Stephen Alberts

When it comes to environmental friendliness, we don’t always think of renovations and our choices of materials. Nonetheless, this can be an important consideration.

Many homeowners today opt for eco-friendly materials that offer a cleaner footprint and make use of novel or recycled materials. To better understand, let’s explore eight eco-friendly countertop materials for sustainable living.

1. Quartz

Quartz is a highly versatile semi-synthetic stone type. While not all quartz is considered eco-friendly, some manufacturers might include recycled materials such as glass in their quartz offerings.

Quartz is also highly durable, which means it doesn’t require frequent replacement.

2. Slate

Slate is a gorgeous natural stone type that can be considered eco-friendly because it won’t need to be replaced often.

What’s more, slate is a beautiful stone known for its unique texture and appearance.

3. Granite

Granite is another natural stone type, one that offers the beauty of natural veining.

Due to its longevity and the fact that it doesn’t require excessive processing, it’s often considered an eco-friendly material. What’s more, granite is gorgeous and offers extreme hardness and heat resistance.

4. Soapstone

Soapstone is another natural stone type that can be considered eco-friendly due to both its longevity.

What’s more, soapstone is soft to the touch (hence its name), which adds to its draw.

5. Recycled Glass

Recycled materials, such as glass, can be extremely eco-friendly, giving a second life to what would have otherwise been wasted. What’s more, recycled glass can be used in materials such as quartz countertops.

6. Bamboo

Bamboo is known for being highly renewable, making it an eco-friendly option. Bamboo grows quickly and isn’t particularly resource-intensive. What’s more, it’s gorgeous.

7. Reclaimed Wood

Like other recycled materials, reclaimed wood can be highly eco-friendly, giving used materials a second useful life. Reclaimed wood offers a charming rustic appearance that can create an inviting space.

8. Recycled Paper Composite

Recycled paper composite is a particularly eco-friendly composite solution, offering used paper a second life and a high degree of practicality.

The Bottom Line

Environmental friendliness is an important consideration. If you’re passionate about sustainable living, it is helpful to think about the materials we use for our homes, including countertop materials.

Whether you take the approach of sourcing high-quality, long-lasting new materials or recycled components, or even a combination of the two, there are many ways to make a positive impact with our choices.

Remember, if you’re looking for high-quality, durable materials that will stand the test of time, expert installation, and unparalleled customer support, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

At Olympia Stone in Indiana, we’re committed to making sure that your countertops are exactly what you’re looking for. Contact us today for a free quote.

Outdoor entertainment spaces are more popular than ever, and outdoor kitchens are one of our favorite home-building trends.

When you’re putting together an outdoor kitchen, you need to carefully consider your building materials.

The strain of weather, temperature fluctuations, and UV exposure all mean that outdoor kitchen countertops must be exceptionally durable—but you also need them to look great. Here is a guide to the most popular outdoor kitchen countertops.

Granite

Granite countertops are a great choice for an outdoor kitchen. Granite is extremely durable and has a natural resistance to the elements. Granite is an igneous rock formed by volcanic processes.

So unless you’re literally barbecuing on a volcano, you can rest easy knowing that your outdoor granite countertops will withstand harsh weather conditions, UV exposure, freezing and thawing, and anything else Mother Nature throws at it.

This resilience means that outdoor granite countertops maintain their structural integrity and visual appeal over time, making them ideal for enduring outdoor environments.

Additionally, granite’s wide range of colors and patterns allows for versatile design options, enabling homeowners to create stunning outdoor kitchens that seamlessly blend with their surroundings while offering unparalleled durability and longevity.

Stone

Granite isn’t the only stone you can use for countertops! Using stone for the countertop in your outdoor kitchen adds a touch of natural beauty and elegance while offering unmatched durability and resilience against the elements.

Stone countertops, depending on their materials, can often withstand harsh weather conditions, UV exposure, and moisture without compromising their integrity or aesthetics.

With their heat resistance and nonporous surface, stone countertops are perfect for outdoor cooking areas, providing a sturdy and functional surface for food preparation and entertaining.

Additionally, the wide range of colors and patterns available in stone allows for versatile design options, ensuring that your outdoor kitchen reflects your personal style and enhances your outdoor living space.

Concrete

Selecting concrete for your outdoor kitchen countertop offers a chic, modern aesthetic and durability. While lacking the natural warmth of stone, concrete countertops provide a sleek and versatile surface that complements contemporary outdoor designs.

With proper sealing and maintenance, concrete countertops withstand outdoor elements, making them suitable for outdoor cooking and dining.

Despite potential drawbacks, such as susceptibility to sun fading and the need for periodic resealing, concrete countertops remain a popular choice for homeowners seeking a stylish and functional addition to their outdoor living space.

Conclusion

Your outdoor kitchen countertop needs to do more than just look good—it has to perform in much more challenging conditions than an indoor kitchen.

That’s why you should talk to the experts as you build your outdoor kitchen. Olympia Stone has the materials and design expertise to help you create the outdoor space of your dreams.

Contact us today to get a free estimate for your outdoor kitchen countertops.

Marble countertops are gorgeous. Marble’s natural, elegant veining can elevate nearly any space, offering a touch of lightness and a sense of beauty. Marble is often seen as a luxurious material, and for good reason!

But if you’re in the market for marble countertops or you’ve recently added marble to your kitchen, you might have some questions about maintenance.

While marble is a highly durable material and maintenance is often simple, it’s important to be aware of some basic tips and tricks for keeping your kitchen safe and beautiful. Let’s dive in.

Choosing the Right Cut

Importantly, counters can be cut in a wide range of edge configurations. To ensure the safety of your kitchen space, consider how a new counter will be cut.

Sharper edges can pose a risk of injury, especially compared to smoother, more rounded edges. As such, this can be an important safety consideration when making a family-friendly kitchen.

Choosing the Right Configuration

Another important consideration when making a family-friendly space is the layout of your countertops.

For smaller kitchens, for example, it may be helpful to choose countertops with a shorter overhang so that they offer more foot traffic space and present less protruding edges.

Maintenance: Spills and Stains

While marble is renowned for its durability, lasting for ages when properly cared for, it can be particularly prone to staining and spill damage, as it is a relatively porous natural stone type. Fear not: through regular maintenance, it’s often simple to stay on top of. Clean spills immediately so that spilled liquids don’t have time to seep into the stone.

Remain cautious of dark-colored liquids, and consider using countertop placemats when setting meals or food.

Additionally, be wary of acidic materials, such as citric acid (found in orange juice, lemonade, and tomato juice) and vinegar. These and other acidic substances can pose a risk of etching into your marble countertop.

If you spill an acidic substance on your marble counter, be sure to wipe it clean promptly to avoid this outcome.

Sealing and Resealing

Marble countertops may be sealed to reduce the risk of staining. While this does less to protect from acidic etching, it can be a helpful way to enhance the durability of your marble. If your countertop was sealed when you got it, be sure to consult with the manufacturer and installer to determine when it may need to be resealed and how it should be done.

If your countertop requires regular resealing, be sure to adhere carefully to any timelines that you discuss with the manufacturer; this can go a long way toward protecting your counters.

Mitigating Heat Damage

Another important consideration for marble countertops is their exposure to heat. While marble is known for being quite resilient in the face of heat and is rated quite high for handling hot objects, it’s still important to be mindful of extremely hot objects.

Consider making use of trivets and oven mitts when placing hot objects on your counter to protect it from potential heat damage.

The Majesty of Marble

While marble is a gorgeous stone that offers durability and practicality, there are still some important considerations to take to ensure that your kitchen remains safe and beautiful. These include choosing the right cut and configuration for your space, periodic maintenance and resealing if applicable, mitigating the risk of heat damage, and prompt cleaning of spilled liquids—especially those that are acidic or dark-colored.

Remember, if you’re looking for expert installation, a wide range of high-quality marble, and next-to-none customer service, contact Olympia Stone. To get started or learn more, get your free estimate today.

Granite is a gorgeous type of natural stone—one that offers a wide range of colors, natural patterns, and use cases.

Granite is well suited for kitchens, bathrooms, and even other living spaces because of its beauty, versatility, natural variations, and practicality.

It’s a durable material that holds up well to years of use and can be a great addition to nearly any space. It’s no secret that granite is a great material, but one often overlooked aspect of granite is how well it complements other materials. If you’re curious how, read on. We’ll explore the compelling combination of granite with other materials and why it’s such a great option.

Inherent Versatility

One of the reasons granite meshes so well with a range of other materials, even countertop materials, is that it’s such a naturally versatile stone type. Granite can be light or dark, prominently veined or uniform, and can come in a wide range of colors, from green and blue to black, gray, and white. This makes it particularly well suited for situations where you’ll need to carefully choose your colors and patterns in order to fit in with your established aesthetic or color scheme.

Creating Contrast

With a wide range of colors, patterns, and tints, granite can be an excellent option for creating a sense of contrast; whether you want to lighten up your darker color scheme or , granite is a great option with its natural variances.

Seamless Integration

On the flip side, granite is a great material to use when you want to integrate a new countertop into your space seamlessly. Whether you have an existing light or dark color scheme, granite can blend well, depending on the type that you choose.

Glamour and Practicality

Granite isn’t just a gorgeous natural stone that offers a wide range of styles and colors. It’s also highly practical, offering tangible benefits for kitchens, bathrooms, and living areas. Granite is known for being extremely hard, making it highly resistant to scratching, especially compared with other materials.

It’s also highly resistant to heat, making it ideal for kitchen applications where cooking is often a top priority. Finally, granite, when properly sealed, is resistant to staining, which can be crucial in both kitchen and bathroom environments.

The Elegance of Natural Stone

If you’re looking for new countertops to complement your space, you might be worried about introducing a material that can detract from the look you’ve worked to cultivate.

In terms of aesthetics, value, and usability, granite is a great material that can actually complement and enhance your space rather than detract from it.

Bringing Beauty into Your Home

When it comes to enhancing your space by introducing a new material, granite is a great option. There are many reasons for this: granite is inherently versatile, practical, and naturally elegant and beautiful. Ultimately, granite brings a lot to the table—or counter, as it were.

Remember, if you’re looking for cutting-edge design, high-quality manufacturing, and expert installation, contact Olympia Stone.