MSI Quartz

A backsplash is an essential design element that protects your kitchen walls from spills and splashes while adding a decorative touch. It sits behind the countertop and stove, extending up to the cabinets or ceiling, and can significantly influence the overall aesthetic of your kitchen.

If you have beautiful quartz countertops, choosing the right backsplash can enhance their elegance and tie the whole room together. Here are some creative backsplash ideas focusing on natural stone options to complement your quartz countertops.

Marble Backsplash

Marble is a timeless and luxurious choice for a backsplash. Its natural veining and wide range of colors can add a sophisticated touch to your kitchen. Marble pairs beautifully with quartz countertops, especially if you choose a color that complements the hues in your quartz.

For example, if you have white quartz countertops with subtle gray veins, a Carrara marble backsplash can create a cohesive and elegant look. Additionally, marble’s polished finish can reflect light, making your kitchen feel brighter and more spacious.

Subway Tile Backsplash

Subway tiles are a classic and versatile option for a backsplash. They offer a clean, straightforward look that complements various design styles. While white subway tiles are a tried-and-true classic, you can get creative with different colors and finishes.

You can also choose different patterns, such as herringbone or stacked, to add a touch of creativity to your kitchen.

Contrasting Quartz Backsplash

For a sleek and modern look, consider using quartz in a contrasting color or pattern for your backsplash. This approach allows you to create a striking visual contrast while maintaining the durability and low maintenance of quartz.

If you have light-colored quartz countertops, opt for a darker quartz backsplash, and vice versa. This contrast can highlight the unique characteristics of each surface, adding depth and interest to your kitchen design. Quartz is also resistant to stains and scratches, making it a practical and stylish choice for a backsplash.

Mosaic Tile Backsplash

While stone is a fantastic choice, incorporating mosaic tiles can add a touch of artistry to your backsplash. Mosaic tiles come in various materials, including glass, ceramic, and stone, and can be arranged in intricate patterns or simple designs.

A mosaic tile backsplash can provide a colorful and dynamic contrast to the smooth, uniform surface of quartz countertops. Choose colors that complement your quartz to create a perfectly on-brand kitchen design for your home.

Granite Backsplash

Granite is often used for countertops, but it also makes a striking backsplash. Its durability and resistance to heat and stains make it an excellent choice for a kitchen backsplash.

Granite comes in various colors and patterns, allowing you to choose a design that complements your quartz countertops perfectly. For a cohesive look, you can select a granite backsplash that matches your quartz countertops or choose a contrasting color to create a bold statement.

Quartzite Backsplash

Quartzite offers a blend of durability and natural beauty, making it an excellent choice for a backsplash. This natural stone is available in various colors and patterns, providing an elegant and sophisticated look that pairs well with quartz countertops.

Quartzite is harder than granite and resistant to heat and scratches, ensuring that your backsplash remains beautiful and functional for years to come. Its subtle, earthy tones can create a harmonious and balanced look in your kitchen.

Choosing A Backsplash

Choosing the right backsplash for your quartz countertops can transform your kitchen into a stunning and functional space. No matter what you prefer, the countertop pros at Wallstone can help you find just what you need to suit your style.

Contact us today for a free quote and let our experts help you create the kitchen of your dreams.

As smaller living spaces continue to proliferate, the cozy kitchen has become a prevailing reality for many renters and homeowners alike. Navigating the challenges of limited square footage calls for innovative design solutions that help maximize space without sacrificing style.

In this exploration, we’re diving into the world of sleek kitchen designs, recognizing their pivotal role in transforming compact kitchens into functional, beautiful spaces.

Smaller kitchens demand a thoughtful approach, and the choice of material plays a crucial part. Quartz emerges as a versatile and durable ally, offering practicality and design flexibility.

Join us as we unravel the potential of quartz in elevating the look and feel of small kitchens, proving that style knows no size constraints.

Quartz Countertops: Practical Elegance

Quartz countertops offer a trifecta of practical advantages in modern kitchen design. First, their unparalleled durability stands up to daily wear and tear, resisting most scratches and stains.

Second, the nonporous nature of quartz countertops makes them highly resistant to bacteria and a breeze to clean, promoting a hygienic environment.

Finally, low maintenance is a standout feature—quartz countertops do not require sealing, and spills can be easily wiped away.

These practical benefits ensure a long-lasting investment that looks amazing and saves space simultaneously.

Quartz Backsplashes Create Visual Flow

As a key element in smaller spaces, backsplashes help craft a cohesive theme that resonates in a more tightly confined area. In a less-spacious interior, every design element must harmonize to amplify the illusion of openness.

Quartz, with its diverse color palette and pattern options, seamlessly integrates into various aesthetics. By extending quartz from countertops to backsplashes, a continuous surface can be achieved, eliminating visual interruptions and fostering a unified design.

The reflective properties of quartz further enhance both natural and artificial lighting, contributing to a more open, inviting atmosphere. This strategic use of quartz backsplashes not only elevates the overall aesthetics but also creates a streamlined, visually expansive narrative within the confined quarters of a smaller kitchen.

Space-Optimizing Quartz Islands

Space-saving islands serve as multitasking marvels in compact kitchens. Beyond their intrinsic aesthetic appeal, these islands are meticulously designed to maximize functionality and storage in confined spaces.

Quartz, with its durability and versatility, proves an ideal material for crafting seamless surfaces that can serve as both a prep area and a casual dining space. The strategic integration of storage solutions beneath the quartz island addresses the challenge of limited cabinetry in small kitchens.

By efficiently utilizing vertical and horizontal space, quartz-topped islands become focal points, fostering a chivalrous blend of style and utility, transforming tight kitchen areas into visually appealing oases.

Ready to Make the Most of Your Cozy Kitchen?

Within the realm of compact kitchens, the transformative power of sleek quartz designs is undeniable. From countertops to backsplash solutions and space-optimizing islands, quartz is a formidable ally.

The cohesion achieved through quartz creates an illusion of expansiveness in limited spaces, making every inch count.

As you begin your home improvement journey, consider the enduring practicality and charming allure that quartz brings to the table—or countertop.

To turn your ideas into reality, explore the stunning quartz options available at Wallstone Stone Countertops.

Contact us today to discuss how quartz can revolutionize your small kitchen, blending style with sensible design solutions.

The kitchen is probably the most frequented room in your house, which means the countertop is the place where everything happens. That means you should have a good idea of how to keep yours clean.

Cleaning Your Countertop: The Supplies

Here’s what you need to keep your kitchen countertops shiny and sparkling:

Cleaning cloths

The best kind of cloth to use is a microfiber cloth, but you can also use paper towels or a simple kitchen towel. For the job, you’ll want at least two towels because you’ll need one to apply the soap and rinse off the suds and one to dry the surface after you’ve scrubbed it.

Dish soap

Usually, the type of dish soap you have sitting by your sink will work just fine for this task.

Disinfectant

Cleaning and disinfecting are two different tasks. Since your kitchen countertops are such a high-touch area, regular disinfecting is wise—especially if you handle raw meat often. Just be careful: if you’ve got countertops that are made of natural stone, you’ll want to avoid disinfectants that include acidic substances like bleach, vinegar, or citrus.

Sealer

Natural stone countertops are porous materials, which means they require sealant—and that sealant requires refreshing every so often to maintain a protective layer for your stone.

Cleaning Duration

How long your countertops take to clean depends on how big they are, the material that they’re made of, and how often you clean them. A good deep clean takes somewhere around a half hour. A regular, once-a-day wipe-down shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. But if you’ve got especially stubborn stains, you might expect to be there for a bit longer.

How to Clean Your Countertop

The first thing you’ll want to do to get the cleanest countertop possible is to wipe it free of any stray dirt and crumbs.

After the crumbs are gone, find the cloth you want to use and add some dish soap to it, then get the cloth damp. Then, wipe down the counter! You can always reapply dish soap if you run out before you’re done cleaning.

Once you’ve scrubbed the counter, rinse out your cloth until all soap residue is gone, then get it wet again with warm water. Rinse all the suds off the countertop and wipe it dry immediately after with your dry cloth.

After the countertop is dry, you can take that time to disinfect it. Leave the sanitizer on for as long as it needs in order to do its job (somewhere around two minutes or so), then wipe it off. And remember—if you’re working with a natural stone countertop, don’t sanitize with anything that contains heavy acids because that can damage the sealer on your stone or even the stone itself. If you’re worried, do a spot test before wiping down the entire countertop.

Your Bright and Shiny Countertop

At Wallstone Stone Countertops, we know that your countertops are important to you—and that means you should know how to keep them as beautiful as possible. If you have any further questions about your countertop’s cleaning routine, be sure to reach out to us.

When our customers are trying to choose their bathroom countertop, they often conclude that they’d like quartz or marble. If you’re in that same boat, you’ve come to the right place. How do you make that decision? Which material is better for the bathroom?

Quartz Countertops

Quartz is a man-made material composed of natural quartz crystals, resins, polymers, and pigments. These countertops are often designed to mimic the look of natural stone, but they come with much less maintenance than natural stone selections do.

Marble Countertops

Marble is a metamorphic rock that naturally occurs in the earth. It is made when minerals like calcite, limestone, dolomite, and serpentine are placed under great pressure and high temperatures for hundreds of years. Marble countertops are beautiful, but they come with their fair share of maintenance needs.

Quartz or Marble: Design

Even though quartz can mimic the design of marble, there’s nothing that quite reaches the luxurious look that marble countertops boast. There are countless options available in marble, with unique colorations and veining.

Quartz also comes in a variety of patterns and designs to choose from. Quartz has the potential to have veining as well, just like marble, and some even have flecks of reflective mirror chips on the surface.

Quartz or Marble: Durability

Marble is a porous stone, which means that it can be vulnerable to stains—especially from acidic substances. Always make sure to seal your marble countertops in order to preserve their integrity and beauty. Marble countertops can also scratch somewhat easily, which isn’t always a great quality for the bathroom.

Quartz is inherently nonporous, which means it doesn’t require a sealing routine. It doesn’t stain or scratch easily either, which makes it the winning choice in this case.

Quartz or Marble: Maintenance

Marble countertops require a fair amount of care, and that’s something you should be ready for if you decide to install them. They need to be sealed at installation and then periodically over the course of their lifetime. They should also be cleaned frequently, with regular polishing.

Quartz countertops are polished during production, which means they don’t need to be sealed or polished ever again. Much like marble, they should be cleaned often with mild soap, warm water, and a soft cloth.

One thing to note about quartz countertops is that they are not as heat resistant as marble surfaces. Since there are resins included in their composition, they don’t have the same heat resistance as natural stone.

Choosing Quartz

Between marble and quartz for the bathroom, quartz is the option we recommend at Wallstone Stone Countertops. In the end, this stone is notably more durable than marble, and it has the ability to match almost any style of bathroom.

Beyond that, even though quartz is an engineered stone, that fact will be anything but obvious—only a true professional would be able to tell. It has the same high-class appeal that natural stone does, along with added durability, hygiene, and lasting power.

Quartz countertops are easier to maintain than marble and will last for years—maybe even longer than your home itself.

Are you ready to incorporate quartz countertops into your bathroom? Call Wallstone Stone Countertops today to get started!

People love quartz countertops for plenty of reasons: they’re durable, attractive, and incredibly long lasting. Investing in the best quartz countertops is never a bad idea.

Quartz also comes in all sorts of designs, patterns, and colorations. Since it’s a man-made product, you’ll often find more variety than you would in a natural stone.

Beyond that, quartz is super easy to clean because it’s nonporous. That also means it doesn’t ever have to be sealed.

In this article, we’ll dive deep into just what quartz is made out of—so if you’ve been consistently looking for “quartz countertops near me,” you’ve come to the right place.

Quartz: A Man-Made Material

Quartz countertops can be confusing. We say that they’re man-made, but isn’t quartz a mineral that comes from the earth? Both statements can be true, and we’ll explain why.

Quartz is actually one of the most abundant minerals on the planet, and it scores high on the Mohs Scale of Hardness (which means it’s very hard). But that’s not to say quartz countertops are made from natural quartz alone. Unlike granite countertops, which are made of pure granite, quartz countertops include additives as well—and that qualifies them as engineered stones.

Keep reading to learn more about the process of how they’re made.

Quartz Countertops: What’s Inside?

There are a few steps that go into converting quartz crystals into the countertop slabs that you’re familiar with. Let’s break those steps down.

Step 1: Creating the mix

While quartz countertops aren’t 100 percent quartz, they are mostly quartz—sitting anywhere between 90 and 94 percent. This amount of quartz is ground up and combined with polymers, resins, pigments, and sometimes crushed pieces of other minerals and even mirrors. The polymers and resins bind the particles together, and the pigments are there for color.

Step 2: Molding the shape

After the mixture is done, it creates a material that feels similar to wet sand. That wet sand-like material is then poured into a mold and distributed evenly to create a perfectly flat slab.

Step 3: Putting on the pressure

In order to create a solid material out of this mixture, it needs extreme pressure. This extreme pressure also ensures the nonporous nature of quartz countertops, along with their rock-hard exterior. When the mixture is compressed, all of the ingredients bind together, and vacuums are used so the process remains airtight and the compression is absolute—with no air pockets to speak of.

Step 4: Turning up the heat

The quartz slabs are then dried and heated at very high temperatures to ensure the hardness of the final product.

Step 5: The final touches

The final touches involve polishing the quartz slabs after they’ve cooled down from the heating process. This makes the surface shiny and gives it that gorgeous, sparkling look that you love.

All about Quartz Countertops

At Wallstone Stone Countertops, you can expect to find the best quartz countertop installers right here on our team. We know all about quartz and the work that goes into creating it, and we’d love to help you implement this gorgeous stone into your kitchen.

For a hygienic, easy-to-clean, easy-to-maintain, beautiful engineered stone, get in touch with Wallstone Stone Countertops for the best quartz countertops you can find.