One of the best parts about being back in our newly renovated home, aside from sleeping in my own bed, is having a kitchen that I can dirty up. Now that I am at home (technically 60 days, if you don’t count travel) I’ve finally dusted our new countertops with flour and got hands into some dough. A messy kitchen, is a well-loved kitchen.

When we started this renovation with McDonald Remodeling, we were looking at it from a functional standpoint; how do we maximize the space we have to fit our lifestyle? However, my ultimate goal was to figure out what countertops will be hardworking enough to handle all of the spills and chaos that go into food preparation, but still work within the design aesthetic I wanted. Bearing all that in mind, we visually split the room into two different sections (“work station” and “entertaining”) and chose by looking into two different substrates for the countertop. Then came the questions: What could we afford? What would require the least maintenance? What could we use to prevent the kitchen from looking dated?

We had to do a bit of research to get to this decision, mind you, but it was well worth it. Ultimately, we worked with the team at Cambria, based right here in Minnesota, with the selection and installation. The team was great to work with and kindly let me hold on to samples probably a bit longer than they had expected (it was a really hard decision to select the finish).

Some of the reasons why I am so happy with our new countertops:

• Low Maintenance
  • I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this before, but Joe and I travel for work. A lot. When we are home, the last thing I want to do is spend precious time together meticulously cleaning. Our new countertop doesn’t stain or scratch. Perfect for the red wine/big clumsy dog pairing happening at my house these days.
• Nonporous
  • Quartz is completely nontporous, unlike some of the other materials we were considering (granite and concrete), which means no worries about bacteria. Or that red wine/clumsy dog situation I spoke of earlier.
• Aesthetically Pleasing
  • Liveable Modern, is what I like to call our collective taste. We wanted to have the countertops balance the bold cement tiles we used for flooring. Our final select, the Ella, has a clean, simple design that paired nicely with the rest of the kitchen. Cambria, also had a wide range of options to choose from, color and design-wise, which is why all the samples they lent me were consistently returned late.

My kitchen will be getting quite a bit more use in the next few weeks, which means my countertops will stay messy, in preparation for celebrating the holidays with family and friends. While I love the look of marble, we made the right decision going with quartz from Cambria. We’re very excited for our first holiday season in this newly transformed space.

Sources: Design/Planning by McDonald Remodeling // Benjamin Moore White Dove // Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron // Cement Tile Shop– Star // Quartz Cambria’s Marble Collection, Ella // Lacanche Range // Blu Dot Hot Mesh Counter Stool 

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.