Rip It Up: The Renovations Podcast
In the Rip it Up podcast, RTE's Home of the Year winner Jenny and finalist Kate step the listener through everything they've learned in buying a wreck of a house and turning it into a dream home. They demystify the entire renovation journey, from finding the right house, all the way through the renovation process, from picking a builder, to choosing wallpaper. No brick will be left unturned.
As well as being a management consultant, Jenny writes a weekly home column in a national Irish newspaper as well as being a regular guest on national Irish radio.
Kate, before branching out into renovation consulting full time, worked in technical roles in engineering and sustainability.
Together, they make an expert team, ready to inspire and motivate would-be renovators and DIYers alike. Follow them on Instagram to see more of their renovation journeys - Jenny is @workerscottage and Kate is @victorianrathmines
Rip It Up: The Renovations Podcast
Episode 42 - Quartz, Porcelain, or Natural Stone?
Are you bamboozled by kitchen countertops? Can’t tell your quartz from your quartzite or think marble is just a fancy tile? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. From the grit of quartzite to the ease of porcelain and the affordability of laminate, we’ll help you choose the perfect countertop material for your kitchen.
PLUS - do you have a burning question for us? Send a short voicenote to ripitupearlybird@gmail.com or via DM @ripitup_podcast_official on Instagram and we’ll answer on the pod!
Catch us on the DFS stage at the Ideal Home Show this weekend.
Items mentioned
Quartz brands:
- Concertino group (silestone)
- Sapienstone
Man-made materials:
- Laminate
- Quartz
- Porcelain
Natural materials:
- Quartzite
- Marble (including Connemara marble)
- Granite
- Wood
Types/names of patterns mentioned (there are many more):
- Calacatta
- Carrara
- Calacatta Violo
- Arabescato
Follow the podcast on Instagram @ripitup_podcast_official, or follow us - Jenny is @workerscottage and Kate is @victorianrathmines
[00:00:00]
Welcome to Rip It Up, the Renovations podcast. I'm Jenny. I'm Kate. And between us, we've renovated a lot of houses and it hasn't scared us off. In fact, we loved it so much that we can't stop talking about it. So in this podcast, we will give you all the tools and info that you need to tackle your own renovation like a pro.
Kate: Today we are covering kitchen countertops. So if you are bamboozled by countertops, you can't tell your quartz from your quart side, or you think marble is just a fancy tile, don't worry. We've got you covered From the glam of marble to the grid of quartzite and the ease of porcelain, we'll help you pick what is perfect for your kitchen.
Video: Welcome
Jen: back to the podcast. Hi gate.
Kate: Hi Jen.
Jen: We're gonna
dive
right in.
Kate: Yeah.
Jen: straight
in,
no kissing
countertops, kitchen countertops specifically. We've
touched on them.
Video: them.
Jen: We spoke about kitchens
a lot. We will speak about kitchens a lot more, but
countertops in particular,
'cause you've got ones recently, you've got loads of questions.
Tell
us all about it.
Kate: Yeah,
I got
loads of questions. And to
be honest, I
had
lots, I've, I've nearly had all
types
of [00:01:00] kitchen
countertops at this stage,
either in
my own
house or
in rentals.
Jen: never had wood?
Have you ever had wood?
Kate: Uh,
no,
but
I did,
I did experience wood
in my sister's kitchen. She did like an oil wood
countertop,
I
mean.
They are, they're a bit of maintenance, I
suppose you have to oil them
a bit, but like, they're a very
nice real
material
option, you know, That isn't, that
won't
break
the bank,
but you just need to be kind of careful about what you
put in it.
Like
obviously
it'll stain
easily. You have to put like a ceiling oil on them every year,
whatever. But they can be a really lovely
option, you
know, really
Jen: I can, I really
like
them.
Kate: Yeah,
I think they can
be
really
nice.
Just,
it has to be
kind of a hardish
wood.
like otherwise it'll
just
warp
and
crap be crappy in no time. I think, um,
Jen: it
and
you
want
to know
what's involved
in the upkeep.
It's
not extensive,
but there's something to it, Um, but if you do and you really want it.
it's a thumbs up from us.
Kate: I had laminate
in my first house,
my first kitchen obviously didn't have the budget for quartz or
marvel or anything at that
stage. And
like I think my
whole
[00:02:00] kitchen, like appliances and everything.
Six grand,
something like that.
And I'm like, class, go back to
those days.
Um,
but I just had like
one of the laminate melamine countertops and you know
what,
they're so
good nowadays.
Like
if you
are, you know, on a
bit of a
budget
for your countertops
or your kitchen
in general, like
I think they're a
great
option. And you know what?
If you like
the
print and you like
the
pattern
of them,
they
serve a purpose.
They
can be nice and simple and they can be good
in
a
very kind of minimal kind of clean lines kitchen, I think.
Jen: You can get them really slim cut now as well. You have, they have a, some of
them
are lovely textured and they feel more sturdy. They feel more solid
than they
used to. Um, some of
Kate: don't have a big rounded
top on them. Do
you
remember? They used to have that kind of rounded top and now they have a
kind of a nice
square edge, which
makes them a bit.
sharper
looking I
think.
Um, you
just
have to be aware of,
kind
of
cut edges
'cause
they
have that iron on stripping
and if
water
gets in there
could damage
and
swell and
stuff like
that.
And heat,
you never put a
hot pot of stuff
down it, but like, if you're generally
careful
enough,
I
think they
serve a
purpose, you know, [00:03:00] and they're a
great placeholder.
If you're putting
in a
kitchen,
you've, you've, you've
no budget
left
and
you
really
want quartz or you really want marble or you really want
whatever.
You
know,
it's a good
placeholder.
You can always
Jen: to it in like five or 10 years,
Kate: Exactly.
come back
come back to it when you have the budget for
it
and
like,
there's some nice plain
ones out there. I think
if
you're gonna go
with laminate
or something
like that, go
for the plainer, the better.
I think the
fake, marbles in
laminate will
look a bit crappy,
so just go nice and plain,
I
think.
Video: Yeah.
Jen: But they're fairly,
like aside from not
maybe being able to put a hot pot
down, they're fairly, bulletproof.
Like keep water
off them.
But especially
these days, like some
of the hot,
some of the
like mid-range
ones in Ikea.
These days are Excellent.
like, they're really, really
good.
Kate: I agree. I think,
I think they're actually really
nice. I'm actually
looking at one right now out in
our kind of garage
garden. room Where we had this temporary white
island
as
we,
when we were renovating
and
like
it
was our
temporary
kitchen.
Um,
but
now
it's just storage out in our garden
room and
the countertop, There's
nothing wrong with it.
It's just white.
But it, there's nothing wrong with it.
It's still
[00:04:00] perfect, more or
less.
And that took quite a beating, I would say, during our renovation.
Jen: Yeah.
Video: Yeah.
Kate: Um, so nothing bad to
say
about
laminates.
If
it suits and
the budget's not
there for
something else, I'd say
go for it.
Jen: Go For it. no reason not to. it's one of those things I think where d different things are
important to different people. Like, I
loved tiles. I wanted
to spend money on tiles. They're just my
thing You love. you really wanted
like solid
wood floors there. You do. You know what I mean? Like
there's, everyone
has
different things for everyone.
And if you're just not that fussed about kitchen countertops or you're not Like
upset, you don't, you know, you don't care about having something like real stone or whatever, then
absolutely laminate is the right choice for you And you
should do it.
Kate: I
agree. And then I
suppose
we're
onto
the stones,
right? So
like,
I think
this, this,
requires a little bit of an intro because I think people
don't
really fully understand, or most people don't fully
understand. 'cause I get
this question a
lot
in one-to-ones
if I'm doing
kitchen
designs for people.
Um, and just generally
if I
describe like what's,
what
countertops I got get, I've [00:05:00] gotten in my own
kitchen, people just
kind of
Blank
stare at me. so
like
It's
It's It's good to know the different levels
or the
different, it's not necessarily even levels. 'cause some of them are
good
for
certain things,
but just
from a price point, point of
view.
So starting
at your kind of quartz, quartz,
countertops
are typically
made
from quartz
Crystals They're about 80 to 90% natural quartz crystals, but then they're squished together.
Yeah,
they're squished
together.
with a bit
of a binder or
a
glue. And that binder
or
glue is kind of what
makes
the
countertops
not totally bombproof and
that that binder
could
maybe.
discolor,
if
it gets
too
much heat or
maybe too
much light depending on where it
is. So quartz
Jen: me and you use
a lot of turmeric, and
that can
stain
the countertop.
Like, but I, I, people always ask this as well, if they get
afraid about any type
of natural stone. Um,
I got
advice
early on to
use Jif. I
know it's called SIF now,
but I'll it's like morals. I
just, they're called,
they'll
always be
Kate: I
will never
change.
Jen: but
it
works perfectly
and a [00:06:00] bit of bleach
every
now and then,
it's not
gonna kill
anyone, so just
that's what you need. to do.
Kate: Yeah.
And I think
you just have to
watch stones
in
general,
like quartz
included, that you don't
get
etching,
right? Like,
because I
think,
you know, especially
some
marbles
have like,
I think
they're made
up a lot of calcium
or
calcium silica or something like that in them
naturally, and that
reacts to
acidic
things like. Lemons
or vinegar
or whatever.
So if
you leave
something
acidic down there
for a
while,
it can eventually break through that kind of
surface
and.
Kind of etch it or
possibly even stain it as well
if
there's
something
to stain it
in the
mix as well.
But
um,
yeah, it's
just a watch
out. But I
think generally
quartz are.
F relatively bombproof, like as
in they're not as bombproof as
porcelain, which we'll
go through
maybe next. But I
think
quartz are a great
option.
There's a
few different brands
like Constantino Group have
like solid stone,
and then there's
another Caesarstone
one,
but that's
an Israeli company,
so like
people might not want to go that route anymore,
But um.
There's a few other
kind
of quartz
[00:07:00] brands, but
Jen: Stone, which we were talking about earlier today. If
anyone follows Emily English on Instagram for her food or her lovely recipes, but
she just got her kitchen done and I love that
Uh, it's another kind
of, it, I suppose it like it is natural
in
that there's
natural
material in it,
but
it's an
engineered.
Natural
Kate: yeah, Engineered stone. Yeah.
So like
Jen: That's
what I have. I have
quartz countertops. They have the Cala cat
and marble
kind of veining through it.
Um, but so far, so good. Like five years on. I am not
precious with
it
at all.
like I have,
You know, my draining board is cut
into my
countertop.
Um,
I often cook with like turmeric
or
I
spilled red wine on it or whatever,
like, and um,
and it's absolutely,
it's perfect.
It's
absolutely grand.
Kate: Yeah,
And I
think
quartz, it's all about
like finding a slab you like as
well.
I've actually spoken
to some
people
who went
out to
look at, say.
Quartz porcelain
countertops
and
even real
marble and they end
up actually falling for the quartz, even though the marble might have been
more
expensive. 'cause they just really like
the look
of
it.
And I think, if you
find
a
quartz
[00:08:00] brand and
a, a
type
of veining or whatever
that
you
just love,
like go
with it.
Like if that suits the style of your kitchen, absolutely go with it. You
don't,
it. doesn't
have to be marble or it.
doesn't have to be porcelain. because I think people
are starting
to
think that
porcelains are better
than
quartz because they're slightly
more expensive.
there's pros and
cons to
each,
I
think. Do you know? so I
think, Quartz have a
great place.
Like they're
using a lot of
like
vanity
units as well,
because
they're not, you know, they're less likely to get watermarks
and stuff in bathrooms. So like I
think, yeah, they're great. If you can find one you like,
I
say, go for it.
Jen: And
it.
very
much
is
down to
that personal
preference, So we.
Both
actually do, um, a lot of radio work with
Achin
Lafferty, and her designs
are second to none in my book. I just think she's incredible. But she
always
talks about natural stone being like a gift
and being art from the earth, and
she's right.
But
that is that is a
perspective. Like if
you don't think that way, then
there's no point in going for like fully
natural stone
Because
it's almost,
it's
like
flooring, again, it's back
to kind of a similar
thing with the wooden [00:09:00] flooring or even
the wooden countertops.
Natural materials are stunning and if you
love them
enough, nothing else
will do, then you
should
get
them
and you are right to get them.
But if you don't and you
don't
really care, then there's
not much point
in going down the maintenance route. Do you know what I mean? Like,
if, if budget doesn't
stretch or if
For whatever
reason
you prefer the look of,
of,
um, of quartz
over marble or something like that, then absolutely go first.
There's nothing wrong with it. It's,
it's, it's almost an opinion thing as opposed to
it's subjective as
opposed to objective. Like
you'll
never go wrong with natural materials if you're, if there's ever, if you're on the
fence about anything, it's probably the right
move to go for a natural material. But
there's nothing wrong with
the engineered stuff.
Kate: Yeah, I
agree. Um, and I
also
think.
Look,
natural
materials are like a
neutral in
a house. That's
the
only
thing. That's
another thing. they
have going
for them.
Like if you do
love
it,
it's
like
something
else. You don't
have to match with something
else because they just never
clash because
it's natural, right?
Um,
so that's
just, that's a positive
about
natural.
But
if it's
not something you're
drawn
to,
it's not something you just fall
in love with.
When
you see
[00:10:00] pictures of natural
stone.
You know,
don't,
and
to your point
earlier,
like end the nutritionist
or her page and
her,
what
was it called again?
Sapien Stone.
like, if you saw that, kitchen, you were like, oh my
God, I
love that
stone. I'm
getting it.
Well then maybe
marble
isn't for you
because
that's
actually not a natural stone
and it
still
looks
absolutely beautiful.
Like,
you know,
and
it'll look absolutely beautiful to a lot of
people. And
that's Totally
cool.
And
people
who
are
obsessed
with roti, Ty
might
also
be obsessed with stones, so they'll spot the difference in
that. But if that's not
you,
like
don't pay for it and don't have that
extra
maintenance.
Um,
then
Jen: is important
to
you, then
do do it because otherwise you will always notice you, you will see it with your eye. And if you are someone who really
values natural materials,
you know,
if you will look at that countertop
and
think that
was formed in
the earth
and
it's
Kate: Yeah. For Millions. of
Jen: if
that's
important to you, then you know, just adjust the budget
elsewhere
and get it
because it will
be worth it
to you
then.
Kate: Yeah. So before we go
into
Portland. Just
like [00:11:00] this is a
bit like sciencey,
but like the quartz part is made of mainly
crystals.
Right?
And to
get the
veining, like
you said, like
you have
a,
what did you say, Carrara
or
C
vein
or
something
Jen: K Marly
Bay.
Kate: So
like
they have the crystals of the different color and they'll literally kind of lay
them out
in patterns
almost, and then bind them in
that shape. So they're
almost
like casting
the
pattern
of the vein. So it's not a natural vein. They're kind of manufacturing the vein,
but it's still
a
natural material, so
it still looks
natural. And you still
Jen: the color
is
natural. It's
not
dyed,
Kate: Exactly.
And, then The
The vein runs
down
the
side
of the slab. Right. Which is really,
really
important
point
to what I'm gonna go
onto
next. So that's quartz. Right.
But you do have your
binders. That's the drawback.
If we move to porcelain right? Porcelain is not
crystals anymore. It's dust. It's
stone dust. and all they
do
is
compress the shit out of stone dust
to
a flat,
almost
like
a tile, like
a porcelain
Jen: It
is, it's
it's the same method
almost as
making
tiles. Yeah,
Kate: but
Jen: and
it is
very
Kate: on the surface.
the
vein
is.
printed essentially, so it's only on the
top. [00:12:00] So what you'll see then
is on slabs of
porcelain
countertops, you'll have blank edges.
Jen: Mm-hmm.
Kate: some people
get
over this by kind of
mitering
two pieces
and kind of making
it look
like the vein is running down the side.
That mitering is
as expensive as nearly buying
this slab, So you kind of
have
to be comfortable with
the blank edges
or be
doing
a waterfall on your
countertop
on your
island
or
something like
that, where
you're
not
gonna see the edges as much.
But
it was
something I
had porcelain in my last
run because you know,
we were
sold
that
this is
the new material.
This is it, it's
bombproof,
it's heat
proof, it's
whatever.
And look, it
looks lovely and I'm sure it's still
probably
in the house
and
you
know, working
fine. And I
will
say, as someone
who does, I do love marble. I'm not saying it's the be all, end
all, But
I looked at
that vein.
Every day. And
I
was like,
it's not
real.
Like it's not
real.
Jen: why you sold your house gate?
Is that why
you moved?
Kate: I just,
I
fell
outta love with it
very
fast
for me.
like the countertop
is fine
and it worked
fine, but that
[00:13:00] vein, it
just,
I don't know.
For me, when I looked at the porcelain
ones, they were
never
as beautiful as real sheets of stone.
Video: Yeah.
Kate: And
like when you're going, when you're going
to the portal
level, there
are some stones
that
wouldn't be
far
off the
same price.
Like, do you know
it's,
it's not
Jen: Yeah.
Kate: But I,
I,
kind of picked
the
less dramatic veining
because The more
dramatic
veins to
me just
looked
faker,
you know,
because you
it
was more
accentuated that it
wasn't
real for me personally.
But in saying
that,
look, countertop,
bombproof,
you put
hot pots down,
whatever. The
only thing
I
used
to find
scuffed,
it
was like foil or foil
trays
or
anything like that. It would give that gray
marks.
But again, to
your
point,
Safe. something abrasive grand It was back to perfect.
Jen: this
is likes
and
or a magic sponge,
even
if you're really going to risk
things.
Um, they're all
mildly,
mildly abrasive.
So you're, you're
not taking much
off,
you're taking
a tiny, tiny, tiny few layers off the top of it of it.
But it helps if the vein does
run all the way through it, especially as well if there's a chip anywhere and you want to buff that out,
[00:14:00] um, like I bought this marble sink for my upstairs bathroom
and it is a real marble and I got it for a song on Etsy. it was being.
Like sold as like the runt of the litter from this. Um, I don't see them
active anymore. They were called McCarran Marble on Etsy. Um, but it had a chip in the
side
of it.
But because
it's marble,
the chip
was
almost invisible. Almost
invisible. And I just have it turned around the back. And then there's marble
repair
repair
kits you
can get.
So
now it
actually is invisible,
but you
know, because,
because it
is
real,
because the
vein
runs all
the way
through.
The chip
doesn't come
out And
leave this
weird white, you
know.
Kate: Yeah,
Video: in
Jen: its wake it it like natural materials can take a hit. They can take
a
chip,
they can take a
scratch.
They, it looks
like,
you
know
that
like,
a
lot of people like that
natural patina that develops over time, maybe on hardwood
floors
or
on mar marble,
like you have a beautiful marble dining table.
That's gonna
just get a little
bit chipped
or
let it get a little
bit stained. So
it's
all
preference, like there's pros and
cons to all of it. like
as you said,
[00:15:00] your porcelain one,
Bulletproof
hot pots,
like
anything,
have a light of
bonfire
in
that thing. It's probably
grand. Um. and if that's
Kate: for lighting
bonfires, like this is your season, isn't
it? Everything is
lighting fires and stuff for you. Like Halloween
is like,
Jen: I get sold
Kate: time. I'm gonna light
bonfires every
night
Jen: Of materials
Kate: for someone who
Jen: that I can light a bonfire
in it.
I will say I've never once lit a ba lit a bonfire. So like, I don't know why I
keep getting sold
a pop
here, but anyway.
Um,
so,
but like you always, as with everything, you weigh up what's
important to you, like if you are thinking.
Budget is
important, then
go for the lamette, the lamette
iss. Perfect.
Just look
for one that you like, the
look of, you, like the feel of, is it within your budget? And then don't think about
it again. Perfect. If you're like,
oh, I really don't wanna be dealing with like, chips, scratches, any bit of care,
um, you know, and
like
budgets is consideration.
Absolutely. go for the porcelain. if you, if you're not gonna care, or you'll find a way to cut like a waterfall as
you said, you know, a side along your island
or something like that, so that you don't see.
The [00:16:00] edge
of it. You don't see that that vein doesn't run all the way
through
and you won't
care
about
that.
That's the right option for you do that.
If you love
natural
stone,
if you're okay with it, be the upkeep, if you don't mind a chip every now and then, or
a bit
of wear and tear and
you're,
you're happy with that
'cause it's worth it
to you for the natural stone, then That's the right option for you. So you just weigh it
all
up. There's
pros
and cons
with all of it.
Kate: Yeah.
And to
your,
uh, to the
point about
like
the print on the top of the porcelain, I did a backsplash and a
shelf. And Remember the shelf only
has print on
one
side.
so I
had
to decide
what
side to put
the
print on the underside of
the top side. I was like, which will people see more? and we were
like standing back
looking at the wall being like, Hmm, like Will,
Jen: is this
the
thin little shelf in
your old kitchen that
went along
the top of
the
backflash? I never noticed
that.
Kate: But
like you
wouldn't see it, I suppose. And
I think,
I
think we,
Jen: where did you put
it
Kate: I
think we put it on the top
because we
kind of
figured like
unless you were
quite short, like you'd
always
kind of
see
the top, especially coming
down from
what
used
to be our dining room
down
the
two steps.
You'd
be [00:17:00] coming
down
from the
top
and you'd see
it
there
like, look,
I
don't think
you'd
notice
it anyway.
'cause
it
was a mainly white
stone. Like,
I mean,
unless
you're
really
inspecting it
like, and it shadowed
and
there was brackets holding it
up and everything.
but it's just something to kind of consider,
I suppose,
with porcelains.
Um,
Jen: it is.
So
this
brings
me to an
important
point, 'cause we mentioned this
in a previous
episode, I think
on kitchens, but you did something really clever there, which is really worth
listening to.
Um. And take a note on.
And that
is that when you're ordering
your kitchen
countertops, you
order basic, you
pay
by the slab.
So
when you're
measuring out your
countertops, it's really helpful to
ask the supplier, like, how, what size is
this slab
And then
measure
out
what size your
countertops are going
to be. And then you
should be,
you should
know, or you can just ask like, how much is gonna be left
over?
Because you can just take
that, right,
like you
paid for
it pretty
much.
Kate: they'll
usually
have give you like a
map
of the, the slab as well back. 'cause they '
have
to have that
for the CNC machines, So they have
like
dotted red lines
over the slab.
So it'll see like
pieces
of Tetris, [00:18:00] all
the pieces of your
countertop and
backsplash and
whatever.
Um, on the slab or slabs.
If you're pick, if you have
two slabs
like a
lot of
big
kitchens that have two slabs maybe, but like you'll see
like
little
slivers.
What can
I do
with that? And they might say.
That might
not come out. It
might
break. We just
don't know if it's smaller pieces,
but chance
it,
if there's anything left
over, gimme a
chopping board.
Gimme
a shelf from my hu gimme, you know?
I would say
use up some of those bits. Why not? like sometimes you could be lucky and you could
squeeze the vanity top off
it,
Video: It
Jen: I could, you could have vanished that, that'd be really
lucky. But you know, if
you've got an,
an
aha kitchen, even like
a coaster,
do you
know,
or just like a little tray or something. 'cause I love like repeating
materials throughout your house
is a
lovely
thing. Anyway,
so
worth
Kate: they might charge
you
on some of the cuts,
but like if you're not giving
any detailed edge or
anything
like
that,
like I
definitely think it's worth
asking. Just see if there's anything left
over. Um,
but look, that's my
kind
of 2 cents
on the having had porcelain and
what I think and
having a
natural [00:19:00] marble
sink.
Now, what do
you
like,
Jen: Oh, I love
it.
Kate: love that
versus looking at your quartz
countertop?
Jen: I
love that sink.
I
really love
that sink.
Kate: Yeah, so
now we have to talk
about natural
stone because we can't ignore it and we can't say it's crying, just go for everything
else, because
let's be honest, in a way, it is
the
pinnacle
in terms of beauty.
If you're looking at
interior design, like it
just is. like
you
said,
and like Rotan says
over
and
over
again, it's,
it's
just a natural material.
It's a
gift from the earth.
that There's no two
pieces that
are gonna be the same,
But you
have two different kind of, I suppose, levels. I suppose you've marble first.
Well,
I'm just saying two of the most common
that we
come across.
Like the soap
stone and all
that.
in the us
but we don't
use
that
very
often over
here.
But like
marbles,
like you
kind of said, prone to
etching,
prone to staining
a little bit
softer,
you know,
can react with kind of
acidic
stuff. So
you just have to be careful
using
pH neutral cleaners, all
that. Be careful if you're having a curry,
you don't let it sit in it. Red
wine,
all
that.
Um, in saying
that,
I have a kata marble dining table. I [00:20:00] have it
for
five
years.
I'm
not careful. I'm
not precious with it.
Like,
I mean, I
don't
let
like, you know, a stain sit there overnight
or whatever, but
I mean, it's
grand. Like
yes, I, if I squat down in certain light, I
can
see,
you know, water rings
and
I can see
etching and whatever. And the mover's actually scratched
in
and this move
back
to the
house.
But besides
that,
it looks absolutely
fine.
So people kind of Terrify
you
about how bad
marble will get
damaged.
And I think unless you're
someone who
wants it
glossy
and perfect from
here until the
end of
time,
it's
fine.
You'll live
with it. And like
you said, that patina is part
of
the
beauty as well.
Jen: yeah,
Like it's stone, it's hard stone, it's built to
last.
So my upstairs sink, I
obviously
brush my
teeth
up there
like twice
a day
And Toothpaste
is
a
base.
Do you know, it's not acidic, but
it,
that's
it. it. has a lower
pH, so like
It
has the ability to, to damage it,
and it's absolutely perfect. It is perfect
pretty much. Obviously there's a few
Kate: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, [00:21:00]
Jen: whatever, but like
it's, that's five years
on.
and it's I
heaven,
Kate: yeah.
Jen: So I, yeah, I'm with
you.
I love it.
Kate: Popular, I
guess,
marbles you might have
heard the name
of, and some
of
the
quartz
ones will
be named
this
as well,
just as
a copy
kind of name
Or whatever.
Or
some of
the porcelain, porcelain and
quartz ones.
Um, so you have like
your
calta.
You have your
Carrara,
Jen: like if you're really not
sure and you don't really, you
don't want anything too bold, too patterny, but you like a little bit of marbling,
then Calta
is
just a lovely.
Kate: Well, I'd
say carreras,
softest,
like as in the
fleck, and the vein is
very washed out
almost. And then
calta
is like a tiny bit more defined. But then if you wanna go a bit bolder, you might have
like Clac, viola,
which
has a bit
more Dramatic
veining It
can be pink
sometimes.
And then
there's another
one
that's really
dramatic called acado like
that some
people really
love. If you
love like
really mad
veining,
if you want
to go
totally
off the wall and go for your
like red marbles and green marbles and you know,
like the,
you know, the world is
your
[00:22:00] oyster. I suppose. If you love stone,
just go and fall in
love
with a
slab. Yeah.
Jen: Jerry Designs, um,
on an Instagram. Jerry
Oto,
she did a beautiful, she loves, uh, Canari Marble.
She did a stunning. Someone's bar, I think in the basement of their house and these beautiful canari Marble green
countertops
Kate: love to know
like what
the
kind of, I, I've
never
even looked
at it like how expensive Kamar Marble is versus some of the others
Jen: not know.
Kate: Yeah.
But like it
is,
um, it's really
beautiful,
Like
If you
love
stone, I
would say just go to a few stone places and just fall in love
with
the slabs
because
like,
you
know,
if You
love
stone,
it's
not about
picking one and going finding that slab somewhere. it's
about seeing
10 slabs. So when I picked
mine
recently and
like.
Spoiler
alert,
I
went for real stone this time, but
I
did a quartzite, which is another natural stone,
not quartz. Quartzite
is
the natural version,
but
it's
super hard.
It's non, not as porous as
marble.
Um,
it's so
hard that
like they broke a load
of cutters cutting [00:23:00] mine cause I
bullnosed
the edge of mine.
So they
broke
like.
Five
cutters or
something trying to bull noses the
edge of my
countertop. Um, but
quartzite is,
uh,
It's
a bit more robust, I
guess, than having
marble.
Um, you wouldn't
have to be as careful
with it, and I
think
it's, it's less
dramatic in the veining.
It's
a bit
more kind of uniformed
color, I would
say. you
prob you've seen it, like what would you think? It's not, it's not overly bold.
Feigning, I would say.
Jen: no, it's not
a
big
dramatic
pattern
Kate: it's more of a
crystalline look
almost.
I
Jen: it's
more of a crystalline and It's a,
very soft
repeating.
Mesmerizing pattern.
And
the
one thing I'll say, there's many pros in
the natural stone camp
and I think we're probably both
in that
camp as
a, as an overall
preference.
But the one thing
that can't be replicated across any of the other engineered stones, or at least that I've seen
happy to be proven wrong, is this kind of almost
translucent esce or something. Not
esce
is
the
wrong word, but
just. [00:24:00]
you can,
You can,
Kate: there is
Jen: into the stone
Kate: There is that opalescent or
kind of glassiness and
kind of not even a shimmer, but like there is pieces that are
glass essentially
like, so
it just gives
this kind of iridescence or
something through
it naturally.
the way the
light
Jen: a depth to it
That
isn't, that isn't
possible as far as I know,
in other engineered
stones.
Kate: But look, I just,
I
mean,
like you
said
at the
start, it's not for
everyone.
And
if it's
not, if
we
are talking
now and you're
like, what are they
on about?
It's okay.
Natural suns
like not for you, and it's
not for you to
wasting
money on in your budget
if you don't
love
it. Like, I
mean, quartz
is perfect. Porcelains are great.
If you want
something that's totally
bombproof, lamins are great too. If you don't have the budget for it right now, you know you can get
one that really
matches. But I think.
Natural
stone is, a kind
of statement
in itself
in
the kitchen.
Jen: Yeah. And if
you
are
listening this far and you're thinking,
oh God,
what they're saying is, really.
Singing
to something in my
heart,
then
it is, then you're right, and you
should spend your money on
that because it [00:25:00] is
worth it, and also it'll last forever.
Kate: Yeah.
Now I
Went
kind of, I
wasn't
sure. You know,
finishes are something we didn't really talk about as well. Like typically like
couch shops
would polish to a
gloss. But more recently, I think
a honed or
kind
of a matte
finish
has become more
popular. And I
think the matte
finish
can actually
be a bit
more,
um,
forgiving,
which I
kind of like for etching
and stuff like
that.
And then
on
the
quart side that I picked, I actually
went for what they call a leather
finish.
Now, I
don't think
they,
I don't know
if they do that
leather
finish in marbles
or
is it
just quart
side, but it's almost
like a 3D. Leathery
effect.
So the vein
is like, you can feel the vein without looking
at it.
Jen: Yeah.
Yeah,
Kate: like I,
that to
me now sings to my
heart, like just touching
the countertop and
you can feel the vein.
And
I just think
it's
class.
I
just think
it adds
so
much depth and character
and
everything to the
stone.
Um, So I'd
be,
it
would be hard to convince me to go
back
now And
like I've had it for a few
months
now.
I haven't even noticed an
etch [00:26:00] liner, a ring or
anything on it
yet.
And I mean, like, we're using our
kitchen a lot with two kids
leaving
rib cups on it all
the time and stuff like, do you know, I I do
clean
it down
at night before bed,
just make sure there's nothing sitting on it
but like, I'm
not quick
to clean it
up during the day or
anything.
And it's, it's still pretty good. Like it's still pretty good.
So yeah, they're
my kind
of my
Jen: There's two
we
haven't
touched on, so I think we.
it's like stone, we're all aligned. Wood. Happy to go for it.
Laminate. absolutely. If
that's what, um, works for you. Uh, one
is
stainless steel and it's, it's a very strong look.
It's a
very industrial look.
It
can
be,
There's
a bit
of cleaning
involved. Baby oil is your,
is
your,
man there.
Um,
obviously
can scratch
et cetera, but if it's a
look you
love, then
there are options out there.
And
stainless steel could be for you Um, did you do it in your outside garden? Do
you have steel?
Kate: No, we have honed black granite. We actually
never spoke with
Jen: Oh, granite
Kate: honed black granite.
So granite is a natural stone.
Again, porous and
crystalline kind
of [00:27:00] structure as
opposed to veined.
Uh, but we've all
seen
granite countertops. That was
like. The original
natural stone in Ireland anyway.
For sure, wasn't it? Everyone
had
granite
countertops
Jen: especially
black granite.
and I like black
granite is a strong look. If the rest of
your kitchen is black, then
I
think
it can look really
good.
Kate: Yeah.
We did
a, yeah,
full outdoor
black
kitchen
and then a
honed black
granite. All the headstones
are granite.
Video: That'll
Kate: show you how, uh,
Video: how
Kate: tough
Jen: that
is
literally
bulletproof. Like that
is very,
very
bulletproof.
Kate: Yeah.
it can
chip, I think, you know,
because it's crystalline. like if you drop something really hard in it, it could
chip. Um,
but like, yeah, That's also a great option and not as,
expensive
as
as real
marble
and
stuff,
if you like
some of those granites. Um, but stainless steel,
yeah, I do
like the look of stainless steel, like I
like it
in
Jen: think
it
can look cool. It's quite reflective, so just bear that in
mind. Sometimes it
can just
be a bit shiny and weird, but like, if it's a look you, you've seen and you
like, just be aware that it
can scratch. Be
aware that
there's a different cleaning method involved, And then
go for it and enjoy it.
Kate: When I was a
[00:28:00] teenager, I discovered
Buffy Kitchens, you know, B-O-F-F-I,
the
Italian brand. It was like
my first
love affair
with
kind
of kitchens
at all.
And
it
was very, it was that real minimal
kind
of. Italian kind
of stainless
steel account
shops, like real
industrial
kind of
kitchens.
And I thought
like, well, if I ever win the lot or
I'm
just Getting
a
Buffy kitchen.
they've just getting, they've just gotten more and
more expensive. Like I remember in inter railing in college going into a Buffy
shop, like with my backpack on, they were kind of looking at me
like,
you're not buying
one. these kitchens get out.
Jen: teenager.
Kate: But they used
to do
stainless steel countertops a
lot
and
I
thought it looked very,
very
cool. Um,
but having
worked in a wear, a lot of
my.
Teen years
and having
a, a
stainless
steel work, a
what you call a
cash desk and
front
that I used to have to
polish with baby oil all
the
time. I don't know if I'd have the guts now to make my
kitchen countertop.
Jen: It's a, there's
a really cool company I saw, um, at an
interior design show in Paris a couple of years
ago. They're called
Fur mob, F-E-R-M-O-B.
Um, I [00:29:00] dunno if they're even available in Ireland. But, um, they did this beautiful kind of powder coated steel, stainless
steel in these really cool colors. they would do the countertops too. I can't speak to the
longevity, I can't speak to the upkeep, but they did look really different and really
cool. um, so something to Google for inspiration if just, there's no other countertops out there, that are speaking to
you.
And the last
one
that we didn't
touch
on that we just
have to very briefly mention is you
inherited
tiled kitchen countertops, shops.
Kate: Oh, stop. They were disgusting.
Like,
I'm sorry, but like,
like
ugh, the grout, everything. Like just, I couldn't wait to get them.
Ugh. They were
disgusting.
Like, I
don't know. You
wanna
be very into
cleaning and reg grouting and
everything. There's just so
many crevices on
that for bacteria
to.
Gather and
grow and form.
Like
I
bleached those
tiles so
much. But I still felt like the kitchen was dirty.
No, that
was just pre-renovation people. I never put them in. I just, the house had
them when I moved
in.
Um,
Jen: I've seen [00:30:00] maybe a
brand
new kitchen look kind of cool. But yeah, I'm the same. I
don't
imagine, I can't imagine why anybody would
take on that level of cleaning for a kitchen. But if it sounds good to you, then
Kate: No. Yeah, for sure.
Well
hopefully that
demystified
Jen: think that's
Kate: countertops a
little bit.
And we will see you
in two
weeks. Oh, we'll see you
next
week actually. for the listener questions.
Talk
to
you next week.
Bye.
If you love this episode, hit subscribe. Drop a review and send us your listener questions for our mini episode next week, and we'll be live on stage at the Ideal Home Show this Friday at 1215. So please come say hi.
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