Slate stones are actually some of the best flooring for kitchen because of its durability and ability to morph into both contemporary and rustic country styling. After seeing how fantastic this design turned out, I'm definitely going to be using them again.

Personally, I think that you can never go wrong with granite countertops in the kitchen. Most builders and homeowners alike consider them the gold standard as far as durability, maintenance and design. They are virtually indestructible and come in a huge variety of shades and color variations from today's most popular white granite countertops to cool faux marble look like these. Whenever I am designing a kitchen, countertops tend to be one of the first things I pick out because they hold such a huge place in the design. This particular homeowner really wanted marble counters but, due to the expense and poor durability, we decided to hunt for granite colors that imitated the look she wanted. This awesome white and grey marbled stone was the perfect choice and actually gave the kitchen a more contemporary than the marble she originally wanted -- all around a win win.

I have been dying to replace our formica vanity with some beautiful granite countertops for the longest time. Our current bathroom vanity tops are all very low quality materials that, in my opinion, definitely age our home and bring down its value. While on the hunt for some replacements, I came across these cool contemporary style slabs that give a very sleek and modern look to the bathroom designs. I would like to incorporate bathroom countertops in this style over our existing shaker style cabinets because I think that it will update the space and give it a cool contemporary vibe -- especially if we also add a vessel-style sink like these. I am not really sure where to purchase this style granite countertops, so if anybody has some experience with this, I am definitely all ears.

Granite countertops are by far my top choice when in comes to solid surface materials for a luxury chefs kitchen. Whenever I am doing a high end design like the one in these photos, that is generally my second design decision right after picking out cabinets. Sure granite countertops cost more than a lot of other varieties, but the durability, style, and ease to maintain definitely make it worth it in my opinion. They are virtually indestructible unlike popular marble countertops that stain and can become scratched and worn. When cared for properly, granite can remain shiny and gorgeous for decades. Lately, I have been gravitating towards these more bold and abstract marblings in the stone because I think it makes more of a wow statement in the overall decor of the kitchen or bathroom.

Picking out granite countertops was actually way more difficult than I thought it would be -- there are so many colors and patterns that it can be a challenge to determine which one blends best with the rest of your finishes. No matter what type of solid surface countertops you are installing, I would highly recommend bringing samples of every element that you have decided on already. This includes cabinet stain, flooring material, knobs and handles that will be used, as well as any metal finishes you are able to bring. Kitchen countertops are often right up against all of these elements (and also take up a huge amount of visual square footage) so it is important to consider everything before selecting your stone.

How stunning are these unique striped granite countertops -- they give such a cool modern look to this modern beach bungalow. I have been looking around at kitchen countertops options in order to help me pick out the right material for our new contemporary style kitchen. We are going to have similar grey painted cabinets, so I wanted something bold and unique that would act as a decorative focal point against the fairly plain finish. A piece of granite like this would be the absolute perfect pairing. I think that I would keep it only on the island and then use simple white or grey quartz countertops on the rest of the units so as not to overwhelm the design (and to cut down on costs).