Forget Quartz, View These 7 Stunning Styles of Granite Countertops
Seven Of The Most Beautiful Granite Countertops
In recent years homeowners and interior designers have been turning to quartz countertops in the kitchen. In fact, quartz has even unseated granite as the number one choice among homeowners in a couple of years in the past decade. It makes perfect sense. Quartz is beautiful, durable, impervious to moisture, stain, and scratch-resistant, as well as providing an antibacterial surface for food preparation.
However, granite countertops are unmatched in its aesthetic beauty. It comes in a wide range of colors and naturally occurring variations that make each slab a unique piece of art. Granite colors can be described with many words, but the best one that captures its many color variations is: magnificent!
Whether it's swirled and cloudy, speckled, brilliant, or neutral, granite colors are simply magnificent! The depth, movement, and energy granite brings into your design could never be replicated in any other material, including quartz. That's why it is consistently the number one countertop choice of interior designers, architects, builders, and homeowners.
If you've ever wondered what gives granite its depth, range of color, and patterns, in this post, we're going to delve a little deeper into the minerals that make up granite, along with some particularly stunning granite species to consider for your kitchen remodeling project.
What Is Granite?
Granite is an igneous rock that was formed as magma cooled slowly over millennia within the Earth's crust. This gradual cooling is what made it possible for the crystals that give granite its unique character to grow.
Granite generally contains anywhere from 20 to 60% quartz along with other minerals like feldspar (10-65%), and 5-15% biotite, muscovite, or mica. It can also contain a long list of trace minerals like amphibole, iron oxide, and olivine. These trace minerals are what gives each slab it's unique colors and patterns.
Each region of the world is known for certain species of granite. Beautiful granite species can be found in India, Eastern and Western Europe, Brazil, and North America.
Unique Granite Countertops
The beauty of a natural material like granite is that even if two homeowners choose to use the exact same species for their countertops, each will be completely unique! That's why it's important to see complete slabs when choosing granite for your home.
Here are some of the most beautiful and unique species available.
Agatha Black Granite, Country of Origin: Brazil
Agatha Black granite (sometimes known as Agata granite) is a deep, jet black granite that is accented with white and grey veins, which give it a beautiful sense of movement. It's a popular choice for contemporary kitchen designs as it partners beautifully with light-colored cabinets.
White Supreme Granite, Country of Origin: Northern India
White Supreme granite is exquisite with large areas of striations, swirls, and pooling eddies. It features a snowy white background with grey veins and speckles. It adds a subtle elegance to any kitchen and pairs well with stainless steel appliances.
Del Mare Granite, Country of Origin: Brazil
This is a beautiful green stone that is also known as Delmare Granite, Delmar Granite, and Costa Del Mare Granite. It's a stunning species that is greenish-grey with darker green veins making your granite countertops into a stunning visual element in your kitchen, but is neutral enough to blend well with the other aspects of your kitchen.
Blue Bahia Granite, Country of Origin: Central Brazil
Blue Bahia is legendary for its beauty and is possibly the bluest granite on the market. It is in very high demand. With its dramatic, unusual shade of blue, this stone is a real showstopper and is a beautiful choice to showcase, for example, as the countertop for your island. It features a denim blue background, accented with veins and swirls of gray and white.
Volga Blue Granite, Country of Origin: Zhitomir Region, Ukraine
There are several different Volga Blue quarries in this region of Ukraine, all producing slightly different color variations and veining. Also known as Polar Blue granite, this stone features a navy blue color with specks of lighter blue and grey. From a distance, it almost reads as black. It can appear pearlescent, meaning it can display a broad array of colors depending on how the light hits the surface. Even though it is a darker color, it can go with any color palette you may have planned for your kitchen.
Bordeaux Granite, Country of Origin: Brazil
This family of Brazilian granite features deep red tones, hence the name "Bordeaux." It blends well with other kitchen elements in a warm beige or creamy white. The deep vibrant red color is complemented by veins and swirls of gray and white. This is a particularly energetic species that is the perfect blend of warm deep wine red and rose with contrasting black, white, and gold swirled in.
Virginia Mist Granite, Country of Origin: USA
Virginia Mist is a popular granite that is quarried in Virginia and Canada. It's an attractive mid-priced stone that has a dusty black background with swirls of gray. It is also known as Jet Mist, American Black, and Virginia Black. When it is typically available with a polished or honed finish, however, get it with a leathered finish if you're looking for a matte finish, as in a honed finish this granite is more prone to staining.
Shopping for granite slabs is a fun experience. It's best to view your future countertop in slab form so you can get an accurate idea for the veining pattern and flow of the stone. Look out for hairline cracks and natural pits. While they can add to the natural beauty of the stone, they can sometimes make it more likely to get damaged, especially if your countertop is less than one inch thick. With proper maintenance, and annual sealing your new granite countertops will last for decades. It's easy to clean, and its uniqueness means you can personalize your design with a wide range of colors, patterns, and styles to choose from.
If you'd like to learn more about the benefits of granite countertops and see all of your options, if you live in the greater Boston MetroWest/ Worcester area, give the experts at Stonelink Marble & Granite a call at (508) 393-0720. Let us show you the many exciting benefits and various species of this stunning and popular natural material!