Washington Marble Works

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Six Neutral Granite Countertops That Will Define Your Kitchen

Most people associate granite with loud and eye-catching designs. It doesn’t have to be. Sometimes subtly is vital when designing a kitchen. That’s why we prioritize a diverse catalog at Washington Marble Works.

Our inventory is full of stunning and neutral granite countertops, so we can outfit any kitchen with the stones it needs. Neutral granite is a universal style because you can combine it with just about any kitchen. They often come in beige, brown, or off-white.

If you want neutral granite countertops that will define your kitchen, try some of the styles we have below.

Bianco Montanha

White is a popular color for kitchens. Whether it’s your cabinets or the floor tiles, it’s common to have some white accents in your design. The only problem with white is that it stains easily, especially in the kitchen. If you’ve ever eaten spaghetti on a white table, then you know.

The Bianco Montanha is perfect because it has the matchability of white granite without the vulnerability to stains. It’s a lovely combination of off-white colors with some black accents that add just enough flair to avoid a mundane appearance.

Bianco Montanha is perfect for any color kitchen layout but works best with light-colored wood and white designs.

Crema Caramel

Neutral countertops are fantastic at blending into natural scenery as well. Most kitchens are full of windows that look out onto the surrounding landscape. What landscape is in your design? Do you live in a dense forest or an open-air field? A suburban neighborhood or sand-swept beach?

Crema Caramel countertops work well in any area that gets a lot of sunlight. Their beige appearance will play well off the extra daylight and match the colors of sand and light shades of wood. Green is an excellent contrast color for beige, resembling grass and dirt.

These countertops will pair well with a manicured lawn and a darker interior. Best to use dark wood for the cabinets to avoid looking too matchy.

Meteor Shower

Just because a countertop is neutral doesn’t mean it has to be boring! There are plenty of neutral colors with unique patterns that will still impress your guests. Just be careful not to go too flashy. Otherwise, you’ll lose the matchability for which neutral counters are intended.

One of our favorite patterns for a neutral countertop comes from our Meteor Shower cut. This lovely wood grain pattern is perfect for keeping things exciting in the kitchen without complicating your design. It’s a shade of brown that is light enough, so the lighter accents don’t overpower it.

This countertop will look great in kitchens with a wooden table set nearby. If the table set uses darker woods like mahogany or walnut, even better.

Pebble Beach

Some people can’t imagine granite without spots. While our collection is full of solid, spotted, and veined granite patterns, we have to admit that many spotted designs are exceptionally stunning.

They make the countertop look busy enough to distract from spots while gorgeous enough to highlight any design.

Our Pebble Beach off-white spotted granite does an excellent job decorating a kitchen while also keeping to itself. The design you choose to go with it should be simple and light-colored gray or silver. Or you can go in the opposite direction and go for a dark brown or black.

Sandalus Satin

Many people don’t realize the similarities between wood patterns and veined granite. One of the best things to combine with a detailed hardwood floor or a grainy cabinet style is a lovely brown piece of granite with darker veins running through it.

You’ll achieve the rustic look of a forest cabin with the reliability of a stone counter.

The Sandalus Satin does a phenomenal job of imitating wood. To the untrained eye, you won’t be able to tell the difference between this cut of stone and a freshly polished slab of red oak. It will match perfectly with any wood-dominant kitchen.

Giallo Santo

The Giallo Santo is a little bit of a bold choice for a neutral countertop. It’s a light beige color and won’t blend well with any colors in the kitchen that aren’t black, brown, white, or gray. However, we still included it because it will light up your kitchen when paired correctly.

The sandy color reflects well with the sun, and the spotted and veined pattern can be mesmerizing. Combine it with other light, neutral colors to design a kitchen you must squint at on a sunny day.

Conclusion

Whatever design you choose, you can’t go wrong with a neutral granite countertop. They match everything!

Six Ways to Complement Your Quartz Countertops

When you’re looking to remodel your kitchen with quartz countertops, the style options are endless. This is overwhelming to a lot of people, so we’ve compiled a list of six kitchen styles that work great with quartz countertops.

These styles bring out the beauty, durability, and timelessness of quartz. By utilizing these styles and bringing them to life in your home, you’ll get the most out of your countertop and your kitchen as a whole.

Check out the list of the six styles that coincide with quartz countertops.

1. Traditional

A traditional kitchen is clean, comforting, and inviting. It’s a kitchen that you and your whole family will love spending time in.

It’s also a timeless style to choose for your kitchen—it will never seem outdated because of the appeal that it holds. It combines classic design elements with bursts of color—put together for a kitchen that’s aesthetically pleasing.

Traditional kitchens commonly utilize white paint, tiles, and accents in order to create a crisp and clean look. You can add to this clean look with a quartz countertop in an ivory shade—one that is either solid white or has elements of gray in order to keep the crisp look going.

Offsetting this clean look with dark wood cabinetry and hardwood floors makes for a beautifully classic feel in the room.

Traditional kitchens are

  • elegant and timeless,

  • modern,

  • clean and welcoming, and

  • a combination of traditional and contemporary elements.

2. Beach

Who wouldn’t want to be at the beach every single day? You can do just that with a beach-themed kitchen. We don’t mean anything hokey or kitschy like a room covered in shells and mermaid decals, but something more understated and sophisticated—something that exudes a beach vibe rather than screams it.

Beach looks are achieved by utilizing cool shades of blue and warm shades of tan in order to put across a coastal feel. This kind of kitchen is relaxing, airy, and laid back.

You can put quartz to use in your beach kitchen in one of two ways: choosing a white countertop to offset the water and sand feel, or choosing a sand-colored countertop to create an image of the shore. This, combined with sheer window treatments and subtle accents like seagrass and wicker, will create a beach in your very own home.

Beach kitchens

  • are airy and filled with sunlight,

  • utilize cool shades of blue, and

  • include white hues for crispness.

3. Modern

Modern kitchens are sleek and sophisticated. They employ a minimalist vibe with as little clutter, excess decorations, and knickknacks as possible.

To get the full effect of a modern kitchen, you can use stark white or onyx black quartz countertops that are kept shiny and polished, accented with pops of color around the room. These types of kitchens are basic yet high quality. They exude luxury and feel high end in comparison to many other styles.

Modern kitchens are

  • exotic,

  • full of clean lines and silhouettes, and

  • minimalistic.

4. Farmhouse

Farmhouse is a kitchen design that never goes out of style. It has remained popular for decades. It is cozy, intimate, and can range from rustic to something more contemporary—whatever works best in your home and your taste.

There are usually plenty of decorations inside a farmhouse kitchen to create that cozy feel and to show off personal touches. They are also winners when it comes to visual appeal, utilizing details like exposed beams, brick accents, and pops of color.

Quartz is a great additive for farmhouse kitchens because of its versatility and durability. The farmhouse is all about nurturing things that last, and quartz countertops do just that. Choosing quartz in a warm hue will tie the whole room together.

Farmhouse kitchens are

  • cozy and comfortable,

  • full of decorations and small details, and

  • colorful.

5. Craftsman

Craftsman kitchens are all about utilizing long-lasting, natural materials. Though quartz technically qualifies as an engineered stone, it’s made with 95 percent natural quartz, so it can still come into play inside a craftsman kitchen in soft shades of tan or brown to bring the look together.

Wood and stone work together in a Craftsman kitchen, suggesting a simple way of life that comes across in the design. This type of kitchen is a place where your family gathers to eat, cook, and touch base at the end of a long day—just as families have done for centuries.

Craftsman kitchens are

  • artisanal,

  • made with natural materials,

  • rustic, and

  • organic and earthy.

6. Eclectic

Eclectic is probably the most “out there” style of kitchen right now. It’s all about the bold factor—bold colors, materials, decorations, and textures all in one place.

An eclectic kitchen is where your different preferences can come together. There’s no one set theme—in fact, the theme is the absence of a theme. It’s not nonsensical, though. An eclectic kitchen should boast confidence and flair, not mess and disarray.

Eclectic kitchens are personable, fun, and stimulating for the eye. Quartz is a great asset for an eclectic kitchen because it can act as a quiet material in relation to the rest of the kitchen’s louder details.

Eclectic kitchens are

  • multifaceted

  • personalized, and

  • full of rich colors and textures.

What’s Your Style?

No matter your style and preference, quartz can make your dream kitchen come to life. You just have to know how to use it.

Four Reasons Granite Countertops Are Still the Best Choice

As you walk through any home, you’ll likely see various types of countertops in the kitchen, bathroom, and possibly furnished basements. Of the available countertop materials, granite is the most common.

Granite countertops have been dominantly present in many homes for several decades. Even today, people still regard them as the best countertop option.

Reasons Granite Countertops Are the Top Option in Homes

Every homeowner is keen on setting up their homes to have both a comfortable and sophisticated feel. They go out of their way to get materials that best complement different rooms. Two of the most important—and useful—areas of a home are the kitchen and bathroom. As such, only the best materials can create a combination of elegance and comfort.

That’s why so many homeowners opt for granite countertops.

Granite is a naturally existing element, and its physical and chemical properties have made it an excellent choice for home construction. From the physical beauty to its durability, uniqueness, and variety of colors and designs, granite has always given people numerous reasons to purchase and install a granite countertop in their homes.

Here are the top four reasons why granite remains so popular, even after decades of prevalence.

Granite Countertops are a Long-Term Investment

One of the most important factors homeowners consider during construction, repairs, or remodeling is how much value an item adds to their homes. They install granite countertops in their homes because they know how much money it saves them in the long run.

Granite is a durable material. It retains its color, design, and strength for very long periods, with no extra expenses needed for its maintenance. After several years, when homeowners look to remodel or sell their home at top value, they may consider replacing a countertop with a different material.

Granite countertops, on the other hand, have a more permanent stay. Even during a property sale, the granite countertops add to the home’s value, which means you gain more profit.

Aesthetic Appeal

Aside from financial considerations, the next important factor for every homeowner is the beauty of the materials. Put simply, granite countertops are gorgeous. There has been a lot of effort to replicate its beauty using other materials, but it has been impossible to recreate its unique designs.

While manufacturers may try to create cheaper alternatives, like quartz, the difference is unmistakable. As a natural element, granite slabs have distinct shades, color veins, and particles that cannot be replicated.

Granite countertops contribute to the elegance of the kitchen and bathrooms. Homeowners choose them over the other common types of countertops because they are attention-grabbing and highly aesthetically pleasing.

Unique Design Options

As homeowners, you want to make your house unique. The decor and style of your home should reflect you and your family’s taste and lifestyle. Luckily, granite countertops offer a wide variety of unique designs and styles. You can choose a design based on your specification and preference.

granite countertops

You can choose from numerous color schemes to match any style, from posh to rustic chic. The colors range from neutral shades such as gray, cream, black, brown, and white to more solid colors. You can also opt for designs with more than one color.

This variety of unique compositions has made it possible for homeowners to get designs that fit into the overall home decoration theme.

Easy Maintenance

Granite countertops are very easy to maintain, and they do not require professional help for maintenance like other materials. It is, however, crucial that granite must be sealed during installation by an expert, like those at Washington Marble Works. This precaution prevents issues such as cracks, leaks, scratches, and stains.

After being correctly sealed, granite countertops will prove durable and long lasting. You can easily remove stains, and general care is straightforward. One great reason they are easy to maintain is their resistance to etching, meaning they don’t get heat marks from hot pots or pans placed on them.

Granite countertops only require routine washing, disinfecting, and cleaning, irrespective of how long they have been in use.

Get Your Granite Countertops Today

Granite countertops are always a great addition to homes. They have many unique benefits, which is why they have remained a top choice over the years.

Contact us today regarding any granite countertop inquiries. Or, if you are ready to choose your countertop, you can choose from our top-quality countertops, backsplash, and tile. We have excellent knowledge of natural stones and deliver only the best materials for your homes.

Four Reasons Marble Is More Durable Than You Think

Marble has been a common material used as far back as ancient days when Greek cities were covered in the beautiful stone. While the material is certainly eye-catching, it’s much more than a pretty surface.

Many people have gotten the wrong idea about marble, thinking that it’s soft, high-maintenance, and overall unreliable. That couldn’t be further from the truth, so today we’re going to discuss how marble countertops are more durable, functional, and versatile than you think.

Marble Can Be Very Strong

It’s not hard to figure out why people think marble isn’t a strong material for a countertop. After all, marble is considered a soft stone. On its own, a marble countertop can take on scratches, marks, and even dents.

However, with today’s modern technology and high-quality construction companies, most countertops are prepared using proper precautions that protect the marble from these imperfections. Choosing a honed finish can help you avoid scratches.

Likewise, proper everyday use and treatment of your countertops will keep them shining much longer. This means using cutting boards, avoiding dropping kitchen tools, and using great care with knives.

With quality marble, a good sealant, quality installation, and everyday care, you can bet that your marble countertop will last for a lifetime.

Marble is Naturally Antibacterial

Since marble is a porous material, many people think that it will easily attract and trap bacteria, making your kitchen countertops a place you don’t want to store food.

This notion couldn’t be more wrong.

Marble naturally contains antibacterial properties. So, instead of attracting bacteria, it drives it away. It turns out that marble is a great option for kitchens because its surface resists both mold and other bacteria.

That being said, marble is also easy to clean. If you still have concerns about bacteria, you can simply wipe it down regularly with an antibacterial cleaner. The kitchen area tends to come into contact with quite a few germs, especially concerning raw foods, so you must keep your counters clean and bacteria-free.

Marble Can Be Sealed

Some people like to refer to marble as high maintenance. In actuality, marble takes about as much maintenance as any other countertop that you want to keep in tip-top shape.

There are different types of marble, so it’s best to check with your installer. But most marble requires a seal that your manufacturer will take care of. In most cases, this marble shouldn’t need to be sealed again.

It’s a common myth that you have to get your marble resealed every single year in order to protect its porous surface, but again that’s just not true.
Depending on your level of use and how well you care for your countertops, you may need to get it resealed at some point. However, good daily maintenance and everyday care should leave your sealant in place. You can help this by using towels for hot dishes, always putting down cutting boards, and wiping away spills before they get the chance to stain.

Marble Is Perfect for Baking

One of the best parts about a marble countertop is its smooth, cool, and hard surface. Sure, it looks beautiful in your home, but it’s also built to withstand some serious baking.

Because of this cool, hard surface, you can easily use your marble countertop for things like rolling out dough, cooling cookies, and letting pies rest. It gives you a nice, smooth surface to work with and won’t melt the ingredients or dough you’re trying to use.

While we don’t recommend using a cookie-cutter directly on your marble counter, you can definitely host a pizza party or two.

Want to add some durable, high-quality marble to your kitchen? Contact us today for a consultation!

If you’ve been thinking about replacing your kitchen countertops for some time now, it’s time to stop thinking and start doing. Marble countertops offer several benefits at a reasonable price, and they can make your kitchen look brand new.

Washington Marble Work has offered quality fabrication and service since 1984, and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. If you’re interested in having beautiful new counters installed in your home, contact us today to request a quote. We will give you a free estimate in minutes.

As a family-owned and operated business, we understand just how important your home is to you. Check out our virtual showroom to see the latest technology, and get started on your project today!

Four Countertop Materials You Haven’t Considered

Whether you’re remodeling your kitchen or building a new home, the materials you use for your countertops matter. Price is always a factor, along with durability and style.

You aren’t limited to only a few types of material—you have plenty of options. Wood is a common choice, along with synthetic materials. If you want updated and stylish countertops different from your neighbors, here are four excellent materials you haven’t considered.

Quartz

Durable and resistant to stains and burns, Quartz countertops can last a lifetime with minimal care. The engineered stone has veining similar to marble, but it doesn’t require sealing. This material is nonporous and nearly impossible to scratch. You don’t have to worry about stains ruining the appearance of your quartz countertops.

You have a wide range of color options with quartz. You can find the perfect slab to match or complement your kitchen. Choose cream or another earthy tone, or go for something unique. Quartz also comes in attractive blue and pink tones.

Installing quartz countertops is easier than some other materials that require sealing. You can turn it into a DIY project, but the quartz slabs are heavy and not easily moved around. It’s always best to let a professional take care of the installation process for you.

Once installed, your quartz countertops will add maintenance-free flare to your kitchen for years to come.

Granite

Besides each slab of granite having its unique pattern, style, and aesthetic, there are additional benefits that come with using granite.

With proper care and cleaning, granite is a long-lasting material. With the sealant coating we apply, cleaning up messes is quick and easy. As long as you clean stains up promptly, you should have no problems with your new countertops getting any permanent marks.

Granite is scratch-resistant, which is extra handy for the kitchen. Granite also does not have any issues tolerating heat. This makes it safe to put hot dishes and pans on. It also makes it safe to use in steamy, warm places like the bathroom.

Marble

If you want to make sure your countertops are unique, marble is your best choice. Each sheet of the natural stone is different. You won’t find two exactly alike. Marble countertops are pricey, and the material is not known for its durability. However, if you love the look of marble countertops, the investment is worth it.

Marble is an exceptionally beautiful stone, and it also adds value to your home. The unique veining gives a luxurious feel to any kitchen. It can scratch, and stains are common if the countertop isn’t sealed. It is water and heat proof, so you don’t need to worry about burns or moisture rings.

Quartzite

It can be easy to confuse quartzite countertops with quartz. The names are similar, but quartzite more resembles marble in color and pattern. The natural stone is becoming popular with homeowners that want to update their kitchens. The material is durable, and with the right care, it can outlast granite.

Quartzite is a porous material, even after being sealed. It’s something to consider if you’re concerned about watermarks.

Quartzite is resistant to scratches, so your countertops will look great for years. It’s also heat resistant, so burn marks won’t mar the gorgeous color or veining. If you have a busy kitchen constantly filled with guests, the countertops will catch everyone’s attention. With colors ranging from rosy pinks to light blues and whites, you can find a sheet that complements your kitchen design.

Custom Installation

Replacing your countertops can make it seem like you remodeled your entire kitchen. You also have more options when it comes to materials than you may think.

Wood and laminates are fine—the materials are durable and come in a variety of colors and patterns. But if you want your kitchen to stand out, you may want to consider another type of material.

Whether you go with quartz, granite, marble, or quartzite, you want the countertops installed to your specifications. You don’t want to worry about sealants or the material coming loose when you’re showing your remodeled kitchen off to friends and family.

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