When you are renovating your kitchen you have many different decisions to make – what colour scheme are you going for? What sort of cabinets will you choose? Do you have space for a countertop island in the middle of the room, or do you need to stick to a functional one for your cooking space?

These are just a few decisions you should think about, with countless others, but one of the main decisions is regarding your stone countertop.

If you go for a stone countertop, which is certainly the most popular and cost-effective choice, you need to make sure you get the right one for your cash, as well as the right material and colour too.

When choosing your particular stone countertop, remember these seven tips.

1. Think about your maintenance requirements – If you don’t want to have to think about too much in the way of maintenance after installation, then you might want to consider quartz for your worktop stone material. Granite and marble both need to be sealed annually, but quartz does not, and that means it is a much more cost-effective choice to go for.
2. What kind of appearance do you want? – Quartz, granite, and marble are the three main stone choices you have, and all of them look fantastic, but which you need to think about how you really want it to look. Marble is the opulent, classy choice, whereas quartz is super glossy. Granite has that earthy, classic look too. You need to put some serious thought into this.
3. How often do you want to clean it? – Of course, you need to clean regularly anyway, because otherwise it’s not hygienic, but granite and marble require more in the way of cleaning, because they are more likely to absorb liquids and therefore harbour germs. Quartz on the other hand does not harbour any bacteria and is a much cleaner choice.
4. Do you do baking regularly? – If you are a keen baker than a marble worktop is for you. This is because the stone retains a very low temperature regardless of what is going on around it, which makes it perfect for baking, especially anything involving pastry.
5. What sort of colour shade do you want? If you are looking for bright and vibrant colours then quartz is for you; if you’re wanting something earthy, go for granite stone; if you want classic opulence, then it’s marble all the way.
6. Make sure you shop around – If you want the best deal then you need to shop around and see what you can find, in order to save time not only on the countertop itself, but also on installation. Bear in mind that the more obscure colour you choose, probably the higher the cost. Marble isn’t as expensive as you might think, but rarer shades will be higher in cost.
7. Put time and effort into your choice. This is an important decision in terms of your entire kitchen and your budget, because if you get it wrong, it’s going to seriously cost you. Make sure you take advice, shop around, look at colours in person, not just on the internet, and take your time before coming to your final decision.

Bear these points in mind and you will be able to find the perfect stone countertop for your kitchen.