Stone has been a popular choice for countertops for many years. It’s beautiful, it’s durable, and it lasts forever if you take care of it the right way. No matter if your home is a busy one full of noise and activity or a quieter place to be, stone is sure to find a way to blend in with your way of life and take your kitchen or bathroom to the next level.
Stone countertops have a way of updating your space to the current trends while remaining timeless and classic. And while they take a bit more investment up front than cheaper, lower-quality materials, there’s no doubt that you’ll get that investment back tenfold over the years. If you take care of your stone countertop correctly, it’s unlikely you’ll ever need a replacement.
We’re big fans of stone countertops at Marble Granite World, and we have a variety of choices available in our showroom. As for natural stone, we stock granite, quartzite, marble, onyx, and travertine, and we also stock quartz—which is an engineered stone. Each of these stones is unique in its own way and can bring the vision that you have for your home to life.
Soapstone
Soapstone is known for being extremely easy to take care of. It’s highly resistant to liquids and staining, along with chemicals, acids, and heat. That, paired with its simple cleaning routine (all you’ll need is soap and water), makes for a beautiful, hassle-free countertop material that many people are drawn to.
Soapstone is capable of being hard and soft—it’s very versatile. While hard selections are great choices for countertops, tables, and work surfaces, softer selections can be used for something as delicate as sculpting.
Each slab of soapstone is unique—because it’s a natural stone. The colors will vary from light green to steel gray, depending on the quarry where it was sourced.
Granite
Granite is arguably the most well-known natural stone countertop on the market. It’s a type of igneous rock that’s made of orthoclase, albite, feldspar, and quartz, and the quarries where it can be found are shallow and located near the earth’s surface.
There are hundreds of color variations for granite, from red to white and everything in between. Much like soapstone (and the rest of the natural stone selections on this list), every slab is completely unique.
Granite can also hold its own against heat, staining, and chemicals—all the while being just as easy to clean as soapstone.
Marble
Marble is probably what you think of when you think of a fancy natural stone, and that’s because of the luxury it immediately brings to any room. This stone never goes out of style, as it can bring a bright and luminous vibe to the space, and its uniqueness does not go unnoticed.
There are many polishes that you can choose from for your marble stone, including something as fine as a mirror or something more practical and soft like a honed finish. These varying finishes make your unique marble slab one of a kind.
Marble isn’t the toughest stone, but that doesn’t make it breakable. It just needs a bit of extra love and care.
Onyx
Onyx is known for looking a lot like marble, and it stands out from the rest with its beauty and classiness. And, also like marble, it takes a bit of a gentle hand to take care of onyx the right way, but when you invest time in your onyx countertop, it will pay you back by lasting in your home for generations.
Travertine
Travertine is known for being durable and absorbing water. This quality makes it perfect for kitchens and bathrooms, rooms that are known for their water use. The color of travertine also makes it light up a room.
Quartzite
Quartzite has a reputation for being very dense. It’s formed from sandstone and is very hard, which makes it a very durable stone. It’s known as being the most resilient natural stone, as it’s resistant to chemicals, heat, staining, and liquids.
Quartz
Quartz isn’t a natural stone; it’s a man-made product—AKA an engineered stone. If you want consistency, look no further than quartz. There’s much less unpredictability when it comes to quartz, and choosing it over a natural stone can provide a streamlined look for the room that you’re remodeling.
This material is also very resistant and nonporous, meaning that it doesn’t need to be resealed like natural stones do, which is something that many people find favorable.
Stone for Countertops
We love stone countertops at Marble Granite World, and we want to help you pick the one that’s right for your space. To schedule a consultation, give us a call at (336) 992-5214.