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Today we are given many choices for kitchen or bath countertops. The first item to consider is how exposed will this top be to chemicals which can damage its finish? If we are selecting for a lovely piece of furniture which will be in the foyer, for instance, then a delicate marble with beautiful coloration is fine. It will last for a hundred years as some antiques have.
But now we are focusing on kitchens and baths.
Baths are exposed to perfumes, nail polish removers, and harsh chemicals for cleaning purposes. all of these will dull a shiny finish and possibly stain the same. Our recommendation here is man made quartz.
Natural quartz is still susceptible but the man made variety is indestructible. Or relatively so compared to anything else. Today there are many companies with incredible finishes which rival the beauty of natural stone. One can select a marble look such as Carrara and yet never fear damage in this environment. Some of the more exciting brands are Cambria, Ceaserstone, Silestone.
Don't consider Corian or some such synthetics as they craze and stain and yet are in the same price points. They are also very artificial looking and offer no esthetic value.
Kitchens are next. Here we can look at the same quartz but also open to us are granites, onyx, marbles, and schist. To name a few. Natural food products are much kinder to stone tops than the chemicals of a bath. Be careful with cleaning products. Best to use natural cleaners which preserve the shine of the stone and do not leave a toxic residue for food . Therefore in this room choices are ample. Again decide the level of use. In my grandmother's home in Italy it was marble and wonderful to roll out pasta dough and the like. Spain had most of their condos with carrara when I visited a few years ago. sometimes the shine diminishes but much like new silver that gets a patina. It is quite attractive. Less artificial looking. Indian and Brazilian granites are the most exotic. The importer of slabs can guide you with pricing as well as density of the material
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