The selection of stone is a very personal choice.  Stone in the home speaks to the homeowner’s appreciation of beauty and style.  While granite continues to be the most popular choice, marble, travertine, and soapstone are gaining in popularity.  Quartz products, a composite product of natural quartz and resins, are also gaining in popularity. It is important to understand the properties of each type of stone and its durability before making a final selection.

Granite:  There are over 300 colors of granite available today.  Mines in Brazil and Europe produce most of the granite that is currently being sold.  Granite is cut in 2cm and 3cm at the granite mine, and is shipped to stone yards that sell the granite.  Variations in color and pattern can occur in granite, depending on where the stone has been “mined”. Dark colored granite tends to show scratches, while light colored granite may show stains if not sealed or cared for properly. Many of the exotic granite stones have a “grain”, meaning all pieces must be cut in the same direction to have a unified look.  Accent Granite strongly recommends that granite is selected before cabinets or flooring so as not to “compete” with patterns from either wood grain or flooring designs.

Most stone yards and fabricators categorize granite to make selection easier.  Grade A is the least expensive, with Grade E, the exotic patterns, being the most expensive.
Representative colors in each of the groups are as follows:

• Group A: Group A stones are the most uniform in pattern.
            Ubatuba (Verde Labrador)
            Verde Butterfly
            New Caledonia
            Giallo San Francisco

• Group D:
            Dakota Mahogany
            Absolute Black
            Kashmir White
            Portosino Gold
            Suede Brown

• Group E: (Classified as Exotics; extensive pattern and color variations); largest selection of colors
            Blue Pearl
            Bordeaux
            Café Brown Imperial
            Copper Canyon
            Crema Bordeaux
            Golden Beach
            Absolute Black
            Labrador Antique
            Lapidus
            Roman Gold
            Sunfire
            Typhoon Green
            Wild West red
           
****Accent Granite provides an extensive stone reference list for our customers, along with a list of the largest stone yards in the area. Please contact our office for this information.

Marble: Marble is more porous than granite and is generally a softer stone.  It can scratch easier than granite and can break if exposed to high heat;  therefore not making it a good choice on kitchen countertops. Most frequently it is used in bathrooms and as a decorative accent throughout the home.  Just like granite, marble often has a “grain”, which must be considered when selecting the appropriate stone for the project.

Travertine: Travertine is natural stone from the limestone family. It is very porous and requires sealing before use in any construction projects.Travertine is highly susceptible to heat, scratching, staining and acidity; therefore making it more difficult to care for. Travertine is available in different colors: natural, creamy white, beige, tan and reddish brown. Honed, polished and tumbled finishes can be applied to travertine: honed travertine is smooth and has a matte finish. polished travertine is smooth but can be buffed and polished until shiny; tumbled has a rougher, textured finish.

Soapstone: Soapstone is a dense non-porous stone used to compliment various architechtural designs. There are several differnt forms of soapstone: Artistic soapstone is lighter in color, very soft to the touch, has little veining and can be easily carved. It is not recommended for countertops.

Architectural soapstone is denser; it is typically much darker and has more pronouced veining. It is durable enough to be used in kitchens. Soapstone ides not need to be sealed; is not polished, allowing for a matte finish. Most soapstone is gray/black in coloring.

Sustainable/Quartz Surfaces:  All quartz surfaces used in both residential and commercial applications are a composite of 93% quartz and man-made resins.  Because the “slabs” are man-made, they are more uniform in color and size than natural stones.  These products are gaining in popularity because they are extremely strong, stain resistant, and do not allow bateria to grow on the surface of the stone.  There are a number of quartz manufacturers---Caesarstone, Silestone, Zodiaq, Hanstone, LG Viatara, and Vetrazzo.