A Year With White Counter Tops

Without a doubt, the most common question I get asked via my blog email is “how have your white counter tops held up??” A Pinterest Pin to this post has lead people from all over the world to reach out about staining, scratching and the overall durability of our Mont Blanc granite counter tops, so I thought I would post an update on their current status.

We originally chose white granite for our kitchen (as opposed to marble or a softer stone) so that we could live life without worrying about our counter tops. I’m not necessarily a tidy chef and we love to entertain – so it was important to me that no one in our home was worried about sprinting to clean up a spill or uncomfortable over a red wine drip. We searched high and low for many months and finally found two types of white granite that we loved  – Shadow Storm and Mont Blanc. Because of the size of our island, we needed three slabs and, unfortunately, that ruled out Shadow Storm, making Mont Blanc the winner by default.

And I’m so glad that it did. 

Our counter tops are in perfect condition, after a year of use. We have no stains or signs of wear and tear (which cannot be said for the rest of the house) and are still really, really pleased with our choice. 

While we have no stains, we have noticed that oils will leave a noticeable demarcation – sort of like the wet ring from a glass on a wood coffee table – for a bit, if the oil isn’t wiped up. The mark fades and becomes impossible to find so while we make a move to clean oil spills, we don’t super stress over it. I’ve spilled red wine, blackberry smoothie, strawberries and balsamic on the counters – and some spills have accidentally gone unnoticed and dried over night – and have not had a single permanent stain.

We also haven’t had any scratches or chipping, which is a common concern for softer stones like marble. Don’t tell my husband, but I don’t always use a cutting board and a counter tops never give me away.

I will say that while we were in our stone yard choosing the granite, we could only see certain sections of our slabs. We were a bit surprised when all three slabs were pulled out for cutting to see that there are blue and golden brown veins that run through some areas of the stone. We placed our cuts (for the sink, stove etc) to eliminate as much of those colors as possible just based upon our personal preference. Because granite is a natural element, some pieces of the same name may have more grey, less brown, no blue etc, so it’s worth being on site for cutting day so that you can be in charge of the overall look of your counter tops. 

It’s also worth noting that the name “Monte/Mont Blanc” is also used to describe a similar quartzite stone but we have the granite (it’s a level 3, if you’re a current granite shopper). The name can really throw some stone yards off so make sure to call around before you venture out to multiple stone yards. 

And finally, yes, we did choose Carrara Marble for our guest/hall bath vanity and I still love the look. Because our son is still small, the counter top doesn’t currently take too much abuse and is thankfully still in great condition. I’m guessing I will have a different report when he’s a little older and is in charge of the toothpaste on his own. 

I think I hit the questions I receive most often but it you have any that I didn’t answer, feel free to leave them in the comments!

All photos by Christa Rene Photography