Super White Granite Countertops (Kitchen Designs)
A stone countertop can give your kitchen an elevated, unique appearance. After all, no two stone countertops seem to be the same, and you have many options. One option gaining a lot of traction in recent years is the option of Super White Granite, which has started to crop up more and more.
What sets this stone apart from the rest, though? How does it fare as a countertop option during your next kitchen renovation project?
What is Super White Granite?
Super White Granite is a natural stone often sought after for its unique properties and appearance, available for use both indoors and out. Despite the name, the material isn’t just available in pure white.
It’s a generally light-colored stone that might even look gray or beige. Like many types of granite countertops, you also have a unique appearance offered by natural veining. In Super White Granite, the veining can vary from subtle and light to striking and dark.
The appearance of Super White Granite means it’s well-loved. However, it’s not as common as some other options when it comes to uses like kitchen countertops. Yet, this can also help make your kitchen even more one-of-a-kind.
This is largely because Super White Granite isn’t as abundant as a material like wood for a countertop. It’s really only found in Brazil – in a particular quarry at that. So, Super White Granite does tend to come at a higher cost than more readily available materials.
Is It Quartzite or Dolomite?
Quartzite countertops rely on a natural material to breathe new life into your kitchen. This type of material is born from a metamorphic rock that forms thanks to intense pressure and heat on a material like chert or sandstone.
Because quartzite is often used because of its resemblance to marble, it’s easy to see why some might assume that Super White Granite is a type of quartzite. Super White Granite countertops are actually made up of another type of rock – dolomite.
Dolomite is a sedimentary rock, not an igneous one. On the other hand, much like quartzite, dolomite is often used in place of marble. This type of rock boasts a bit more strength than marble but it’s still a bit softer than quartzite, making it slightly less scratch-resistant compared to those options.
Put another way, this material is strong, but you’ll still want to take some care against scratching it because it isn’t invulnerable. Dolomite countertops offer additional longevity compared to marble as well, making it a great practical choice that still keeps with the aesthetic effect of those made out of marble.
Super-White Granite Finishes
Super White Granite is a great choice whether you have an indoor or outdoor kitchen that you want to re-outfit. Not only is it versatile and unique in appearance, but a few practical features lead people to add Super White Granite to their material options for kitchen countertops.
Super White Granite also benefits from the ability to treat the material or add a few final touches with a polish or finish. This is far more than just aesthetics too – although you have plenty of flexibility here too.
These processes can help make your Super White Granite countertops more resistant to bacteria, heat, and damages like scratches. All of these features are invaluable in a kitchen.
While Super White Granite and marble kitchen countertops may look similar, there is one distinct advantage that Super White Granite has over marble. That is that Super White Granite is naturally resistant to stains while marble isn’t. So, that splash of sauce on the counter isn’t as catastrophic as you might think.
Polished Finish
Different finishes will also help you create unique final products when you use Super White Granite for your kitchen countertops. Polished, honed, or suede finishes are among the most common.
Polished finishes are perhaps the most popular. When the process of polishing the countertop is finished, you’re left with a bit of a glossy shine. This can reflect the light and serve as an eye-catching look, but there are a few practical benefits too.
A polished finish helps to further protect your countertop from stains by decreasing porosity. If you want the aesthetic appeal to stick around, though, you’ll want to make sure you keep up with regular cleanings and clean up any messes as soon as they happen.
Honed Finish
If a polished look isn’t quite for you, a more matte appearance is achievable with a honed finish on your Super White Granite countertop. The surface of the material is ground down to achieve this type of finish, and the result is a rather flat, even finish that is a bit gentler than a polished finish.
Unfortunately, there are a few practical costs to a honed finish. The process of honing the Super White Granite countertop can make it easier to stain the stone. If you want to make sure it looks great for years to come, make sure to keep up with sealing the stone and keeping it as clean as possible.
Sueded Countertop Finish
A sueded kitchen countertop is similar to a honed finish in that it gives you a matte finish compared to a more glossy, polished appearance. The primary difference you’ll notice is in texture.
A honed finish is rather smooth and clean but a sueded finish has more texture much like a suede or leather fabric has a lightly grooved texture to the touch.
This gives you a bit of a more dynamic appearance with the finish of your Super White Granite types of kitchen countertops. You can often decide the degree to which you’d like your new kitchen countertops textured, giving you even further customization options.
Slab Characteristics
When Super White Granite or any other natural stone is used in a kitchen countertop, it obviously doesn’t start as a perfectly cut countertop. Rather, it was mined and formed into slabs – a big sheet of Super White Granite ready to be treated, finished, and shaped to your needs.
Remember, no two slabs will be quite the same because you’re looking at a stone option. Super White Granite can vary in coloring as well as veining. So, looking at one slab isn’t indicative of what every Super White Granite slab will look like.
You’ll want to consider this when perusing samples of this material. A more accurate sample will come from the same area your potential slab was mined in. Even then, you might still see some natural variation, but this is what makes these countertops so unique.
Granite Cost
As mentioned, one of the important things to note about Super White Granite is that its lower availability does means that kitchen countertops made with this material come at a higher cost.
First, let’s break down the cost of materials. If you want to just buy the Super White Granite countertop on its own, the slabs will run you about $50 per square foot. This can vary slightly depending on factors like where you buy the material and where you live, though.
However, most people don’t install their kitchen countertops themselves. So, you’ll have to take factors like installation into mind. When you add installation fees, the practical cost of Super White Granite kitchen countertops is between $75 and $100 per square foot.
This is crucial to calculate since replacing countertops isn’t a DIY for the faint of heart. There’s a plus side, though. If you’re looking to resell your home at any point, these countertops can help add to the value of your home, too.
How to Maintain Super-White Granite
While Super White Granite kitchen countertops are rather durable and not quite as maintenance-heavy as marble, there is some work to be done to keep your countertops looking new.
For example, your Super White Granite countertops aren’t completely safe from scratches and etchings if you aren’t careful. While they boast features such as scratch resistance, this doesn’t mean they’re completely scratch-proof.
However, they’re far less susceptible to this damage if you take the time to seal the granite countertop during installation and again once every year after that.
As for daily maintenance, you’ll want to start by keeping the countertops clean. Yet, you’ll want to skip out on any harsh chemicals or strong acids – these are more likely to etch the surface of your countertop.
If anything spills or splashes on the surface, don’t panic! Just wipe up the spill as quickly as possible to avoid any discoloration.
Super White Granite offers plenty of benefits, and it’s an especially good choice if you want something that evokes the same modern elegance that looks like marble while adding some extra durability.
In the end, the cost of Super White Granite comes with plenty of benefits that will keep your kitchen looking great and operating smoothly for years to come.
See more related content in our article about brown granite kitchen countertops on this page.
