Featured Image Source: SilestoneUSA.com
Choosing the best countertop option for your bathroom or kitchen is tough, particularly with kitchens. Choosing the right countertop with all of the alternatives on the market, like marble and granite is a challenge, but when comparing features like staining and scratches, silestone fares well. Silestone is manufactured from quartz, which provides many color tones, styles, and finishes for kitchen countertops and bathroom treatments, complementing many home styles and decorating tastes.
What is Silestone?
Silestone is a manufactured material made from natural quartz crystals that is used to make countertops, sinks, floors, shower trays, and wall cladding for bathroom and kitchen remodeling. Known for its durability and non-porous structure, the material is hard and more resistant to scratches, stains, bacteria, and viruses than other countertop surfaces. Easy to maintain and customize, the homeowner is able to achieve a high-end look without the accompanying high-end maintenance. Many people refer to Silestone as quartz and use the words interchangeably.How is Silestone Made?
Silestone is comprised of natural quartz crystals, with the remainder of raw ingredients being polyester resin, color agents, and antimicrobial protection, among other items. The polyester resin is what binds and holds the quartz crystals together, creating the Silestone surface.
Silestone resembles granite and marble but shines a little brighter because the quartz crystals give it more sparkle than the naturally occurring materials. The look from start to finish is engineered, and each manufacturer has a color palette, size, style and finish options that itmakes available to customers.
How is Silestone Made?
Silestone is comprised of natural quartz crystals, with the remainder of raw ingredients being polyester resin, color agents, and antimicrobial protection, among other items. The polyester resin is what binds and holds the quartz crystals together, creating the Silestone surface.
Silestone resembles granite and marble but shines a little brighter because the quartz crystals give it more sparkle than the naturally occurring materials. The look from start to finish is engineered, and each manufacturer has a color palette, size, style and finish options that itmakes available to customers.
Silestone in Kitchens
The kitchen is the heart of the home, particularly in modern open floor plan kitchens that connectinto the family room. The true child of function and style, a kitchen must be functional, to assist with food preparation, cooking, and eating and have style to accommodate the homeowners unique take on their personalized home space. To do this best, size, color, and style preferences must be determined.
Good for Large or Small Kitchens
No matter the size of the kitchen, there is a Silestone surface for you. Your countertop, sink, floors, and walls can be covered with Silestone. No space is too small or too big.
Contemporary Style Best Use of Silestone
Much is said about the type of home Silestone is best for. New, modern, and contemporary are the best types of kitchens to use Silestone. Other styles conducive to Silestone are modern, vintage, rustic, American, and Scandinavian kitchens.
Most Color Options Available On the Market Today
The most interesting feature of quartz is the variety of colors that can be made in the Silestone products. On trend whites, greys, and dark tones or pastel tones are available. No matter your color preference there is an extensive and growing color library available for perusal during the kitchen design process.
Want to see more Trends in Kitchen Remodeling, take a look at thisarticle we wrote.
What are the Silestone Quartz Colors?
Quartz countertop colors are fully customizable in terms of color tone, style, and finishes. Among the choices a homeowner or designer can make are as follows.
The available color tones range from light grey to white, cream to beige, dark grey and black, yellow and orange, pink and red, green, blue, and brown. Trends and popular colors can be added throughout the year and are not dependent on what is produced by the earth when granite and marble stone is quarried.
The available quartz countertop styles are plain, veined, fine grain, or coarse grain. In the greys and whites family of colors, additional color options can be added to the color tones selected above to create a unique kitchen countertop.
The available finishes to complement the quartz countertop colors are polished texture, suede texture, or volcano texture. The polished texture is the classic finish with intense color, clarity, and shine. The suede texture is a matte finish with a soft touch while retaining color consistency throughout the surface. The volcano texture rustic yet smooth to the feel and appearance.
The edges of the Silestone surface is also customizable. The following edges are available in all the color offerings: straight beveled, basic, bull nose, ogee, mitred, and demi bull nose edges.
- The straight beveled edge is square with slanted top edge.
- The basic edge is square with a slightly eased top edge.
- A bull nose edge is completely finished round.
- An ogee edge is a conclave arch that transitions into a cortex arch.
- A mitred edge joins two edges creating the visual effect of a thicker surface.
- A demi bull nose edge is rounded oblong at the top and flattens at bottom for a straight edge.
Silestone Formats
The formats or sizes available depend on the Silestone treatment. Countertop slab formats are offered in two sizes: standard 55” x 120” or jumbo 63” x 128.” Flooring tiles come in the five following sizes: 12” x 12”, 12” x 24”, 12” x 35”, 18” x 18”, and 24” x 24”. The Silestone surface thickness is available in three sizes: 1.2 cm, 2 cm, and 3 cm.
Why Silestone is a Good Choice for Quartz Countertops Colors for Kitchens
Scratch Resistant
Silestone is scratch resistant and scorch resistant. Quartz is one of the most durable materials found in nature. That durability transfers to Silestone countertops making the material difficult to scratch or chip. The material is less hard and formal than marble or granite, softening the overall feel of the kitchen countertop. Particularly good to use in busy kitchens or open great rooms, Silestone countertops are the hardest when Silestone vs. granite is compared.
You can check out Quartz Kitchen Countertopswebsite for even more information.
Non-porous Surface
The Silestone countertop surface is non-porous. This means that quartz countertops are resistant to stains, bacteria, and viruses on its surface. Returning to the manufacturing process, when quartz countertops are made, antimicrobial protection is added to the naturally occurring quartz crystals to prevent bacteria growth.
Easy to Clean
Silestone is easy to maintain. Silestone mimics the beauty and feel of granite and marble, but it does not require sealing or special maintenance. Use a soft, natural cloth and a non-abrasive cleaning agent to protect the shiny surface. No need to wipe or scrub hard. But you do need to wipe often, especially with spills and stains. Make sure heavy objects are not dropped on the Silestone. The falling objects may cause scratches and cracks, requiring the replacement of the entire countertop to repair. Use cutting boards when using knives and trivets when placing hot items on the Silestone countertops for best results.
Stain Resistant
The non-porous surface of the quartz countertops is highly resistant to staining especially when Silestone vs. granite countertops are being considered. Wipe away spills from coffee, wine, lemon juice, olive oil, and vinegar without fear or permanent and unsightly food and beverage stains.
High Impact Resistant
Silestone is high impact resistant and allows you to handle any object in your kitchen without the fear of damaging the surface.
Cloudy Blotches
Some people report cloudy blotches on their quartz countertop after many months of use. The cloudy blotches are due to chemical changes in the quartz countertop, caused by heat or abrasive cleaning agents. Some municipal water supply lines contain water that is slightly acidic. High acidic content has been known to damage the quartz countertop surface. Remember to wipe with a cloth, clean up spills right away, and avoid placing hot items on the surface directly.
Warranty
Silestone surfaces come with a warranty depending on the manufacturer. Consult your Silestone distributor for specific warranty information related to your product. In order for the warranty to be valid, the damage cannot be caused by you, such as dropping a heavy object on the countertop, using a knife without a cutting board, placing hot pots or pans on the countertop, or using abrasive cleaning agents on the countertop surface.
Check out thisSilestone slideshowvideo below:
