Home > Kitchen & Bath > Feature Article: The Stone Age 
Slate makes an attractive sink and backsplash and comes in a wide variety of colors.
Kitchen designers love the look of stone mixes because they can be colored to match the rest of the home’s decor.
Kitchen designers love the look of stone mixes because they can be colored to match the rest of the home’s decor. Photo courtesy of CaesarStone at caesarstone.com.
Highly polished quartz countertops offer a nonporous work surface that is resistant to stains, scratches and heat. Photo courtesy of HanStone at hanstone.com.
DuPont’s New Venetian Gold granite countertop offers a rock-solid work surface with the natural beauty of real stone.
Photo courtesy of Granite Certified by DuPont™ at dupont.com.Geology plays a larger role in modern kitchens than one might
think. Stone, a simple, durable and naturally gorgeous material,
is the countertop medium of choice for kitchen designers and
homeowners alike. The allure? Designers love the power and
presence of natural stone. Homeowners, especially those who
love to cook, choose granite, marble, soapstone and quartz-based
materials because these stones give countertops the good looks
and toughness needed to stand and deliver in a busy kitchen.
If a countertop can’t stand the heat, it’s no candidate for
the kitchen. But it takes more than keeping cool to make it in
today’s upscale kitchen. You want a countertop that resists stains
and scratches, is durable and is easy to clean. Above all the
countertop has to have style in its role as one of the focal points
of the room. Here’s what you need to know about choosing a
countertop in the age of stone:
FOR
BEAUTY
CONSIDER YOUR COOKING STYLE. If you’re hard on a kitchen countertop, you want an equally hard surface like granite that can take what you dish out. Granite is as tough as they come, providing durability and resistance to acid-based foods and heat. Marble may appear tough as nails, but many consider it a soft stone too delicate for a serious kitchen. The up-andcoming engineered stone—93 percent natural stone and 7 percent polymer—can be even tougher than granite.
REMEMBER THE MAINTENANCE. Stone countertops are porous to varying degrees, with granite providing the least porous surface of the bunch. To maintain the finish and reduce staining from wine, oils and acidic foods, apply a stone sealer or wax once or twice a year—more often for more porous materials, including marble, soapstone and limestone. It’s time to reseal when liquids soak into the countertop rather than bead on top.
LOVE THE LOOK OF IT. When choosing a countertop color for high-tech and contemporary kitchens, consider black, white or gray stone. Earth tones best complement traditional and country kitchens. Engineered stone countertops, with their rainbow of shades, can bring a fun, daring splash of color to a contemporary kitchen.
THE HIGH PRICE OF NATURAL BEAUTY. Stone countertops cost more than their laminate counterparts. Granite, typically the most expensive option, can easily run $100 a square foot, depending on the origin of the stone. The good news is that as granite is becoming more popular, its price is coming down. Remember to factor in shipping costs. That exotic Italian granite you fell in love with is already pricey. Add the cost of freight and it could put you over budget.
UNEARTH THE OPTIONS. Engineered stone is gaining ground. Marketed under the names Zodiaq, Silestone, CaesarStone, Technistone, Portofino and HanStone, quartzbased engineered stone may not have the chaste beauty of pure natural stone but offers a slate of benefits that makes it a compelling choice for the kitchen. It’s not porous, it’s scratch- and heat-resistant and is very easy to maintain. Best of all, no annual sealing is required. Engineered stone can be as expensive as top-notch granite and offers the highest level of durability in return. The wide palette of available colors has made engineered stone a fast climber in the contemporary kitchen.
AVOID BEING PENNY-WISE AND POUND-FOOLISH. No matter what material you choose, the cost of manufacturing a countertop remains the same, so choose the stone you want to live with for the long term. If you’re spending several thousand dollars, what’s a few hundred dollars more when it comes to the lifetime of your kitchen? Your countertop will be with you for as long as you own the home.
Never before have you had as many exciting options for styling your kitchen. The sheer number of materials and colors frees you to express yourself in fresh new ways.
- Contrast color. Too much of a good thing
can overwhelm a space, so think in terms of
contrast and balance. Contrast light granite
with darker cabinets and vice versa rather
than trying to match color and intensity. Avoid
trying to exactly synch the color of the walls to
the countertop. Instead pluck one of the subtle
flecks in the granite or engineered stone and
work off that. You can expand that theme and
pick out various colors from the granite for
different walls.
- Complementary color. Or maybe you’d prefer
a bolder approach. Try celebrating differences
in color—within reason, of course. Pick a color
element in a stone countertop and use its
opposite from the 12-part color wheel to paint
the walls.
- Textural differences. Textures and materials can be used to create harmony and balance too. A soft butcher-block slab on a kitchen island can offset the hard feel of granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
