When it comes to Kitchens and Baths there are certain products the masses consider indicative of luxury and two of those luxury heavy hitters are granite and marble .Flip through any design magazine and you will see photo after photo of kitchens and baths utilizing these natural stones.

However, with these natural stones comes a level of up keep. Natural stones are well, natural. They come from the earth and are porous, meaning they can absorb liquids deep into their core causing stains, therefore natural stones require sealing. The process of sealing ones countertops is not THAT big of a deal but the daunting realization that one red wine spill can forever tarnish that once beautiful piece of stone is a hard possibility for some to swallow. But, to be honest for most it’s just ONE MORE THING they don’t want to worry about. As Coco Chanel said, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” But what are they to do? What else is available? I have two words for you: engineered stone.

Engineered stone is man-made but actually contains around 93% quartz which is the hardest part of granite. Typically granites are only 40% to 60% quartz making engineered stone stronger than granite.  Engineered stones will not stain because they are not porous therefore requiring no sealing and no additional up keep.

So, I know you’re thinking if all of this is true why would anyone use natural stones? Well, for years the downside to engineered stone was that it looked fake, and lacked the depth and movement that so many people loved in granites and marbles. But times are changing, one brand of engineered stones has far surpassed the rest with the options they have available. Let me introduce you to the Crème de la crème of quartz products...CAMBRIA.

Braemar I MEAN...How beautiful is this!? Look at the movement....

Buckingham This could almost look like a piece of Honey Onyx.

Parys Dying over this one, look at the "blue eyes"

 

Shirebrook Oh the warmth....................sigh......

Praa Sands Move over White Marbles! This has the white background but with blues, grays and black colors mixed in creating such interesting depth . LOVE!

Cambria is the only engineered stone made in the USA and with over 100 designer colors available it’s easy to see why this is such an attractive option. In my opinion Cambria has been the leader in quartz surfaces for sometime and every time you turn around their coming out with new colors even better than the last. Price wise you’re going to be in the neighborhood of what you’d pay for mid-line granite and the best part is every color of Cambria is the same price. Now, granted that price will depend on where you buy it but unlike their competitors who have different price levels for their stones, every stone available through Cambria be in new or old, modern or more traditional is the same price.

As granite and marble have become increasingly accessible and affordable people are asking…what’s next? Well, I’m here to tell you one of the hottest trends I’m seeing in design today is achieving the desired look of luxury with lower maintenance. SO….if you could get a similar look at a lower or equal price AND less maintenance….why not?

All images in this post are from Cambria's website, www.cambriausa.com