Home

Today's countertop options include several materials as well as thousands of styles and colors.

Selecting a countertop style means selecting something that fits the room, said Jerry Coleman, owner of Stone River Marble & Granite.

"Typically, you start with your cabinetry and overall color theme of the house or kitchen," he said. "You want to get something that compliments that family but is also an artistic contrast to it."

Next, Coleman said, the customer needs to choose a base color that compliments the decor. From there, the customer needs to decide about "movement" of the material, which is another element affecting the overall look of the countertop.

Newell Ficker, owner of Steamboat Granite & Marble, said it's best to find a way to illustrate how the color will look in the room. Some companies offer sample "chips" to take home, and among those are companies that can supply larger chips.

Slab granite, Ficker said, often comes in tile samples. But exotic granite, he said, may not come with a sample. The best way to handle that, he said, is to ask for an e-mailed or hand-delivered photograph.

However, Ficker said, no two slabs are alike, and a lot of people want to hand pick their selection.

Coleman agreed.

"There are hundreds, thousands of slabs you can choose from," he said. "It's an interesting process to go through and pick out our own stone."

Customers also have to consider their budget limitations when selecting countertops.

People who have a tighter budget may want to select laminated plastic, which comes in thousands of colors, Ficker said. Laminated plastic can even be made to look like granite, he said.

In the next price range is tile that looks like slab granite, but is a fraction of the cost to install, Ficker said. Butcher-block style countertops also are moderately priced.

More expensive options are synthetics as well as stone slabs.

Granite slabs are a popular choice among customers, Coleman said. And for good reason, he said.

"Granite is art out of the ground," he said. "Rarely are two pieces the same."

Coleman said that granite can be less expensive than other solid surfaces.

Harris Newman, owner and president of Creative Countertops, sells a variety of solid surface brands.

Newman said that solid surface countertops are resistant to bacteria, mold, mildew and heat. Also, scratches can be taken out, he said.

Coleman said that granite has the same anti-bacterial aspect of other surfaces as long as it is sealed and cleaned well before installation.

Solid surfaces also allow for more creativity because the different colors can be welded seamlessly together, Newman said.

Newman sells quartz countertops, which he said resist stains and are scratch resistant.

A trend right now, Coleman said, is that people are getting larger and larger sinks and having them mounted underneath instead of having them dropped into the counter. He also said that people are having all sorts of elements, such as a staircase, fabricated out of stone.

Countertops can truly round up a room, Coleman said.

"To me, there's nothing like a natural stone on a countertop to make a statement in a kitchen," he said.