Anyone who spends time perusing "shelter" magazines like House Beautiful or Architectural Digest or who drools over glamorous house photos on Houzz or Pinterest has probably daydreamed about marble. Marble kitchen counters, marble backsplashes, marble bathrooms… while marble has been the ultimate luxury material for centuries, a moment of practical thought sometimes brings those daydreams to a screeching halt. This is particularly true if you’re thinking of using marble for a kitchen counter where your guests could splash a bit of red wine, a hot pot could leave a burn mark, your husband’s belt buckle could scratch the edge and simply slicing a lemon could do lasting damage.
Thankfully, stone and tile companies like Walker Zanger are using technology to develop porcelain slabs that replicate the look of marble – or cement or wood if you prefer – while providing the resilience of porcelain.
"Porcelain has significant advantages over quartz countertops, such as being nonporous and stain-proof, making it impervious to red wine, lemon juice and other acids that are common culprits of staining natural stone," said Jared Becker, Walker Zanger’s Vice President of Design and Marketing. "Additionally, porcelain has the strength and durability for a home chef to cut food directly on the surface or even place hot cookware on the counter without damaging the material."
If you’re renovating your kitchen or building a new home, it’s always a good idea to compare the pros and cons of various kitchen materials in the context of how you cook. If your kitchen gets light use, marble could be just fine. But for those who cook and entertain regularly, a different surface could be preferable.
New technology mimics marble
Walker Zanger recently introduced their Secolo Porcelain Slabs, which replicate authentic marble veining with Italian glazing technology. Porcelain is thinner than natural stone and has traditionally been offered in slabs between three and six millimeters thick, which can be too fragile to use for counters. The company now is able to increase the thickness up to 12 millimeters, allowing them to fabricate counter slabs as large as 126 inches by 36 inches.
The slabs can be used for all interior surfaces including flooring and fireplace surrounds and backsplashes as well as for exterior walls and water features such as in swimming pools and fountains. The porcelain slabs come in 12 color schemes such as Calacata Classic, Calacata Gold, Calacata Premio, Calacata Regent, Marron Glace (a beige and brown marble replica), Statuary Pieta (a white marble replica), Basque Black (a polished black marble replica) and Petit Bleu (a grey marble replica with a velvet finish).
For more information, visit www.walkerzanger.com