Of all the design debates while renovating a home, the &#;natural versus engineered stone&#; one can really paralyze you. You know the debate &#; natural stone can be gorgeous (and expensive), but it can stain, show wear and tear, and many people can&#;t stand the aged look (including my brother and SIL). Engineered stone (Quartz) is highly durable and easy to clean but has less &#;real&#; looking movement to it. It can be more affordable, comes in jumbo sizes (for large islands), and you can get multiple slabs easily.
ROMA contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.
My philosophy (which is loose because there are exceptions to EVERYTHING) is that I prefer natural stone slabs in more traditional or vintage style homes (cottages, cape cod, bungalows, farmhouses, colonials, Tudors, etc). I also think that real stone is best in homes that were built before if you are remodeling an older home (pre-mid-century) My rationale is that quartz didn&#;t exist then so it stays more integral to the house. The real stone patina works with the age of the house, especially if you are trying to add charm. But if you have a midcentury, contemporary, or otherwise clean-lined and modern style home then IMHO you can do either real stone OR the right simple Quartz. Goodness, that sounds nuanced, but I feel really solid about this philosophy and have for years. I have had both in different homes and love them for different reasons. I love our leathered LA kitchen, in a 100-year-old English Tudor and I LOVE our white engineered stone in the kitchen at the mountain house (and so did Ken and Katie &#; it&#;s just SO easy to clean, feels fresh, nothing stains, etc.)
So early on, since this is a contemporary style home built in , clearly new construction, we could do either. Due to Katie and Ken&#;s hesitation about natural stone, we all decided that engineered stone was the way to go for their family. Also, they were coming from a traditional home with a huge polished piece of white carerra on their island that got etched and stained very badly so they were reacting to that and did NOT want to repeat these stains. It drove them nuts and I wanted to reduce that pain point for them. Quartz it is!! But of course there is a twist in this story&#;
Two years ago I reached out to Caesarstone to partner on their countertops &#; mostly because I was super attracted to their concrete slabs which look SO GOOD and the movement looks really real. Max had used it before and loved it so we very early on &#;checked that box&#; (LOLOLOL b/c the box became unchecked).
At first, we chose based on these smaller samples. We are all attracted to the simpler designs with some movement, but not a lot of faux veining (sometimes that really works but not in this house IMHO). Before fully making the decision, I wanted to be triple sure about these, so we then went to EleMar (Tualatin) to see the slabs in person.
The concrete look still cleans up great and isn&#;t porous at all, just looks like concrete. We loved this one and the Black Tempal (below). Remember that they would both be horizontal (you won&#;t be looking at it like this).
We loved them both. They definitely lean contemporary and a little industrial, but the texture is organic, loose, and large in scale in a good way.
We hadn&#;t fully decided where they were going (a big debate over if you put the darker stone on the perimeter of the cabinets and the lighter stone as the island, or the other way around).
Then as the design of the house evolved I felt nervous about the kitchen. Like couldn&#;t sleep nervous. You see, we chose a simple white backsplash tile for the kitchen (it&#;s very pretty but being so neutral it wasn&#;t going to make a statement). I realized that this kitchen (while meant to be minimal) needed color. Katie is a bit scared of color and when we designed this house (like 3 years ago) the design world was far more neutral than it is now. So our super neutral and warm minimal house was feeling now like there wasn&#;t enough going on. Was it going to look just like the mountain house kitchen??? I still LOVE that kitchen and it was the original inspiration for this house, but we are in Portland where it&#;s so gray outside. We needed color! You can&#;t have a house like this then have an overly simple kitchen!
So we had two options: 1. change the backsplash tile, or 2. change the countertop stone in the kitchen. Again, the stone order hadn&#;t been placed yet but we had selected six different slabs from Caesarstone that we loved a lot for the entire house. At this point, we thought that the tile couldn&#;t be changed or it would hold us up due to lead times (LOL again, still not installed so we could have changed the tile) so I begged my brother and SIL to go shopping with me to find a dope natural stone.
They were hesitant to do natural stone, but I convinced them that their house, which they are obviously investing heavily in, can&#;t have a kitchen without color or a bold design choice. White tile on gray or black stone with white oak wood cabinets just was too neutral. I promised them that we wouldn&#;t go for a carerra or something light and we wouldn&#;t go for polished (which is easier to etch). Off to shop!
We went to two stone yards &#; Bedrosian and EleMar in Tualatin (both non-spon, but local businesses that are great). If you are looking to see Caesarstone slabs in person head to EleMar &#; they have a great selection so you can choose based on the slab and not a sample.
We went on two different trips and Max and I liked some of the same ones but disagreed on others. So finding three VERY large slabs that we all loved plus would work in the design proved challenging. It just meant a lot to all of us that we completely love whatever we chose.
TADA!!!! Three emerald Quartzite slabs. My heart tripped with delight. The wood against them would be soooo incredible. It felt so Oregon to me, so &#;River House&#;, so &#;foresty&#;. Think wood cabinets as the trunk then the green slab as the tree branches. It would integrate so well into the overall look and feel of the house and the exterior (which is all trees and a river view). I texted the photos to Max and thank god he was enthusiastic, too. We all agreed that while this was our stone. I slept GREAT that night.
They came polished, so we asked our stone guys what would be the best, most durable way to have these slabs and they said to leather them (which is essentially sandblasting them, adding texture, and making them very matte). Then they would need to be sealed. They assured us that they wouldn&#;t etch or stain. GREAT.
Here is the slab installed (above), but not sealed yet (which is a whole other saga with a huge hiccup that I&#;m waiting to tell you about once we have a solution). This photo (below) has the seal on it so it became darker which we still LOVE.
I&#;m so so so glad we chose this stone, it added the punch that we needed but in a super non-risky design way (green isn&#;t a risk to me, but might be to others). It&#;s not busy, just dark and organic (I even think the veining feels like the current of a river). We chose Caesarstone in the mudroom, bathrooms (some of our vanities came with countertops), the laundry room, and even a slab on the fireplace. The kitchen was the only place where we chose real stone as you can see. If you are in the market for engineered Quartz here is what we chose and really love from Caesarstone: Airy Concrete, Organic White, Fresh concrete, Blizzard, and Black Tempal which I&#;ll show you all soooooon.
The house is almost done, y&#;all. There are some hiccups that I&#;ll of course share, but we are in the process of figuring out how to solve them first and the even more fun part is figuring out who pays for these hiccups. More to come, soon. But we are SO HAPPY with all the stone thus far and can now see so many of the rooms really coming to life. xx
*Pretty Photos (unless otherwise noted) by Kaitlin Green
0
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Natural Quartz Countertops. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
0
votes
When they first appeared on the market, quartz countertops rocked the industry, immediately becoming a popular choice for homeowners. However, not everyone was impressed with first-generation engineered stone countertops. This new product delivered on its promise of durability and ease of maintenance, but in its early days, quartz was available in limited design choices &#; especially when t came to natural stone looks.
Today, however, things have changed! Modern quartz slabs are now available that authentically mimic natural stone, and have become the hottest thing on the market. Homeowners are choosing faux marble, granite, soapstone, slate, and other lookalikes over real stone. Here are a few reasons why you should consider making this choice as well.
While it&#;s true that part of natural stone&#;s popularity, especially when it comes to marble and granite with dramatic veining and contrast, is that every slab is unique. That&#;s why many homeowners that choose natural stone must travel to the slab yard and pick out the exact stone slab that will be fabricated to their specifications and installed in their kitchen or bath. However, with this uniqueness comes risk. Along with one-of-a-kind veining and coloration come potential problems such as defects, fissures, uneven coloration, and unbalanced patterning. It can be difficult to match up two slabs side by side so that the result is pleasing.
With a quartz countertop, you know exactly what you will be getting without seeing the exact slab in advance. It will be consistent in pattern and color, with no defects or irregularities, and matching slabs together to create long countertops, corners, or backsplashes is a breeze. Yet most homeowners agree that there is enough variation within a slab so that the look is entirely realistic.
Because it is an engineered surface, quartz slabs can be manufactured to replicate just about any type of natural stone, in all shades and patterns from subtle to dramatic and bold. But why stop there? Quartz countertop colors include exotic shades that are hard to find in nature, such as blue or green. You could also choose a granite look with extra sparkle and depth beyond what a natural stone slab can deliver. Or, install a quartz countertop that is pure white or black with the look and feel of stone.
One of the reasons homeowners shy away from natural stone is their susceptibility to etching from acidic liquids &#; especially marble. If you spill lemon juice, vinegar, or other acidic foods and beverages, they can react with the stone itself and ruin the polish, causing damage that can only be removed by professional stone restoration. Quartz counters, on the other hand, are premium surfaces that do not react to acids, so you can have the look of fine marble in your kitchen with far less worry.
Not only is natural stone susceptible to etching, but it is also vulnerable to stains, especially from foods such as tomato sauce and red wine. Applying sealer regularly can help prevent this, but still, you&#;ll need to be careful about protecting your countertops. With a quartz countertop, you can put your worries behind you and actually enjoy cooking in your kitchen, and eating or serving party guests on your beautiful natural stone-look center island. Stain resistance is also an exceptional reason for choosing quartz vs. granite or other natural stone countertops for the bathroom.
Most families need a kitchen countertop that can stand up to decades of use by messy cooks, kids&#; projects, and the other activities that often take place in one of the home&#;s most important rooms. Natural stone countertops are beautiful, but they can be finicky and prone to damage from scratching, chipping, or even gauges from dropping a heavy object onto the surface. Quartz countertops can stand up to this type of treatment better than natural stone. It&#;s not indestructible, but it&#;s one of the most durable, tough surfaces you can install in the home.
One of the reasons that quartz is so durable and resistant to damage from acidic liquids or stains is that it is completely nonporous. Further, it will never need an application of sealer to maintain this quality. Natural stone absorbs liquids easily, whether it&#;s ordinary water or your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce. It will need sealer applied regularly to have a liquid-resistant surface &#; at least once a year, possibly more often depending on its color and the type of stone.
Nobody wants to spend a lot of time maintaining their countertops &#; you have better things to do. Natural stone counters require careful protection, specialized cleansers, and regular sealing. With a quartz countertop, all you need to do is wipe it down with a mild soap, such as dishwashing liquid, then you&#;re done!
Most natural stone countertops have a limited warranty that protects the homeowner against manufacturer&#;s defects within the first year or so. Quartz countertops, on the other hand, are often sold with a long-term or even lifetime warranty against manufacturer&#;s defects that can cause the product to fail. Under normal conditions, with a reasonable amount of care, a quartz counter should last for decades without any need for repair.
Today&#;s homeowners need and deserve a countertop in their kitchens and bathrooms that is not only beautiful but can also stand up to anything that real life dishes out. Quartz countertops consistently deliver on this promise, and for that reason, it&#;s one of the hottest products on the market for home interiors. Consider these features, and decide if a quartz counter is right for your home, too.
How To Choose The Best Modern Quartz Countertop For Your Home
Quartz Countertop Concrete Look-Alikes That Mimic the Real Thing!
Reasons to Love Quartz Countertops
5 Things You'll Never Worry About with Quartz Countertops
For more Premium Natural Quartzinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.