The counter top options available for your kitchen design are a combination of beauty and durability, and have to be because of their purpose. Counter tops need to be strong to hold everything you place on them, but they can be a work of art, too. With kitchen design trends firmly entrenched in minimalism, your counter tops will be getting more attention than ever before. Some of the most popular materials for counter tops include granite, cambria, silestone, marble and stainless steel.
Granite
A counter top made of granite is strong, sturdy, heavy and has an artistically mottled appearance. Its durability makes it a great choice to withstand a lot of heat, nicks, splashes and general wear and tear. But because it’s a stone, it needs to be periodically resealed so stains don’t appear. As long as you’ve got sturdy cabinet boxes as support, granite counter tops are an excellent choice in kitchen design.
Cambria
Made of quartz, Cambria counter tops make a bold, sophisticated statement with the added assurance of strength and durability. They’re harder than natural stone, making it tougher and more durable for everything that goes on inside a kitchen. And because the combination of quartz and pigments is almost limitless, you can truly custom design your counter top.
Silestone
Silestone is another quartz-based countertop, but containing a higher percentage of quartz at 93%. The almost-total quantity of quartz makes Silestone one of the most durable, resilient counter tops available for kitchen design, with its density providing an almost maintenance-free surface.
Marble
Perhaps the most elegant and glamorous counter top, marble features a luminescent underlay with abstract veining running through it. Although it needs regular staining and is a higher-maintenance counter top thanother choices, marble has a tendency to keep cool, making it perfect for setting up a baking station.
Stainless Steel
No longer reserved for industrial kitchens, stainless steel has been a hot material in kitchen designs for its easy-to-clean surface and futuristic appearance. One of the downsides is it can dent easily, but that’s more than made up for with all the pluses it brings. It’s just about indestructible, resists heat and bacteria, and easy to custom-fit to your kitchen’s measurements.