The Best Kitchen Countertops

Kitchen countertops are one of the most important and visual items a construction or remodeling project has. The countertop material needs to be combined with the functionality of the kitchen area and thus, we have selected the best kitchen countertops available. But remember some of them are not cheap and must be treated and handled carefully.

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Best Kitchen Countertops: Natural Stone

Man selecting stone for countertop — Michelle Gibson/E+/Getty Images

Natural stone kitchen countertops provide one of the most durable surfaces in a kitchen, although their price could be a huge factor against them. The most popular stone countertops are:

Granite
Marble
Soapstone and,
Slate

One of the main benefits of using stone countertops is that they could provide an extraordinary alternative in color and texture. Granite and marble, although relatively expensive when compared to other kitchen countertops alternatives, are two of the most popular natural stone countertops.

Granite and marble kitchen countertops must be treated and sealed, typically will last between 10 to 15 years, to make them stain-resistant. It offers a hard durable surface ideal when the kitchen is used on daily basis and it’s the central focus of the remodeling or construction project.

Soapstone and slate have a limited choice of colors and could be combined with sinks to match the countertop. From these two, Slate is softer and when it scratches, can be buffed out, while Soapstone countertops will need to be sealed to cover its porous surface.

Natural stone countertops are durable and heat resistant; however, they could be chipped or cracked easily.

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Best Kitchen Countertops: Quartz

Quartz countertops are one of the newest alternative materials being used in today’s kitchen. These countertop materials offer a non-porous, scratch-resistant surface that requires little to no maintenance. Quartz surfaces also prevent bacteria, mold, and mildew from growing due to their built-in anti-microbial protection. One of the most important drawbacks is that they could cost as much as natural stone, and sometimes will not offer the visual impact as natural stone countertops could produce.

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Best Kitchen Countertops: Laminate

yellow kitchen with soft sand grey laminate — Angelika-Angelika / Getty Images

Laminate kitchen countertops or the so-called Formica could be the most used countertop material because it’s affordable price. Laminate countertops could last years and/or decades with just slightly or no decay.

One of the most important advantages is that it offers thousands of colors and several other textures, but be aware that their thickness could vary. The thicker laminate is used for countertops while the thinner must be used for backsplashes and drawer laminates. Latest technology could offer laminate to mimic stone, metal, or wood countertops without the cost of natural materials.

Plastic laminate kitchen countertops are not heat-resistant surfaces and could easily be burned or damaged. Once the surface is punctuated or scratched it cannot be repaired and only drop in sinks could be integrated into this countertops.

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Best Kitchen Countertops: Concrete

sink with a tap on a kitchen counter — genkur / Getty Images

Concrete countertops resemble natural stone and offer a ready to install precast surface. While concrete kitchen countertop could offer a smooth flat surface, sometimes the curing time could delay your project several weeks.

Concrete countertops are normally 1.5 inches thick and as long as 10 feet. Cracking could be one of the biggest issues that could affect concrete countertops and have limited somewhat their popularity.

These types of countertops will last several years, could offer the diversity of colors, and could also be sculpted. Concrete kitchen countertops provide heat and stain resistant surfaces and must be sealed on a regular basis.

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Best Kitchen Countertops: Tile

White ceramic mosaic table top and wall background - can used for display or montage your products. — bunditinay / Getty Images

Ceramic tile kitchen countertops were trending over the last decade. As of today, tile countertops are not that favored but still offer excellent results when used for backsplash or islands.

Not all tiles could be used as a countertop surface as wall tiles, thinner than floor or countertop formulated tiles, could crack easily. Normally, ceramic tiles are installed over a plywood surface or over existing plastic laminate countertops.

Ceramic tile kitchen countertops could offer several arrays and tile combinations that could turn a kitchen into an eye appealing architectural accent of the property. These countertop alternative provide a heat, scratch and stain resistant, that when cracked, could be easily repaired.