Natural stone plays a prominent role in many kitchen remodels. Here are three questions to consider when choosing a stone for your kitchen project.
1. How Will the Stone Perform?
When considering natural stone for a kitchen project the most important question to ask is about the porosity of the natural stone you want to use. It’s important to know how a stone will perform. For instance marble is popular amongst bakers, since it is an ideal surface for rolling out dough. For busy families, often they consider natural stone such as granite or quartzite for its durability and low maintenance.
Be sure to talk to your fabricator about any cleaning, maintenance, and sealing questions you may have about your stone.
2. How Durable is the Stone?
Another important thing to consider is the stone’s durability. The type of natural stone you choose in a kitchen will dictate how you live in the space. We often recommend quartzite because it has many of the features homeowners want –it’s beautiful, but its durability also makes it relatively low maintenance.
Quartzite is durable and easy to clean but also as beautiful as other more porous stones like marble (buy quartzite slab or marble slab).
Some homeowners may think the fact that they use their kitchens and are hard on their countertops mean that they shouldn’t choose natural stone. Our experts recommend not underestimating the durability of real stone. A natural stone offers depth that a synthetic material, no matter how well-made, can never mimic. In addition to the durability of the material, the craftsmanship of the quarrier, fabricator, and installer can shine through the material: You can see the labor of love from someone who toiled over it to somehow make it even more beautiful. That isn’t possible with a synthetic product.
3. How Thick is the Natural Stone Slab & What Type of Finish Is Preferred?
Finally, in addition to the density and strength of the stone you should consider the thickness of the slab. Fabricators can miter the stone to make it look thicker but it should still be a consideration if you want to avoid this additional labor.
People should also think about what type of finish they prefer. Honed or leathered finishes are growing in popularity for light colored stones because they tend to disguise etch marks.
Natural Stone as Art
In the end, many people are drawn to natural stone because it is unique and one of a kind. No slab is like the other which means you will always have a one-of-a-kind kitchen.
Natural stone is like looking at art: you always find something else to look at, another detail that you may have missed when you wiped it down after breakfast. No two pieces are alike. Some stones have explosions of color where you can almost see the violence of the creation, like when the volcano erupted. Yet sometimes that creation is a patient one that happened over millions of years of tectonic pressure.