5 Trendy Kitchen Counter Ideas That You'll Want For Your Space

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home, not only for you but for potential buyers if you intend to sell your house. It also plays a vital role since it's where you prepare food and congregate with friends and family. Therefore, keeping up with its appearance is crucial for creating a cohesive and marketable home. One easy way to effortlessly upgrade your kitchen is to replace your countertops. 

There is no steadfast rule for when or how often you should replace your countertops. Still, functionally, visual imperfections like cracking, peeling, burnt spots, stains, and more are signs you should consider replacement, per Hardwood Lumber Company. This is for both design and safety reasons. Not only that, but new counters can significantly increase the value of your home. Countertop Advisor says new countertops can have as much as three times their return cost on your home's resale value. If you're planning on replacing your countertops soon, consider choosing from some of the following trendy but timeless styles.

One of the rising stars of kitchen design has been the butcher block or wood countertops. According to Home Depot, traditional butcher block counters are created by arranging and attaching multiple cuts and types of wood. This creates a large countertop that is sealed and cured, usually with mineral oil and beeswax.

Butcher block countertops can look rustic or cottage-like, but they don't have to. No matter its form, they will add a unique aesthetic to a kitchen and improve its visual appeal. Since butcher blocks are so trendy, they can fit in any kitchen, including modern, traditional, eclectic, etc., especially when you consider wood stain options. It's also quite affordable, costing anywhere from $30 to $280 per square foot installation, per Fixr. Butcher block countertops can last as long as 20 years if properly cared for. Routinely clean them with just soap, water, and vinegar, regularly moisturize them with food-grade mineral oil, and re-finish them as needed.

Another trendy but withstanding countertop material is quartz, which, according to Landmark Surfaces, comprises 93% quartz and 7% resin. This ratio gives it the look and feel of natural stone but with the protection and durability of an artificial one. It has a similar appearance to luxurious stones like marble but without the grain effect.

Quartz countertops are not only visually appealing but are arguably the best material you could pick for your kitchen countertops. Unlike natural stones like marble or granite, they aren't porous and don't require regular sealing, making them resistant to almost every source of stains. Plus, they rarely, if ever, chip, crack, or warp, meaning you can have them for decades. The biggest, if only, drawback for quartz countertops is that they're pretty expensive — anywhere from $115 to $200 per square foot, per Countertop Guides — but they more than make up for it in terms of design and functionality.

Concrete is a countertop material that is also highly durable and becoming increasingly popular. Unlike most other countertops, which you purchase in slabs and cut to size, concrete is poured directly onto your counters. This gives you an excellent opportunity to create unique stamps, stains, and patterns in the design, according to Countertop Guides. The staining process involves acid, so hiring a professional for this is ideal.

Concrete countertops are incredibly durable. If you hire an expert to install them, they'll often mix in glass fibers, which helps prevent the counters from cracking, via Concrete Network. They tend to be a little expensive due to the nature of the installation and require a lot of upkeep. While they can withstand a lot of wear and tear, they easily stain and require regular sealing. However, they provide a sleek, modern look that is hard to come by in any other material.

No matter what material you use, another trendy option for your kitchen countertops is choosing a matte finish instead of a glossy one. The Kitchen Store explains that matte-finished countertops look modern and sophisticated. Plus, if you have excessive recessed lights in your kitchen, matte countertops help reduce glare. Matte countertops also don't show stains nearly as much as glossier finishes.

If you have a kitchen counter material like marble, granite, or any other stone, choosing a matte finish can also help draw the eye to the grain and pattern of the stone, notes Accent Countertops. It also helps add texture to your kitchen. One of the few drawbacks of matte countertops is that they can make a room feel undersized, so consider avoiding them if you have a small kitchen. With that in mind, if you want to make your kitchen feel a little more intimate, consider matte and dark matte countertops.

Finally, marble is always a trendy and fantastic option for your kitchen countertops. As Prudent Reviews points out, marble is always unique. The process of limestone hardening into marble leads to distinctive veining, making each sheet of marble truly one of a kind. You can find marble with darker, busier graining or almost none. While the traditional color is white with gray veining, you can also find it in black, gray, brown, and even colorful shades like pink or blue.

Marble countertops aren't the most durable, though. While they are more heat resistant than other materials, the stone is porous. According to Marble, it is highly susceptible to staining from acidic elements like lemon or tomato juice and wine. It also is soft compared to other materials, like quartz, and can easily get chipped or dented. That being said, it is both a timeless and incredibly trendy option and looks great in every kitchen.