Kitchen Remodel - Why I Chose Quartz Counters

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These counters are absolutely gorgeous! There were so many to choose from. I had a hard time picking one.

When you are choosing counters for your kitchen there are a few things to consider.

1. Did you want them to contrast the color of the cabinets?

2. Did you want the counters to be the star of the show?

3. The maintenance of the counters should also be considered.

4. Can they withstand heat and cold?

In the past, I've had laminate counters and granite counters. Both of these counters were great! Laminate is very low budget and great to use, they have them in all sorts of patterns and styles that look beautiful. In fact, I have laminate counters in my laundry room.

I really like laminate counters. They are durable and cheap and easy to maintain, but they won't withstand any heat and they can chip and get marked up.

For our kitchen remodel, I wanted something durable and beautiful!

So, let me answer the questions I proposed earlier.....

Did I want the counters to contrast my cabinets? No, we had that at our Stonybrook house. They were white cabinets with charcoal granite counters. It was beautiful, but I didn't want the same.

I also didn't want them to be the star of the show. I just wanted it to all blend and be cohesive.

Now, let's talk maintenance. If granite is sealed well, there is basically zero maintenance. You can pretty much do anything to them and they will look beautiful. (At least that was my experience with granite.) Granite just looks so 'granite'. I didn't see anything in granite that would fit this remodel.

I love the look of marble. Yet, marble comes with it's own set of issues. It can stain easily and needs babying. I have cultured marble in our bathrooms and I already have some water stains and have to seal and clean it quite a bit.

Which brings me to quartz. Quartz is not a stone, it is engineered. Quartzite is actual stone. There weren't any options that would work for our kitchen.

Quartz has the look of marble without the constant worry of staining and maintenance. There really isn't any maintenance. Just keep it clean with soap and water. It isn't recommended to use any chemicals on it. You also need to be careful with extreme hot and cold. I can handle that.

There were almost 20 different quartz slabs to choose from. Here were my top three choices.

The first one, Fantasy, was a bit more of a creamy white with beautiful veining. The Calcutta Miraggio had minimal veining. Then the Calcutta Tuscany had much more dominant veining.

It was so hard to choose, but we felt the Calcutta Miraggio was more calming and wouldn't demand attention.

I was hoping we made the right decision. We paid, signed the papers, and set the date. JPS Marble & Granite was great to work with. They came out and laser measured everything. They work fast... our counters would be installed the following week. Yay!!

There was only one seam and it was at the center of the sink. It's barely noticeable. They did a great job matching the epoxy and making sure it was perfectly level. Look at that beautiful veining!!

The installers gave us the greatest compliment. They told me that the contractor that installed your cabinets did a great job leveling them. What!? 😍 I told them that my husband and I installed the cabinets. They were surprised! They said we did a really good job! That made us feel sooo awesome!

We also had them install the sink. We are sooo glad that we did. They drilled the holes for the faucet and soap dispenser.

So, let's just take a look at these beautiful counters!!

We purchase a single bowl Kraus sink with a right side drain. I love this sink! It has the grate at the bottom and a foldable dish drain. Hubby wasn't too sure about having a single sink, we've always had a double bowl sink. To see if we liked a single bowl sink, we installed one for the laundry room. I knew right away, I loved it! It was a must have for our kitchen.

Our faucet and dish soap dispenser were purchased on Amazon and have been super happy with both of them.

JPS Marble & Granite recommended adding supports if an island overhang was over 12 inches. Because hubby is super tall, we went with a 15" overhang. The installers didn't think we needed to add supports, but we felt better adding the corbels. I have a third one that will go in the middle. We will be painting them white to blend in with the island.

We love our barstools! They are the perfect height and they swivel. We purchased them on Wayfair.