When it comes to the countertops in your home, you need to make a decision that satisfies your needs based on both durability and beauty. This can feel like a really tall order, but there are actually lots of great countertop options out there that are ideal to meet both of these needs with ease. You can also find many materials that offer styling and color selection choices that will be perfect for your bathrooms, kitchen, and so much more.
Marble vs quartz is a typical choice that homeowners look at. These are two of the most popular choices for countertop materials for good reason. They are not only very beautiful, but they are both really durable and practical for areas of high traffic as well as low-use spaces in your home. Knowing more about these two options can help you determine which countertop is the right option for your specific goals and needs.
Marble Countertops
Marble is a natural stone, which means that it is highly beautiful. It was the gold-standard for attractive and highly functional countertops for years. However, there is a downside to selecting marble for your countertops in areas that see a lot of use. Marble is more fragile than other stone types that are commonly used for countertops, and it can pit and stain rather readily. Marble also needs more upkeep than engineered stone, which can limit the affordability of this material choice for some people.
Marble is very beautiful, however, and comes in a wide array of truly unique patterns and colors. There are no other materials on the market that can match marble when it comes to beauty. This makes marble a really ideal choice for lower-traffic areas that need to be highly pleasing to the eye. Even if you are not going to use marble counters for your kitchen or bathroom spaces, you might choose to install them in other areas of your home where there is less risk of them being damaged.
When it comes to cost, marble and other stone materials are fairly comparable. The higher the quality of your countertop material, the greater the cost, even when it comes to manmade materials. Marble is also very durable when it comes to heat, which can make it on par with many other countertop materials that you might want to install in areas where hot pans or other hot items could land on the countertop.
Quartz Countertops
Quartz is a manmade product, which makes it a great choice if you need a lot of color or pattern choices to match your décor. Quartz is also much easier to use for a large job because you will be able to get an unlimited amount of the color and style of material that you need. Sometimes marble is impossible to match if you need large batches because each slab is entirely unique.
Quartz is highly durable and can withstand heat and some exposure to chemicals as well. While you still need to take care of your quartz countertops, you don’t need to provide as much maintenance for them as natural stone countertops require.
Quartz can often be far easier to install than natural materials as well because it is consistent enough that cutting it is straightforward ,and it is far less likely to crack or shatter during the installation process. Marble and some other natural materials can crack or break during installation due to cut-outs for things like sinks or corners of counters.
Quartz and marble are about the same when it comes to the cost of installation and sourcing. The main difference in cost between the two materials is the added upkeep and care costs for the marble as compared to the quartz. Quartz doesn’t even need to be sealed, which many other materials do require.
The biggest downside to quartz is that it is not as heat-resistant as marble, and you can sometimes see the seams between segments. Quartz is also not always as beautiful as natural marble since it is manmade.
How to Decide Between Quartz and Marble
It can be hard to determine which kind of material is right for the counters in your home. You need to take into consideration the upkeep of marble and decide if you are able to provide that kind of ongoing care to your countertops for years to come.
When it comes to picking quartz, you might sacrifice a little of the beauty that marble can offer you, but it could be that you need highly durable and practical countertops, or you need to cover a large space with the same color and style of counters so marble just isn’t an option.
Be aware that marble installations require that you buy an excess of material just in case part of your materials crack or break during the installation process. You will not need to make this commitment for quartz countertops.
Ultimately, the pricing of these two options is pretty much the same, and the beauty and durability of both of them are fairly approximate. You will need to consider the differences between what they can offer you before you choose one material over another so that you can end up with the perfect countertops for your needs.
Quartz and Marble Are Both Excellent Choices
There are many reasons that you might choose either marble or quartz for your countertops in your home. There is really no comparison between these two options and the other countertop materials on the market today. Quartz and marble are both highly beautiful and luxurious, and they can elevate any room in your home from blah to wow right away.
Choosing the right material for your countertops can have a big impact on the feel and the overall vibe of your living spaces. This guide should have helped you to understand these two options better so that you can make a truly informed decision about the countertops that are perfect for your specific needs and goals.
