Your kitchen is probably the most important room in your home. Back in the day, it was just a room in which to do the cooking and the washing up. Today it is the room in which most people not only eat their meals but also entertain their friends and family when they come over for dinner. Most kitchens today also have a TV, so there is no need to resort to the living room after a meal. Just relax and watch Corrie or the news or whatever else takes your fancy.

If you are like the majority of people today, you spend more time in the kitchen than anywhere else other than your bedroom. However, in the bedroom, most of the time you are asleep, so nothing of interest is happening.

In the kitchen, a lot goes on. Furthermore, since you spend so much time in there and invite friends around too, you want it to look “the business”. You want it to look great. This means planning your colour scheme, your cupboards, where you place the cooker, dishwasher, washing machine, and so on. (More and more people today are hiding the appliances behind matching doors, so that you don’t actually see them).

However, there are some things that you will always see, and those need to look smart. We are talking here of kitchen tables, seating, and, of course, the worktops and the floor. Both of the latter two catch the eye because they take up a lot of space and also, they are in a horizontal plane.

Now there are all sorts of materials that you can use for both, but when it comes to the worktops one of the most important things is how they look and how they match in with, or stand out from, your overall colour scheme.

The Most Popular Stone Is Marble

A favourite material for worktops is stone of one sort or another, and probably the most popular is marble. It has an incredible sheen which you simply do not get with other stones, but that is not the beginning and the end of it.

Many people think of marble as pure white, and indeed, some of it is. But it also comes in shades of red, brown, grey, blue, and of course, pure Belgian black marble. Most importantly, as a natural stone, marble includes many other minerals in small quantities which give incredible veining, streaks, and patches that mean that every slab of it is unique. If you use marble worktops in London, you can be assured that family and friends will be amazed at the patterns.

While marble is a relatively soft stone, and you should not chop foods directly on it, nor place hot pans on it (use a chopping board and a trivet), once you have installed it in your kitchen you will never want to move home! It is also naturally a cold stone which is perfect for rolling out pastry and dough because it doesn’t stick.

Your marble worktops can also come in the finish of your choice. Many people choose highly polished for that incredible sheen, but you can also have it honed, sandblasted, or flamed, as you wish. What’s not to like?