MARBLE COUNTERS

Marble counters in a kitchen is a personal favourite. Many people have concerns about durability, but I love the look of marble. I'm working on a kitchen now where we'll use some marble counters and I've been looking at slabs. Ideally I'm looking for something like the kitchen above with lots of bright white and dark grey veining. There are many types of marble that have very different looks, and even within each type of marble every slab can look very different. Here are a couple I've seen, but of course I'm after the Statuario look! Carrara:

Calacatta:

Statuario:

Photo of kitchen above: Pinterest (original source unknown)

BEFORE & AFTER: KITCHEN ISLAND

When I was renovating my 1844 house, the main floor under went a huge transformation. I really wanted to open up the main floor, there were many small rooms and doors throughout the space. There are great views at the back of the house, so I wanted more windows and doors to access the back area. I was also trying to contain all the plumbing in the original foundation of the house, which meant the kitchen sink had to go within a certain perimeter. The results took a long time to evolve to where it is now. Here are some before shots from the very beginning, looking back to the window at the back is around where the double doors are now. The original kitchen was small and narrow and was the yellow room at the back.

When the walls started to come down and the renovation was underway!

Now the posts are in, as you can see here.

Then the double doors are put in at the back of the house.

Now the doors are painted black.

Getting close, the cabinets, counter and faucet is in.

And here is how it looks today! So happy with how it looks now, and hard to believe where I started!

DURABLE, WHITE COUNTER: QUARTZITE, WHITE MACAUBAS

In recent years there has been a definite trend towards white counters in kitchens. When I was looking for something in my own house I went on a mission to carefully look all my options. Initially I was thinking I would go with marble. I preferred the look of natural stone (to any other materials), but I was very worried about marble due to the possibility of staining.  I loved the look but was concerned about the function. I found a natural stone called Quartzite, and a colour called White Macaubas, it also comes in a colour called Super White. After looking at numerous options I decided to go with White Macaubas, as I was told it had the look of marble but the durability of granite. Here it is in my kitchen – I went with a 2 cm thick slab with a square edge profile. I prefer a thinner counter and have to say I love how this turned out. The stone is durable, attractive and has the look of marble without the worry. Many people assume this counter is marble and they're surprised when I tell them it isn't. The price of the quartzite was more expensive than carrara marble but I think it was well worth it, if you want that look without the worry.

I've noticed some companies will call quartzite a granite, but it isn't – quartzite is a different type of natural stone. And not to be confused with quartz, which is the name of an engineered counter top. It can get confusing with all the options out there, but I couldn't say enough good things about quartzite!

Here is another shot in my kitchen:

A slab of carrara marble I was considering:

 The super white option:

The slab of white macaubas that I choose for my own kitchen:

Affordable & stylish counter

A few years ago I was looking for an inexpensive counter top option for a rental property. I wanted it to look great, but the cost was my number one concern. I found this Formica counter, called Travertine Silver, and I was really impressed with how it turned out. It was fairly durable and was a material I wouldn't need to worry about damage with renters. Here it is from the Formica website:

And here is the counter in my rental property, I went with a square edge profile and paired it with dark grey cabinets: