Advantages Of Kitchen Granite Countertops
Kitchen granite countertops are created by nature and fashioned by man are a beautiful, durable and cost effective choice for kitchens and baths. The term granite comes from the Latin root word granum, which means "grain."
Granite is often imported from Europe, Africa, Brazil and other regions
of the world rich in natural stone. Granite is an attractive natural stone that
will add color and warmth to your kitchen. Granite is an extremely hard material
that will not blister, scratch or crack.
The hardness of granite is
rivaled only be the hardness of diamonds. In fact diamonds are used to cut and
polish granite.
Over the last 10 years kitchen granite countertops have
become popular with homeowners, after first being popular with designers for
decades. Granite is available in hundreds of colors, from various shades of
white to browns, reds, greens, blues, and black. The most popular tones are
brown and beige.
As well as being hard kitchen granite countertops can
take hot items, like pots and pans, and is very stain resistant to hot grease
and oil if it is sealed with a silicone-based impregnator. It can easily be
cleaned and cut for a basin. Granite has a cool polished surface that makes it
an excellent surface for rolling out pastry dough. The polished finish of
granite will not wear off.
Kitchen granite countertops are unique
because no two pieces of granite are exactly the same, therefore granite
provides an interesting design element and adds certain richness and texture to
your kitchen not found in other surfaces. Kitchen granite countertops can create
a brilliance and elegance that is only found in nature. Granite adds a
personality and character to kitchen countertops that is unsurpassed. Kitchen
granite countertops have a natural beauty that is capable of complementing any
tone of wood or style of cabinets.
It doesn't matter if you are planning
a new home or remodeling an existing kitchen, with granite kitchen countertops
you can be sure that you will add to value of your home.
Kitchen
remodelers and home builders have experienced a boom in the demand for kitchen
granite countertops. Although it can be more expensive to put in granite
countertops, they remain the odds on favorite choice for more upscale homes,
since they keep their value better than most home improvements
The
investment you make in kitchen granite countertops should pay you back at least
three times what you invested. If you are selling your home you will find that
home buyers wanting kitchen granite countertops will be willing to pay more for
your home than if you have ceramic tile or plastic laminate.
Planning
out your kitchen granite countertop first involves selecting the right granite
color. You should concentrate on the most popular colors. Even though granite
tones are usually neutral, you may find that a certain color goes well for your
kitchen design.
If you are replacing the old countertop material in your
kitchen with granite, carefully diagram all the measurements for the granite
installer. If installing new cabinets is part of your kitchen remodel ask the
granite fabricator what they recommend for cabinetry.
Since you are
using such a superior product as granite, you should think about the right type
of sink to go with your new kitchen granite countertop. You should definitely
consider going with an undermount stainless steel sink, as opposed to an
overmount sink that would be difficult to clean around.
In addition to
getting the right kind of sink installed, it is also important to select the
just the right faucet to go with the sink. A stainless steel faucet would go
well with the looks of a rich kitchen granite countertop.
The next
important area is upgrading your cabinet hardware. The handles and knobs should
also be of high quality in order to provide good accent to the overall look of
the kitchen. Even if you are not replacing the cabinetry having high quality hardware with make those cabinets and the whole kitchen stand out.
So in planning your kitchen remodeling, just remember that kitchen
granite countertops will make a provide a world-class addition and increase the
re-sale value of your home.
About
the Author: James Mahoney is the author of many kitchen design
articles and has a site about kitchen design ideas at http://www.kitchendesignersideas.com. He also publishes a
newletter on kitchen design. source: www.isnare.com
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