The colour and style of your kitchen cabinets, hardware, appliances, and even your lighting combine to create a distinctive look for your kitchen. 

Your countertops also play a key role in this design and can change its entire look, depending on what you choose. 

There are plenty of colours, styles, and materials to choose from, and what you select can have a unique impact on your customized kitchen design.

Gorgeous Granite 

Granite countertops are probably the most popular choice for homeowners since this material is 100% natural product pulled straight from the earth. Its natural characteristics offer one-of-a-kind colours, grains, and even unique flecks of metallic hues. Because every slab of granite is unique, you can also satisfy your comfort level between having more neutral or solid colours, or select a more exotic slab for that major wow factor.

There are a couple of drawbacks with granite, however. It's a porous product so you will need to seal it to ensure its durability as it can stain easily. Also, as granite is a fully natural product, slabs can only be so large, so in larger spanned applications, you're certain to have a joint line somewhere.

Quality Quartz 

A fantastic alternative to granite slabs is quartz. This product is engineered from ground quartz, resin, and pigments, but is equally as beautiful as granite. Quartz comes in an enormous selection of colours so you can choose virtually anything that will complete your kitchen's overall look. Because it's a manmade product, it's nonporous and far safer to use in a kitchen.

Creative Copper 

If you're looking for a more rustic or unique look for your kitchen, copper countertops are a great choice. They aren't for the faint of heart, though. Copper naturally reacts with all sorts of substances, including oxygen, so this "living surface" may change colours over time. However, it is a product that's safe to use and easy to clean and maintain.

Majestic Marble 

We can likely all admit that marble is the ultimate stone to represent luxury and class. Marble countertops are definitely more high maintenance as they scratch and stain easily, but if you're willing to tackle the upkeep, this stone adds a significant amount of class to your kitchen.

Stunning Soapstone 

This is a product not widely known as a countertop option, but soapstone is a material that's resistant to stains, chemicals, and bacteria. And it's stunning. Quite possibly, a soapstone countertop will never need to be repaired or replaced due to its extreme durability. It can be quite expensive, but since it is likely to be a lifetime investment, it will most certainly be worth it.

Soapstone comes in a variety of colours and levels of grain. Choose between smooth, solid colours or any level of pattern.

Different Applications 

When it comes to choosing your countertops, the material is only one aspect of choice. You also have the opportunity to choose the style of edging (stone countertops) and thickness of your slab. The thicker your slab is the more luxurious it looks in the overall application. The edging design is entirely up to you, but you have plenty of choice from simple designs such as bullnose, round, and bevelled to more intricate designs like ogee, waterfall, and DuPont among others.

Waterfall applications are another way to add a high level of sophistication to your kitchen design. A waterfall edge carries the countertop over the sides of your island (a must-have kitchen feature for entertaining) to the floor, completing a smooth and impressive look.  

If you choose wood countertops, a live edge is also a stunning feature to have in your home. This style means the edge of your countertop has not been refined, but rather left in its original state. With live edge wood countertops , this could mean you simply see the rough grain of the tree, or it could be so far as to still have bark attached. The original shape is usually left intact as well instead of cutting down to a standard rectangle.

Your kitchen is likely the most common area your family and guests will spend time in, so naturally, you want it to stand out. Choose the right countertops to complement the rest of your kitchen design and it might just become your favourite space in your new home.