All bloggers love a bit of Marble, right? There’s something elegant, clean and timeless about a marble background and I know that when I get round to designing my own kitchen, I will definitely have many marble surfaces. Until then – I am stuck with using some pretty vinyl on some foam board as a photography background!
I am in the process still of helping my Ma choose a kitchen (It’s a slow process finding the right people to do it!) and I’ve been looking up different marble worktops for her. Imagine – a real marble background I can use, no foam board required!
When we were doing some kitchen shopping, I learned that luxury surfaces (such as worktops) can be made of marble, quartz and granite too, with quartz being usually being 90% natural mineral, and 10% polymers and pigments (which is why if you’ve ever seen it, it has a gorgeous shimmery quality). Marble and Granite is 100% natural. I spent some time looking at The Marble Store to look at the different types available and to get design ideas!
Whilst these luxury worktops are pricer than mass produced ones, they don’t just look gorgeous, they are durable and long wearing too.
To summarise:
Granite – a hard natural material, which is heat, stain and scratch resistant. Obviously will any of these luxury worktops, you want to use your common sense and use chopping boards and put your hot pans on a protective material!
Marble – this is a natural, soft and porous material which can stain and is not recommended as a worktop (but can be used in other areas such as the bathroom or floors).
Quartz – is an abundant mineral which is mixed with other properties to make a strong, scratch free worktop. It doesn’t need resealing whereas granite does, yearly to prevent stains.
Other things to consider are the look you want (granite may be a natural material but there are many different hues to choose from, see above!) and also the thickness – the thicker the piece used, the more expensive it will be. However, a piece that is too thin can be fragile, so it’s a mixture of budget, look and durability. Thicknesses vary depending on the piece you choose, but can be from around 12mm – 50mm.
After looking at many Pinterest kitchens, I decided my favourite was the Carrara marble worktop which is elegant and gives a light airy feel to a room (I think would work in both kitchens and bathrooms too!).
Pieces are cut to size and you will have a consultation with a company to make sure everything will fit before hand (obviously once a piece is cut that is permanent, so everything has to fit well!). Make sure you go for a company that offers free consultations and quotes!
So that’s my little piece of luxury worktops and flooring. I feel extra inspired now to get on with designing my kitchen and my mums!
Do you like marble or luxury worktops? Do you have any fancy interiors you can tell us about in the comments?!
*Sp post
