New countertops for the kitchen and bath can represent a significant financial investment. It is easy to spend a lot of money on countertops you ultimately love. But it’s just as easy to spend a lot of money and still end up with nothing but regret.
We operate multiple showrooms throughout Utah to assist customers in making those important decisions about countertops and materials. One of the goals we set for our showroom staff is to help customers avoid the most common mistakes that come with countertop shopping. Below are four such mistakes. If you can avoid them, we are confident you will be pleased with your eventual selection.
1. Prioritizing Aesthetics Over Function
One of the easiest mistakes to make when shopping for new countertops is prioritizing aesthetics over function. We get it. Natural stone materials like marble, granite, and quartzite can make you swoon. There is nothing quite like the beauty of natural stone. But at the end of the day, your kitchen and bath need to be functional.
Here is an example: marble would look fantastic in any modern kitchen, especially when paired with new cabinetry and flooring. But it’s not a good choice for kitchens that get heavy use. If you are cooking daily for a family, you might discover the hard way how easily marble is stained. Marble might not be your best choice.
2. Choosing an Incompatible Material
Hand-in-hand with prioritizing aesthetics is choosing a countertop material that isn’t compatible with your lifestyle. The previous example of marble in a heavy-use kitchen illustrates this point clearly enough. Another example would be installing laminate in a bathroom.
Bathrooms are high-humidity environments. Laminates don’t hold up nearly as well as a natural stone or manufactured stone material. In a typical bathroom, quartz is a much better choice.
3. Failing to Consider Maintenance Requirements
Different types of countertop materials have different maintenance requirements. Failing to consider those requirements could mean winding up with countertops that do not perform up to your expectations. For example, a material like quartz is pretty much maintenance free. But if you go with granite, then you will have to seal the countertop at least once each year.
The maintenance required to keep your countertops looking new might not be a big deal. You might consider it reasonable. But if you are looking to get away with minimal maintenance, choose your material accordingly.
4. Selecting Without Seeing
This next mistake pertains mostly to stone countertops. The mistake is choosing a slab without actually seeing it first. Marble, granite, and quartzite are by no means uniform. They can vary quite a bit in color, tone, and veining pattern. Moreover, what you see in a picture isn’t going to match what you see in person.
We always recommend visiting a showroom before making a stone countertop purchase. Go and look at the slabs up close. Pick out the slab you want with the knowledge that it will be the same slab installed in your home.
5. Not Establishing a Budget
Finally, shopping for new countertops without first establishing a budget is definitely a mistake to avoid. Cost overruns are common among homeowners who don’t work with a budget. And if you are spending too much, you could get yourself into a financial jam. It is far better to decide what you can truly afford to spend and then stick with it.
Are you getting ready to shop for new countertops? If so, we hope you will visit us at Bedrock Quartz. Our team of experts can help you avoid common mistakes that could otherwise ruin the experience for you.
