Bathroom Countertops: 7 Most Popular Natural Stones

If you’re designing or renovating your bathroom, you need to find a countertop surface material that can stand up to daily use. Some traditional materials, like laminate and ceramic tile, can be damaged easily, making your investment useless.

But there is another, superior option: natural stone countertops.

There are many natural stone types that can be used in your bathroom countertops, which is why choosing one that is both functional and attractive is not easy.

Keep reading to learn more about these natural stone materials which will improve your bathroom’s form and function.

7 Natural Stones for Bathroom Countertops

While it’s possible to find a stainless steel or wooden bathroom countertop, most consist of one of these seven different natural stone materials.

Marble 

One of the most timeless and elegant countertop styles is marble. While resistant to heat, this porous natural stone is susceptible to stains, water spots, and acidic solutions, and is high maintenance. If taken care of properly, though, there is no reason why you can’t have a marble countertop in your bathroom. For daily cleaning, mild dish soap and hot water with a soft sponge or soft cloth will help to remove dirt.

To keep it looking fresh, you’ll have to reseal it approximately every 6 to 12months, or use a spray sealant at least monthly to give it extra protection.

More commonly used for white custom countertops in Toronto, marble is actually available in a wide range of colours with magnificent gray or gold veining. While warm or cool white backgrounds are more common, you may also find marble in warmer hues of pale and reddish pinks to cooler tones of blues and greens to darker shades of blacks.

Although this high-quality material comes at a high price, the investment will pay off in terms of increasing your property’s value.

Quartzite 

Another popular material for bathroom countertops is quartzite. This completely natural stone looks a lot like marble but is lower maintenance. Quartzite countertops can easily be cleaned with warm water and dish soap, but you’ll want to reseal them every one to two years.

Just about as tough as granite, its hard surface is resistant to heat, stains, scratches, and etching. It’s also resistant to UV rays, so it’s an ideal countertop material for bathrooms that are flooded with natural light, and the natural hue won’t fade.

Perfect for lovers of neutral tones, these slabs only come in beautiful natural colours, including whites, beiges, browns, and blacks. Each slab is a unique design that will tie in with any design aesthetic. Lighter quartzite colours mimic marble the most, while some offer a luminescent or smoky appearance. This durable and resilient premium surface come with a high-end price, but it’s a long-term investment that’s worth the money.

Quartz 

One of the best countertop surfaces is quartz; an engineered stone made of crushed natural stone quartz, resin binders, and added pigments. As durable as granite, the nearly indestructible surface is non-porous, so you won’t have to worry about your quartz countertop harbouring any nasty bacteria. Care and maintenance of quartz countertop is super simple: all you need is a soft cloth and some mild dish soap for a daily clean.

Additionally, this durable material is resistant to heat, stains, scratches, dents, and abrasives. Of all the materials outlined here, quartz is the most resistant to moisture. It’s also the only product backed by a warranty, which may differ between residential and commercial installs.

Most commonly found in a range of neutral hues, natural quartz countertops come in a variety of calming colours. These include whites, beiges, and greys but also bold tones like blacks, blues, and reds.

In terms of design, it’s the most versatile since you can choose from plain solids to speckled patterns to vivid veining for a style that works with any bathroom remodel or new build.

Engineered quartz does cost more than granite, but the investment is worth it since it’s made to last.

Limestone

For more informal interiors, limestone is a good choice. This readily available sandy stone often captures fossilized plant and animal life, giving it a certain primitive appeal.

Unlike marble, limestone is most often honed to a matte finish. But the very fact that it is so absorbent makes proper cleaning and maintenance imperative.

On the other hand, limestone is very much like marble in that it comes in a wide variety of colours. In its purest form, it is white or cream-colored, but specific minerals can cause diverse colouration. Iron, for example, will typically cause limestone to take on a red or yellow appearance while carbon tends to turn it grey or black.

Slate 

Due to its compression while being formed upon beds of clay, slate naturally splits into broad, thin layers that are perfectly suitable for countertops.

With its textured surface, this type of stone has an organic look that makes it another good choice for informal spaces.

Most often available in solid grey, black, or green, slate is much softer than granite but extremely durable.

To protect your investment and prevent staining, it should be sealed and properly maintained.

Sandstone 

Coarse-grained sandstone is precisely what its name implies: a sedimentary rock made up of sand masses created by moving water or wind.

The colour of this particular stone is determined by the cementing material; iron oxides result in red or reddish-brown colours while other materials can create white, yellow, or greyish hues.

Like all natural stones, slate needs to be sealed to prevent, or at least minimize, staining.

Soapstone

You may remember seeing a soapstone top on your high school chemistry table, but now this natural stone is right at home in the bathroom, too.

Typically grey in colour, it’s highly resistant to heat yet softer than most of its counterparts. Still, it’s a very dense (non-porous) material, even more so than marble, slate, limestone, or granite. That’s good news, especially for bathroom applications, because it means that the surface will not stain; liquids simply can’t penetrate it.

Very little maintenance is required, too. All that’s needed is an occasional coat of mineral oil. Once applied, the stone will darken to a charcoal grey or even black.

When it comes to using natural stone in your bathroom, you have many options. Use this guide to help you choose the best natural stone for your bathroom countertops. But don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.