity
Quartzite, not to be confused with quartz, is a natural stone becoming ever more popular in countertop applications. It is durable, heat resistant and comes in stunning color variations. Being a natural stone, more variations exist, just like in nature and color and veining can be very different from slab to slab. However, with the right consideration and material choices to complement its inherent beautiful veining, we believe its natural variations and layering are what makes it so luxurious and beautiful.
Soapstone
Soapstone is another countertop option gaining popularity due to its very soft-to-the touch surface and minimal maintenance requirements. In comparison to other natural stones, it has many advantages. Soapstone is entirely non-porous, anti-bacterial and very heat resistant. It comes in shades of grey, with some shades leaning on the blue or green side. Its overall look is very uniform, making it a great option for kitchens requiring a modern but elegant, urban feel.
Due to its softer, powdery touch, soapstone’s appearance can significantly change over time. Choosing soapstone means you are choosing to be ok with your countertop aging, scratching and developing a patina. It is an individual choice that is not for everyone.
Quartz
Quartz is an engineered, man-made material made from a combination of synthetic materials and natural stone. As a result, it is very uniform by design and has perfect color, veining balance and distribution. This is very beneficial when looking for uniformity in a large kitchen or when we want to add more detail to the cabinets, for example, and need the countertops to be less busy. Quartz is stain, scratch and impact resistant, making it a practical and durable selection for a busy kitchen.
It is not as heat resistant as other options though, so this is an important consideration when thinking about how a kitchen is going to be used by its owners. The synthetic resin used to create quartz can offer a plastic, or unnatural effect that is not appealing to many in the luxury, high-end design world. We place a lot of emphasis on choosing a high-quality quartz when the situation arises that it is the right choice for a project. Understanding and guiding the way is all part of our role as a designer.
Researching products to find the right fit for the right application is important to us here at IBP. There are many other options out there to choose from like concrete, butcher block, stainless steel and Corian to name a few. Never mind the different finishes: – polished, honed, leathered – there is the perfect choice for everyone.
Researching products to find the right fit for the right application is important to us here at IBP. There are many other options out there to choose from like concrete, butcher block, stainless steel and Corian to name a few. Never mind the different finishes: – polished, honed, leathered – there is the perfect choice for everyone.
Share the Story