House progress posts! I feel like I have been doing a lot of them lately, but guess what? That means we are making progress right? Yup! Today it’s all about our kitchen countertops because I get questions about them daily. & I also want to help some of you out who are in the process of picking out countertops. It can be so confusing with all of the options out there, so here we go!

Just a glimpse back at how our kitchen looked before we moved in…

& how it’s looking today not done, but with TONS OF PROGRESS. Mind you I didn’t take any “pro photos” of the space & just took some normal photos of it this afternoon.. I wish I was a better blogger & maybe had some fresh cut flowers on the countertops, but alas I am me, & I don’t plan ahead for anything.

So on to the countertops we chose because that’s what today’s post is all about. We originally wanted carrera marble & no one was going to talk me out of it. So, I started doing some research & discovered that marble required maintenance. & then I remembered how sloppy I am & how I need low maintenance in my life or it will look terrible in a year. Back to the drawing board. My little designer heart was crushed. Then I discovered a little thing called quartz. It’s made from little bits of quartz & resin to create a countertop that looks like stone. It’s the most durable & low maintenance of the counter tops, but would they have one that looked like marble? 

So I discovered Silestone USA through my dad who is a genius. & I discovered Helix by Silestone & my little designer heart was happy again. A quartz countertop that was way more durable & less maintenance than marble, that looked like marble. Done. We had them installed in our tiny cottage kitchen & we have lived here with them 8 months & we are SO HAPPY. They are so durable. They actually hide messes which is a pro & a con, but I thought the lighter counter would show everything & it doesn’t. The one thing about quartz is it is a little more pricey than let’s say a laminate, but only depending on what style you get. Quartz actually starts out cheaper than marble & granite which is pretty awesome too. The most durable low maintenance “stone looking” counter could be less than granite or marble. Pretty cool. I should be the spokesperson for quartz because I love it so much. Also, since we had such a small space we were not really concerned with cost as much. For the edges of the counter we chose an eased edge with a rounded corner. 

Pros:

-Natually anti-bacterial because it’s non-poress
-The most durable & most resistant to stains & damage
-No maintanance required
-Seems are less visible than other choices
-Environmentally friendly
-Comes in a wider variety of colors than natural stone
– I could go on.. do your research to learn more about these amazing countertops.

Cons:

-Some finishes are pricier than others. Really shop around until you find one that fits your budget.

We love our quartz countertops & have no regrets about them at all. Of course there are other great countertop options & I’m not putting any of them down, this is just our favorite pick. There are a million color & pattern options with quartz as well, I chose the carrera marble look-alike route, but there are so many more. Because it’s not a natural stone there are more color & pattern options which is pretty sweet ifI do say so myself. You literally can’t go wrong with quartz & I have yet to see anything negative written against it. I highly recommend Silestone, we really are impressed with the slabs of quartz we got & would use them again. I wish they were paying me to say that, but alas they may never see how beautiful this quartz looks in our home… I should tweet them. Ok. I’m done. I hope this quartz countertop review was informative & that you maybe learned something new & it was helpful. We will be finishing our kitchen soon with some new hardware finally & a few other details which will be fun. Our kitchen may be little, but it sure does have a lot of character. Let me know what you think in the comments below, find me on Facebook, & chat with me on Instagram!

Ps. SHOW ME YOUR KITCHEN! Post a photo of your kitchen on Instagram & tag me @LizMarieGalvan & hashtag #LMBloves in the description & I will be featuring some kitchens this week. Can’t wait to see yours!!

Some kitchen sources:

Tray: Painted Fox
Light fixtures: Home Depot
Lunch sign: World Market
Tile: Home Depot
Cabinets: Holiday
Wooden boxes, clock, spoons, & more: Antique
Dining chairs: Scout and Nimble
Recipe box: Anthropologie
Canisters: Marshalls
Coffee mug holder: World Market
Mugs: Marshalls & Hobby Lobby