Light Coloured Worktops

I have dark coloured units and would like to go for a very light worktop should I go for granite or quartz?

There are some beautiful dark coloured doors out there at the moment but not everyone who goes for a dark colour door wants a dark worktop so there is an increasing trend to light and bright colour worktop materials.

In a natural granite it is very hard to get pure light colours. If purity is your thing then quartz worktops may well be an option for you. Quartz is a man-made material that is predominantly crushed stone with a small amount of resin added (about 8%), because it is man-made a greater purity of colour and vibrancy of colour can be achieved by adding colour to the resin, other things can also be added e.g mirror flecks or bits of glass, shell etc.

With dark grey or black units you may wish to go for a white or off-white stone. For a really pure white Silestone Zeus or Compac's Absolut blanc are two of the whitest but most of the quartz companies produce something pretty pure white or nearly pure white e.g Bianco puro by Arenastone. The purer whites tend to work out more expensive but it does depend on your individual requirements so it is worth getting a company that can supply arrange of different manufacturers so that they can find the best product for your particular circumstances.

If you have a little bit more fleck the price comes down but the overall impression of the tops will still be pretty white and you will still have the consistency and uniformity of pattern to keep that really sleek contemporary look. Try looking at Luna by Compac, Arcadia by Cimstone, Asti Bianco by Arenastone or Divinity white by Diresco.

If you want a bit of “bling” then look at  Bianco Stelline by Arenastone, Bianco Stella by silestone, and Lactea by Compac. Nearly all the brands do sparkly quartz in Black, Dark Blue, Red, Cream and White but there are out there also Light Blue, Citrine, Rose, Brown  and probably others too!

Cream coloured quartzes are also very popular with the dark wood effect doors and stripy dark doors. There is a huge choice from off-white/cream through buttermilk and cappucino colours to deep honey beige and sandy colours. There is literally something for everyone. There are some fairly plain ones with the barest hint of a sparkle like Coco by Compac or ones with much more pattern like Crema Sasso from Arenastone. Cimstone do a good value cream called Oasis, it tends to be the sparkly ones that get dearer.

If uniformity is not your thing and you are looking for something completely unique – a piece of worktop that you literally won't see the exact same as anywhere else - then a granite would be the thing for you.

Light colour granites on the whole are very variable so it is always best to try and view the actual batch or block that you will be getting. Kashmir White granite is absolutely stunning with large rivers of colour running through it in shades of grey/black where the background colour is predominantly a winter white (this can very through cream or even slightly greenish white). It has small red/brown spots that look fabulous with wine, burgundy and ruby coloured doors and with the dark reddish woods like cherry and walnut. The greys in Kashmir white mean that it also goes beautifully with dark or dove grey units and black doors.

There are other white granites that are plainer than Kashmir white e.g Panna Fragola but even the plainest white granites will be a lot more flecky than the purer quartz materials and the granites will take more in the way of maintaining- depending on the material you choose you will need to reseal the granite with stain impregnator every now and then. Also larger patterns and worktops with striated patterns are more likely to show joins if you have them.

If you would like a lighter granite but not a white then there are loads out there you just may have to travel to check out the actual material you are getting. A good supplier will be able to give you good advice and be able to point you in the right direction for a material that will work for you!

A lot of the darker woodgrain effect doors go well with creamy goldy colours – a good granite to go with these is Kashmir Gold which is much warmer in tone to the Kashmir White and can vary from subtle honey hues through to a deep rich golden yellow which will brighten the darkest kitchen units!