With most interior decorating projects, my wife takes the lead. She enjoys being artistic and she has a much better eye for style than I do. That’s how kitchen counter shopping started. But when I got involved in looking at local Utah granite countertops dealers, I couldn’t leave it alone.
It wasn’t an issue of trust, the intricate and unique patterns in the stone and the entire process of turning into a countertop consumed me. If you look closely at a polished piece of rock you can see aeons of history. I think of the volcanic forge it started in, the pressure over time, and the chance mingling of different elements that created the beautiful designs in every piece. It’s equally fascinating to me that we are able to have these amazing granite and marble countertops installed in our kitchens so easily.
After some time of investigating geology and looking at pictures of stone slabs on the web, I dragged my wife to a Utah granite countertops dealer with a warehouse you can browse and select your own slab. A guide took us through the warehouse where they cut the stone with extremely high pressure water streams. We browsed the huge polished slabs of granite, slate, and onyx. Each one had it’s own unique patterns and colors. We were delighted at how onyx stone glows when bathed in light. I was sold on onyx at that moment. My wife kept a cool head, though, and reminded me that a soft stone like onyx might not stand up too well in the high traffic area we would be using it. I’ll have to think of other places we need counters.
Still, we had plenty of great options. Our guide made a convincing case for his engineered quartz countertops. They are made from 93% natural quartz stone and 7% resin. Countertops quartz is a low maintenance and extremely impact resistant material. At the same time, I wouldn’t have guessed a man-made stone would be so attractive, but I was impressed at how natural it looks. I don’t know if I’d have caught that it was manufactured if I didn’t already know.
After all our browsing beautiful stone, we decided to go with a dark granite slab with smaller grains and a subtle a swirl pattern. Among natural stones, Granite is very low maintenance and stands up well to heavy use — comparable to the countertops of quartz. What tipped the scale, though, was the idea of having eons of history showing in the grain of the natural stone. My wife liked it as well. As I said, she has an eye for this sort of thing.
When our countertops were finally cut and installed, we both loved the result. The job was finished quickly and skillfully. And we look forward to adding to the million years of history.
Bedrock Quartz
5996 Dannon Way
West Jordan, UT 84081
Ph: (801) 282-3322