When you are refurbishing your kitchen, one of the most important things to consider are your worktops. They need to be practical, because you are, after all, going to use them to prepare foods on, and you’ll put cutlery and china and glassware down on them when you take them out of the dishwasher or sink, and no doubt do the same with pans and pots – although whatever sort of surface you use, you should never put hot pans on them.  

Not only do your kitchen worktops need to be practical, but they can make or break the aesthetics of your kitchen. They actually do take up quite a bit of space, so if you want your kitchen to look great, you need to put some consideration into that aspect of the worktops as well. They are going to stand out.

There is a wide choice of materials for kitchen worktops, including wood, stainless steel, glass, concrete (yes, concrete!), Minerva, laminate, Corian, marble, granite, quartz, limestone, quartzite, and sintered stone, just to name a few. One interior designer carried out a survey of several hundred people who had recently had new worktops fitted and found that the people who chose hardwood were the least pleased with their choice, while those who were happiest were those who went for quartz or granite. So it seems that stone worktops in Stevenage, or wherever else you live, are by far and away the most popular choice.

At Marble & Granite, our speciality is stone worktops. Indeed, we manufacture kitchen worktops out of nothing else. This is because they have so many benefits over other materials that we would only ever have stone worktops in our own kitchens at home.

There are different types of stone worktops, some of which are natural stone and a couple of which are man-made. Man-made stone? Yes, quartz worktops and sintered stone worktops are created by taking natural materials and grinding them down to a powder which is then mixed with other materials and subjected to extreme heat and pressure in order to produce stones with specific characteristics.

Quartz worktops are ideal because they are totally resistant to stains and acids (think lemon juice, vinegar, and so on) and they don’t need sealing as some other stones do. They are also virtually scratch resistant as well, although you shouldn’t really chop or cut foods on them any more than on other stones. Always use a chopping board. Because they are non-porous it also means that they are totally resistant to any bacteria, which is just what you want when you are preparing foods.

This also means that they are very easy to maintain: in fact, they need virtually no maintenance except a wipe over with a damp cloth, or if some grease or cooking oil has been spilled you can add a little washing-up liquid. Quartz worktops are available in a wide choice of colors: they can be self-colored or have pigments added that make them look just like natural stones with veining and swirls in them.

Granite is another very popular choice and is an extremely hard natural stone which comes in a huge choice of colors and patterns. In fact, as a natural stone, every slab of granite is different from the next one, so if you choose granite for your worktops you can be certain that they will be unique.

Granite worktops can be polished to a very high shine similar in some ways to marble, bringing out the veining and patterns. They can also be honed, which gives a contemporary feel with its’ light shimmer. Alternatively, they can be flame brushed providing a rich textured surface.

Marble is also another very popular choice although it is a relatively soft stone. This means that it needs to be sealed in order to prevent staining, and any spills should not be left but wiped up straight away. The surface of marble has a sheen that is not quite like any other stone and the slabs are largely various shades of white. However, marble is also available in some stunning colours with rich veining and patterns.

At Marble & Granite we also offer limestone and quartzite as well as agate and exotic onyx, so we have plenty of choice for your new kitchen worktops. Come over to our showroom in Hatfield and take a look at all the stones we have. You will be spoilt for choice.