Your guide to granite, marble, quartz, and other countertop materials

Kicking off a kitchen remodel? You have a lot of work—and decisions—ahead of you. You’ll need to pick out new cabinets, floors, appliances, and more. Yet, the most impactful decision, by far, will be your choice of new countertops. There are so many options, styles, and colors to choose from. For many homeowners, finding the right countertops for their kitchen remodel is one of the most challenging parts of the project.

In this article, we’ll guide you through your many Countertop & Vanity options and help you decide which material—granite, quartz, marble, stainless steel, or butcher block—is right for your kitchen. We’ll weigh the pros and cons of each, and make the case for how each might figure into your kitchen remodel.

Granite Countertops

When most people hear “stone countertops,” they instinctively think of granite. It’s the definitive material for most kitchen remodels (although, as we’ll discuss, quartz is a close second and preferred by many people!). Cut from natural stone and then sealed, Granite countertops are incredibly durable and beautiful. They’re difficult to damage and, unsurprisingly, retain their value for many years because of this quality.

Granite countertops come in two types: slab and prefabricated. Both are natural stone. “Prefabricated” just means the stone has already been cut to a default size prior to arriving at the distributor. Because of this one-size-fits-all approach, it’s generally cheaper than granite slab, which has not yet been cut or fabricated to size. If you’re working on a highly custom kitchen remodel, you may need to buy granite slab so that your contractor can customize not only the size, but also the edging and other details.

If you love the look of natural stone, it’s hard to go wrong with Chinese Granite. For the reasons we’ll discuss below, it’s a better natural stone alternative to marble for kitchen remodeling projects.